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1989 Clemson

10–⁠2 (5–⁠2 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Danny Ford, finished No. 12 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 1989, game by game: won vs. Furman 30–0; won at No. 16 Florida State 34–23; won at Virginia Tech 27–7; won vs. Maryland 31–7; lost at Duke 17–21; won vs. Virginia 34–20; lost vs. Georgia Tech 14–30; won vs. No. 12 NC State 30–10; won vs. Wake Forest 44–10; won at North Carolina 35–3; won at South Carolina 45–0; won vs. No. 17 West Virginia 27–7+45−16Won 30–0 vs. Furman+30FurmanWon 34–23 at No. 16 Florida State+11No. 16 Florida StateWon 27–7 at Virginia Tech+20Virginia TechWon 31–7 vs. Maryland+24MarylandLost 17–21 at Duke-4DukeWon 34–20 vs. Virginia+14VirginiaLost 14–30 vs. Georgia Tech-16Georgia TechWon 30–10 vs. No. 12 NC State+20No. 12 NC StateWon 44–10 vs. Wake Forest+34Wake ForestWon 35–3 at North Carolina+32North CarolinaWon 45–0 at South Carolina+45South CarolinaWon 27–7 vs. No. 17 West Virginia+20No. 17 West Virginia
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 2vsFurmanW 30–⁠090%
Sep 9at16Florida StateW 34–⁠2340%
Sep 16atVirginia TechW 27–⁠773%
Sep 23vsMarylandW 31–⁠782%
Sep 30atDukeL 17–⁠2176%
Oct 7vsVirginiaW 34–⁠2071%
Oct 14vsGeorgia TechL 14–⁠3088%
Oct 21vs12NC StateW 30–⁠1062%
Oct 28vsWake ForestW 44–⁠1086%
Nov 4atNorth CarolinaW 35–⁠384%
Nov 18atSouth CarolinaW 45–⁠060%
Dec 30Bowls & playoffvs17West VirginiaGator BowlW 27–⁠753%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat West Virginia 27–⁠7 in the Gator Bowl; No. 12 in the final AP poll; 3rd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 8th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 12
  2. Wk 2: 10
  3. Wk 3: 7
  4. Wk 4: 7
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 15
  7. Wk 7: 14
  8. Wk 9: 22
  9. Wk 10: 21
  10. Wk 11: 17
  11. Wk 12: 15
  12. Wk 13: 15
  13. Wk 14: 14
  14. Wk 15: 14
  15. Wk 16: 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 1989.

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
5–⁠2 3rd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 12 peak No. 7
Points
368–⁠138
Coach
Danny Ford
Elo
1746 +89 this season
SP+ rating
25.4 No. 7 of 103; offense No. 18, defense No. 6
SRS
21.7 No. 7 of 106 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Captains
Wesley McFadden and Chris Morocco
Offense
Option
Defense
4–⁠3

All-ACC

6 first team, 6 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1989 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1989 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia6–⁠110–⁠318
Duke6–⁠18–⁠4
Clemson5–⁠210–⁠212
Georgia Tech4–⁠37–⁠4
NC State4–⁠37–⁠5
Maryland2–⁠53–⁠7–⁠1
Wake Forest1–⁠62–⁠8–⁠1
North Carolina0–⁠71–⁠10

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