CollegeFootballDigestfrom CooperSearch

2007 Clemson

9–⁠4 (5–⁠3 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Tommy Bowden, finished No. 21 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 2007, game by game: won vs. No. 19 Florida State 24–18; won vs. UL Monroe 49–26; won vs. Furman 38–10; won at NC State 42–20; lost at Georgia Tech 3–13; lost vs. No. 15 Virginia Tech 23–41; won vs. Central Michigan 70–14; won at Maryland 30–17; won at Duke 47–10; won vs. Wake Forest 44–10; lost vs. No. 18 Boston College 17–20; won at South Carolina 23–21; lost vs. No. 23 Auburn 20–23+56−18Won 24–18 vs. No. 19 Florida State+6No. 19 Florida StateWon 49–26 vs. UL Monroe+23UL MonroeWon 38–10 vs. Furman+28FurmanWon 42–20 at NC State+22NC StateLost 3–13 at Georgia Tech-10Georgia TechLost 23–41 vs. No. 15 Virginia Tech-18No. 15 Virginia TechWon 70–14 vs. Central Michigan+56Central MichiganWon 30–17 at Maryland+13MarylandWon 47–10 at Duke+37DukeWon 44–10 vs. Wake Forest+34Wake ForestLost 17–20 vs. No. 18 Boston College-3No. 18 Boston CollegeWon 23–21 at South Carolina+2South CarolinaLost 20–23 vs. No. 23 Auburn-3No. 23 Auburn
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 3vs19Florida StateW 24–⁠1861%
Sep 8vsUL MonroeW 49–⁠2679%
Sep 15vsFurmanW 38–⁠1085%
Sep 22atNC StateW 42–⁠2066%
Sep 29atGeorgia TechL 3–⁠1351%
Oct 6vs15Virginia TechL 23–⁠4151%
Oct 20vsCentral MichiganW 70–⁠1463%
Oct 27atMarylandW 30–⁠1749%
Nov 3atDukeW 47–⁠1084%
Nov 10vsWake ForestW 44–⁠1060%
Nov 17vs18Boston CollegeL 17–⁠2060%
Nov 24atSouth CarolinaW 23–⁠2157%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs23AuburnChick-fil-A BowlL 20–⁠2355%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Auburn 23–⁠20 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl; No. 21 in the final AP poll; tied for 4th in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 29th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 2: 25
  2. Wk 3: 20
  3. Wk 4: 15
  4. Wk 5: 13
  5. Wk 6: 22
  6. Wk 10: 25
  7. Wk 11: 20
  8. Wk 12: 15
  9. Wk 13: 21
  10. Wk 14: 16
  11. Final: 21
Record
9–⁠4
Conference
5–⁠3 tied for 4th in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 21 peak No. 13
Points
430–⁠243
Coach
Tommy Bowden
Elo
1651 +72 this season
SP+ rating
16.2 No. 22 of 120; offense No. 42, defense No. 10, special teams No. 65
SRS
12.5 No. 14 of 119 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 16
Offensive coordinator
Rob Spence
Defensive coordinator
Vic Koenning
Captains
Michael Hamlin and Cullen Harper
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense36th of 119
  • Defense39th of 119
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.0643%0.8936th of 119
Defense0.0139%0.9839th of 119
How these are measured

Play-weighted averages over games against FBS opponents; raw numbers, not adjusted for the strength of the opponent. EPA (expected points added) measures how much each play changed the expected score; success rate counts plays that kept the offense on schedule; explosiveness is the average EPA on successful plays. Lower is better on defense. Ranked by EPA per play among teams that were FBS that season.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense-0.1own 341% allowed
Defense-0.1own 282% caused

A trip inside the 40 is a drive that reaches the opponent’s 40-yard line; points per trip is how many it scored on average (allowed, on defense). Average start is where drives began (the defense’s line is where its opponents started). Havoc is the share of plays ending in a tackle for loss, a forced fumble, an interception or a pass broken up. From CollegeFootballData.com.

Top recruits in the 2007 class

Willy Korn DUAL★★★★No. 69
Marcus Gilchrist CB★★★★No. 82
Scotty Cooper ILB★★★★No. 126
Stanley Hunter OLB★★★No. 400
Rennie Moore Jr. SDE★★★No. 453

247Sports composite rankings via CollegeFootballData.com; national rank in the class.

The 2007 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.968
Running backs13.00.830
Receivers23.00.839
Defensive line33.00.840
Linebackers33.30.877
Defensive backs23.00.852
Whole class123.20.861

High-school signees by position group, with their average stars and 247Sports composite rating (out of 1), via CollegeFootballData.com. Athletes are signees with no set position.

Drafted in 2008

The 2008 draft
Rd 2Phillip Merling DEMiami Dolphins
Rd 6Barry Richardson OTKansas City Chiefs

All-ACC

4 first team, 2 second team

First team

Second team

From Wikipedia’s 2007 all-conference team article, with the selectors that named each player (AP-1: the Associated Press’s first team).

2007 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Virginia Tech7–⁠111–⁠39
Boston College6–⁠211–⁠310
Virginia6–⁠29–⁠4
Wake Forest5–⁠39–⁠4
Clemson5–⁠39–⁠421
Georgia Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
Florida State4–⁠47–⁠6
Maryland3–⁠56–⁠7
NC State3–⁠55–⁠7
North Carolina3–⁠54–⁠8
Miami2–⁠65–⁠7
Duke0–⁠81–⁠11

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