CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1986 Clemson

8–⁠2–⁠2 (5–⁠1–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Danny Ford, finished No. 17 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 1986, game by game: lost vs. Virginia Tech 14–20; won at No. 14 Georgia 31–28; won at Georgia Tech 27–3; won vs. The Citadel 24–0; won at Virginia 31–17; won vs. Duke 35–3; lost at No. 20 NC State 3–27; won at Wake Forest 28–20; won vs. North Carolina 38–10; tied vs. Maryland 17–17; tied vs. South Carolina 21–21; won vs. No. 20 Stanford 27–21+32−24Lost 14–20 vs. Virginia Tech-6Virginia TechWon 31–28 at No. 14 Georgia+3No. 14 GeorgiaWon 27–3 at Georgia Tech+24Georgia TechWon 24–0 vs. The Citadel+24The CitadelWon 31–17 at Virginia+14VirginiaWon 35–3 vs. Duke+32DukeLost 3–27 at No. 20 NC State-24No. 20 NC StateWon 28–20 at Wake Forest+8Wake ForestWon 38–10 vs. North Carolina+28North CarolinaTied 17–17 vs. Maryland0MarylandTied 21–21 vs. South Carolina0South CarolinaWon 27–21 vs. No. 20 Stanford+6No. 20 Stanford
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 13vsVirginia TechL 14–⁠2060%
Sep 20at14GeorgiaW 31–⁠2828%
Sep 27atGeorgia TechW 27–⁠331%
Oct 4vsThe CitadelW 24–⁠088%
Oct 11atVirginiaW 31–⁠1756%
Oct 18vsDukeW 35–⁠378%
Oct 25at20NC StateL 3–⁠2763%
Nov 1atWake ForestW 28–⁠2055%
Nov 8vsNorth CarolinaW 38–⁠1065%
Nov 15vsMarylandT 17–⁠1765%
Nov 22vsSouth CarolinaT 21–⁠2176%
Dec 27Bowls & playoffvs20StanfordGator BowlW 27–⁠2156%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Stanford 27–⁠21 in the Gator Bowl; No. 17 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 35th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 6: 20
  2. Wk 7: 17
  3. Wk 8: 16
  4. Wk 10: 20
  5. Wk 11: 15
  6. Wk 12: 19
  7. Final: 17

Players on this team

Before 2004 our records hold honors and the draft; these are the players whose college years here, from their Wikipedia articles or their honors, include 1986.

Atlantic Coast Conference champions5–⁠1–⁠1 in the conference

Led the nationTerrance Roulhac: kickoff return average (33)

Consensus All-AmericanTerrence Flagler, RB

Record
8–⁠2–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠1–⁠1 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 17 peak No. 15
Points
296–⁠187
Coach
Danny Ford
Elo
1634 +97 this season
SP+ rating
14.3 No. 21 of 101; offense No. 31, defense No. 17
SRS
13.4 No. 17 of 105 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Jack Crowe
Captains
Terrence Flagler and Terence Mack

Drafted in 1987

The 1987 draft
Rd 1Terrence Flagler RBSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 2Kenny Flowers RBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 2Delton Hall DBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 4Jim Riggs TECincinnati Bengals

All-ACC

6 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1986 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1986 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson5–⁠1–⁠18–⁠2–⁠217
NC State5–⁠28–⁠3–⁠1
North Carolina5–⁠27–⁠4–⁠1
Georgia Tech3–⁠35–⁠5–⁠1
Maryland2–⁠3–⁠15–⁠5–⁠1
Wake Forest2–⁠55–⁠6
Duke2–⁠54–⁠7
Virginia2–⁠53–⁠8

Ordered by conference winning percentage, then conference wins. Division splits and tiebreakers aren’t applied.