CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

1997 Clemson

7–⁠5 (4–⁠4 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Tommy West.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 1997, game by game: won vs. App State 23–12; won at NC State 19–17; lost vs. No. 5 Florida State 28–35; lost at Georgia Tech 20–23; won vs. UTEP 39–7; lost vs. Virginia 7–21; won at Maryland 20–9; won at Wake Forest 33–16; won vs. Duke 29–20; lost vs. No. 8 North Carolina 10–17; won at South Carolina 47–21; lost vs. No. 13 Auburn 17–21+32−14Won 23–12 vs. App State+11App StateWon 19–17 at NC State+2NC StateLost 28–35 vs. No. 5 Florida State-7No. 5 Florida StateLost 20–23 at Georgia Tech-3Georgia TechWon 39–7 vs. UTEP+32UTEPLost 7–21 vs. Virginia-14VirginiaWon 20–9 at Maryland+11MarylandWon 33–16 at Wake Forest+17Wake ForestWon 29–20 vs. Duke+9DukeLost 10–17 vs. No. 8 North Carolina-7No. 8 North CarolinaWon 47–21 at South Carolina+26South CarolinaLost 17–21 vs. No. 13 Auburn-4No. 13 Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 6vsApp StateW 23–⁠1285%
Sep 13atNC StateW 19–⁠1751%
Sep 20vs5Florida StateL 28–⁠3535%
Sep 27atGeorgia TechL 20–⁠2352%
Oct 4vsUTEPW 39–⁠783%
Oct 11vsVirginiaL 7–⁠2158%
Oct 25atMarylandW 20–⁠960%
Nov 1atWake ForestW 33–⁠1657%
Nov 8vsDukeW 29–⁠2084%
Nov 15vs8North CarolinaL 10–⁠1739%
Nov 22atSouth CarolinaW 47–⁠2143%
Jan 2Bowls & playoffvs13AuburnPeach BowlL 17–⁠2141%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Auburn 21–⁠17 in the Peach Bowl; unranked in the final AP poll; 5th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 57th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 20
  2. Wk 2: 20
  3. Wk 3: 18
  4. Wk 4: 19
  5. Wk 5: 16
  6. Wk 6: 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 1997.

Consensus All-AmericanAnthony Simmons, LB

Record
7–⁠5
Conference
4–⁠4 5th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
Unranked peak No. 16
Points
292–⁠219
Coach
Tommy West
Elo
1572 +27 this season
SP+ rating
13.1 No. 28 of 112; offense No. 56, defense No. 13
SRS
12.1 No. 19 of 112 in Division I-A
Recruiting class
—
Offensive coordinator
Steve Ensminger
Defensive coordinator
Les Herrin
Captains
Raymond Priester and Raymond White

Drafted in 1998

The 1998 draft
Rd 1Anthony Simmons LBSeattle Seahawks
Rd 4Lorenzo Bromell DEMiami Dolphins
Rd 5Raymond Priester RBSt. Louis Rams
Rd 6Glenn Rountree OGSt. Louis Rams
Rd 7Jim Bundren OGMiami Dolphins

All-ACC

5 first team, 3 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 1997 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

1997 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State8–⁠011–⁠13
North Carolina7–⁠111–⁠16
Virginia5–⁠37–⁠4
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠525
Clemson4–⁠47–⁠5
NC State3–⁠56–⁠5
Wake Forest3–⁠55–⁠6
Maryland1–⁠72–⁠9
Duke0–⁠82–⁠9

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