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1987 Clemson

10–⁠2 (6–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Danny Ford, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 1987, game by game: won vs. Western Carolina 43–0; won at Virginia Tech 22–10; won vs. No. 18 Georgia 21–20; won vs. Georgia Tech 33–12; won vs. Virginia 38–21; won vs. Duke 17–10; lost vs. NC State 28–30; won vs. Wake Forest 31–17; won at North Carolina 13–10; won vs. Maryland 45–16; lost at No. 12 South Carolina 7–20; won vs. No. 20 Penn State 35–10+43−13Won 43–0 vs. Western Carolina+43Western CarolinaWon 22–10 at Virginia Tech+12Virginia TechWon 21–20 vs. No. 18 Georgia+1No. 18 GeorgiaWon 33–12 vs. Georgia Tech+21Georgia TechWon 38–21 vs. Virginia+17VirginiaWon 17–10 vs. Duke+7DukeLost 28–30 vs. NC State-2NC StateWon 31–17 vs. Wake Forest+14Wake ForestWon 13–10 at North Carolina+3North CarolinaWon 45–16 vs. Maryland+29MarylandLost 7–20 at No. 12 South Carolina-13No. 12 South CarolinaWon 35–10 vs. No. 20 Penn State+25No. 20 Penn State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 5vsWestern CarolinaW 43–⁠089%
Sep 12atVirginia TechW 22–⁠1047%
Sep 19vs18GeorgiaW 21–⁠2060%
Sep 26vsGeorgia TechW 33–⁠1271%
Oct 10vsVirginiaW 38–⁠2179%
Oct 17vsDukeW 17–⁠1084%
Oct 24vsNC StateL 28–⁠3080%
Oct 31vsWake ForestW 31–⁠1777%
Nov 7atNorth CarolinaW 13–⁠1053%
Nov 14vsMarylandW 45–⁠1678%
Nov 21at12South CarolinaL 7–⁠2051%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs20Penn StateCitrus BowlW 35–⁠1046%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Penn State 35–⁠10 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 19th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 9
  2. Wk 2: 10
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 9
  5. Wk 5: 8
  6. Wk 6: 8
  7. Wk 7: 7
  8. Wk 8: 7
  9. Wk 9: 14
  10. Wk 10: 10
  11. Wk 11: 9
  12. Wk 12: 8
  13. Wk 13: 13
  14. Wk 14: 13
  15. Wk 15: 14
  16. Final: 12

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 1987.

Atlantic Coast Conference champions6–⁠1 in the conference

Consensus All-AmericanDavid Treadwell, K

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
6–⁠1 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 7
Points
333–⁠176
Coach
Danny Ford
Elo
1690 +100 this season
SP+ rating
13.7 No. 20 of 101; offense No. 38, defense No. 19
SRS
14.4 No. 15 of 104 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Jack Crowe
Captains
Michael Dean Perry and John Phillips

Drafted in 1988

The 1988 draft
Rd 2Michael Dean Perry DTCleveland Browns
Rd 3Tony Stephens DTNew Orleans Saints

All-ACC

7 first team

First team

From Wikipedia’s 1987 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1987 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson6–⁠110–⁠212
Virginia5–⁠28–⁠4
Wake Forest4–⁠37–⁠4
NC State4–⁠34–⁠7
Maryland3–⁠34–⁠7
North Carolina3–⁠45–⁠6
Duke2–⁠55–⁠6
Georgia Tech0–⁠62–⁠9

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