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1991 Clemson

9–⁠2–⁠1 (6–⁠0–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Ken Hatfield, finished No. 18 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 1991, game by game: won vs. App State 34–0; won vs. Temple 37–7; won vs. No. 19 Georgia Tech 9–7; lost at Georgia 12–27; tied vs. Virginia 20–20; won vs. No. 12 NC State 29–19; won vs. Wake Forest 28–10; won at North Carolina 21–6; won vs. Maryland 40–7; won at South Carolina 41–24; won vs. Duke 33–21; lost vs. No. 14 California 13–37+34−24Won 34–0 vs. App State+34App StateWon 37–7 vs. Temple+30TempleWon 9–7 vs. No. 19 Georgia Tech+2No. 19 Georgia TechLost 12–27 at Georgia-15GeorgiaTied 20–20 vs. Virginia0VirginiaWon 29–19 vs. No. 12 NC State+10No. 12 NC StateWon 28–10 vs. Wake Forest+18Wake ForestWon 21–6 at North Carolina+15North CarolinaWon 40–7 vs. Maryland+33MarylandWon 41–24 at South Carolina+17South CarolinaWon 33–21 vs. Duke+12DukeLost 13–37 vs. No. 14 California-24No. 14 California
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 7vsApp StateW 34–⁠092%
Sep 21vsTempleW 37–⁠782%
Sep 28vs19Georgia TechW 9–⁠762%
Oct 5atGeorgiaL 12–⁠2767%
Oct 12vsVirginiaT 20–⁠2065%
Oct 26vs12NC StateW 29–⁠1959%
Nov 2vsWake ForestW 28–⁠1091%
Nov 9atNorth CarolinaW 21–⁠664%
Nov 16vsMarylandW 40–⁠788%
Nov 23atSouth CarolinaW 41–⁠2470%
Nov 30vsDukeW 33–⁠2184%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs14CaliforniaCitrus BowlL 13–⁠3760%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to California 37–⁠13 in the Citrus Bowl; No. 18 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 24th-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: 8
  3. Wk 3: 8
  4. Wk 4: 8
  5. Wk 5: 7
  6. Wk 6: 6
  7. Wk 7: 18
  8. Wk 8: 21
  9. Wk 9: 19
  10. Wk 10: 16
  11. Wk 11: 15
  12. Wk 12: 15
  13. Wk 13: 14
  14. Wk 14: 13
  15. Wk 15: 13
  16. Final: 18

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 1991.

Atlantic Coast Conference champions6–⁠0–⁠1 in the conference

2 consensus All-AmericansJeb Flesch, OG; Levon Kirkland, LB

Record
9–⁠2–⁠1
Conference
6–⁠0–⁠1 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 18 peak No. 6
Points
317–⁠185
Coach
Ken Hatfield
Elo
1676 +15 this season
SP+ rating
12.7 No. 23 of 104; offense No. 34, defense No. 23
SRS
10.6 No. 21 of 107 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Larry Van Der Hayden
Defensive coordinator
Ron Dickerson
Captains
Rob Bodine, DeChane Cameron and Levon Kirkland

Drafted in 1992

The 1992 draft
Rd 1Chester McGlockton DTLos Angeles Raiders
Rd 2Levon Kirkland LBPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 5Curtis Whitley CSan Diego Chargers
Rd 5Ed McDaniel LBMinnesota Vikings

All-ACC

9 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

  • Bruce BrattonOTAP-2
  • Ronald WilliamsRBAP-2

From Wikipedia’s 1991 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1991 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson6–⁠0–⁠19–⁠2–⁠118
NC State5–⁠29–⁠324
Georgia Tech5–⁠28–⁠5
Virginia4–⁠2–⁠18–⁠3–⁠1
North Carolina3–⁠47–⁠4
Maryland2–⁠52–⁠9
Duke1–⁠64–⁠6–⁠1
Wake Forest1–⁠63–⁠8

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