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2012 Clemson

11–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dabo Swinney, finished No. 11 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 2012, game by game: won vs. Auburn 26–19; won vs. Ball State 52–27; won vs. Furman 41–7; lost at No. 4 Florida State 37–49; won at Boston College 45–31; won vs. Georgia Tech 47–31; won vs. Virginia Tech 38–17; won at Wake Forest 42–13; won at Duke 56–20; won vs. Maryland 45–10; won vs. NC State 62–48; lost vs. No. 13 South Carolina 17–27; won vs. No. 9 LSU 25–24+36−12Won 26–19 vs. Auburn+7AuburnWon 52–27 vs. Ball State+25Ball StateWon 41–7 vs. Furman+34FurmanLost 37–49 at No. 4 Florida State-12No. 4 Florida StateWon 45–31 at Boston College+14Boston CollegeWon 47–31 vs. Georgia Tech+16Georgia TechWon 38–17 vs. Virginia Tech+21Virginia TechWon 42–13 at Wake Forest+29Wake ForestWon 56–20 at Duke+36DukeWon 45–10 vs. Maryland+35MarylandWon 62–48 vs. NC State+14NC StateLost 17–27 vs. No. 13 South Carolina-10No. 13 South CarolinaWon 25–24 vs. No. 9 LSU+1No. 9 LSU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 1vsAuburnW 26–⁠1948%
Sep 8vsBall StateW 52–⁠2776%
Sep 15vsFurmanW 41–⁠788%
Sep 22at4Florida StateL 37–⁠4937%
Sep 29atBoston CollegeW 45–⁠3160%
Oct 6vsGeorgia TechW 47–⁠3175%
Oct 20vsVirginia TechW 38–⁠1765%
Oct 25atWake ForestW 42–⁠1371%
Nov 3atDukeW 56–⁠2068%
Nov 10vsMarylandW 45–⁠1088%
Nov 17vsNC StateW 62–⁠4880%
Nov 24vs13South CarolinaL 17–⁠2758%
Dec 31Bowls & playoffvs9LSUChick-fil-A BowlW 25–⁠2439%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat LSU 25–⁠24 in the Chick-fil-A Bowl; No. 11 in the final AP poll; tied for first in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 18th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

  1. Wk 1: 14
  2. Wk 2: 12
  3. Wk 3: 11
  4. Wk 4: 10
  5. Wk 5: 17
  6. Wk 6: 15
  7. Wk 7: 16
  8. Wk 8: 14
  9. Wk 9: 14
  10. Wk 10: 10
  11. Wk 11: 10
  12. Wk 12: 11
  13. Wk 13: 12
  14. Wk 14: 15
  15. Wk 15: 14
  16. Final: 11
Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 shared first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 11 peak No. 10
Points
533–⁠323
Coach
Dabo Swinney
Elo
1701 +118 this season
SP+ rating
18.5 No. 17 of 124; offense No. 12, defense No. 47, special teams No. 23
SRS
13.4 No. 16 of 124 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 20
Offensive coordinator
Chad Morris
Defensive coordinators
Brent Venables and Charlie Harbison
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense15th of 124
  • Defense42nd of 124
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted10th of 124
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted50th of 124
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1244%0.9715th of 124
Defense0.0337%1.0742nd of 124
Opponent-adjusted0.11 off
0.05 def		45% off
39% def		—10th off
50th def
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. The opponent-adjusted row (offense / defense) is CollegeFootballData.com’s WEPA, which accounts for who each team played.

Drives and havoc

Points per trip inside the 40Average startHavoc
Offense0.0own 302% allowed
Defense-0.1own 292% 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.

Leaders

Passing yardsTajh Boyd QB3,896 yds
Passing touchdownsTajh Boyd QB36 TD
Rushing yardsAndre Ellington RB1,081 yds
Rushing touchdownsTajh Boyd QB10 TD
Receiving yardsDeAndre Hopkins WR1,405 yds
Receiving touchdownsDeAndre Hopkins WR18 TD
InterceptionsRashard Hall S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2012 class

Carlos Watkins DT★★★★No. 71
Germone Hopper WR★★★★No. 79
Travis Blanks S★★★★No. 92
Chad Kelly DUAL★★★★No. 187
Zac Brooks ATH★★★★No. 231
Cordrea Tankersley ATH★★★★No. 283
Martin Aiken SDE★★★★No. 292
Ronald Geohaghan S★★★★No. 294

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

The 2012 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.926
Receivers14.00.963
Offensive line43.30.872
Defensive line34.00.921
Linebackers13.00.846
Defensive backs33.70.912
Athletes and specialists43.50.882
Whole class173.60.897

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 2013

The 2013 draft
Rd 1DeAndre Hopkins WRHouston Texans
Rd 4Malliciah Goodman DEAtlanta Falcons
Rd 5Jonathan Meeks SBuffalo Bills
Rd 6Andre Ellington RBArizona Cardinals

Roster 103

The 2012 roster

103 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2012 line; 36 have a stat line. See the roster

2012 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State7–⁠112–⁠210
Clemson7–⁠111–⁠211
North Carolina5–⁠38–⁠4
Miami5–⁠37–⁠5
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠7
Virginia Tech4–⁠47–⁠6
NC State4–⁠47–⁠6
Duke3–⁠56–⁠7
Wake Forest3–⁠55–⁠7
Maryland2–⁠64–⁠8
Virginia2–⁠64–⁠8
Boston College1–⁠72–⁠10

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