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2013 Clemson

11–⁠2 (7–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dabo Swinney, finished No. 8 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 2013, game by game: won vs. No. 5 Georgia 38–35; won vs. South Carolina State 52–13; won at NC State 26–14; won vs. Wake Forest 56–7; won at Syracuse 49–14; won vs. Boston College 24–14; lost vs. No. 5 Florida State 14–51; won at Maryland 40–27; won at Virginia 59–10; won vs. Georgia Tech 55–31; won vs. The Citadel 52–6; lost at No. 10 South Carolina 17–31; won vs. No. 7 Ohio State 40–35+49−37Won 38–35 vs. No. 5 Georgia+3No. 5 GeorgiaWon 52–13 vs. South Carolina State+39South Carolina …Won 26–14 at NC State+12NC StateWon 56–7 vs. Wake Forest+49Wake ForestWon 49–14 at Syracuse+35SyracuseWon 24–14 vs. Boston College+10Boston CollegeLost 14–51 vs. No. 5 Florida State-37No. 5 Florida StateWon 40–27 at Maryland+13MarylandWon 59–10 at Virginia+49VirginiaWon 55–31 vs. Georgia Tech+24Georgia TechWon 52–6 vs. The Citadel+46The CitadelLost 17–31 at No. 10 South Carolina-14No. 10 South CarolinaWon 40–35 vs. No. 7 Ohio State+5No. 7 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below; orange marks an upset win.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 31vs5GeorgiaW 38–⁠3552%
Sep 7vsSouth Carolina StateW 52–⁠1390%
Sep 19atNC StateW 26–⁠1458%
Sep 28vsWake ForestW 56–⁠784%
Oct 5atSyracuseW 49–⁠1460%
Oct 12vsBoston CollegeW 24–⁠1486%
Oct 19vs5Florida StateL 14–⁠5154%
Oct 26atMarylandW 40–⁠2767%
Nov 2atVirginiaW 59–⁠1082%
Nov 14vsGeorgia TechW 55–⁠3171%
Nov 23vsThe CitadelW 52–⁠693%
Nov 30at10South CarolinaL 17–⁠3140%
Jan 3Bowls & playoffvs7Ohio StateOrange BowlW 40–⁠3542%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Beat Ohio State 40–⁠35 in the Orange Bowl; No. 8 in the final AP poll; 2nd in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

In program history: The 15th-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Consensus All-AmericanVic Beasley, DL

Record
11–⁠2
Conference
7–⁠1 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 8 peak No. 3
Points
522–⁠288
Coach
Dabo Swinney
Elo
1730 +96 this season
SP+ rating
24.5 No. 8 of 125; offense No. 10, defense No. 19, special teams No. 16
SRS
16.5 No. 15 of 125 in FBS
Recruiting class
No. 15
Offensive coordinator
Chad Morris
Defensive coordinator
Brent Venables
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense33rd of 125
  • Defense29th of 125
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted24th of 125
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted17th of 125
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.1246%0.9433rd of 125
Defense0.0435%1.1529th of 125
Opponent-adjusted0.12 off
0.04 def		47% off
35% def		—24th off
17th 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 322% allowed
Defense-0.3own 273% 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 QB3,851 yds
Passing touchdownsTajh Boyd QB34 TD
Rushing yardsRoderick McDowell RB1,025 yds
Rushing touchdownsTajh Boyd QB10 TD
Receiving yardsSammy Watkins WR1,464 yds
Receiving touchdownsSammy Watkins WR12 TD
InterceptionsBashaud Breeland DB4 INT

Top recruits in the 2013 class

Mackensie Alexander CB★★★★★No. 30
Dorian O’Daniel OLB★★★★No. 100
Tyrone Crowder OG★★★★No. 117
Tyshon Dye RB★★★★No. 167
Ben Boulware ILB★★★★No. 184
Jayron Kearse ATH★★★★No. 216
Mike Williams WR★★★★No. 236
Scott Pagano DT★★★★No. 285

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

The 2013 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Running backs14.00.929
Receivers33.30.890
Offensive line23.50.902
Defensive line24.00.900
Linebackers43.80.895
Defensive backs33.30.877
Athletes and specialists23.50.868
Whole class173.60.891

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 2014

The 2014 draft
Rd 1Sammy Watkins WRBuffalo Bills
Rd 3Brandon Thomas OGSan Francisco 49ers
Rd 4Bashaud Breeland CBWashington Redskins
Rd 4Martavis Bryant WRPittsburgh Steelers
Rd 6Tajh Boyd QBNew York Jets

Roster 112

The 2013 roster

112 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2013 line; 38 have a stat line. See the roster

2013 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Florida State8–⁠014–⁠01
Clemson7–⁠111–⁠28
Duke6–⁠210–⁠423
Miami5–⁠39–⁠4
Virginia Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Georgia Tech5–⁠37–⁠6
North Carolina4–⁠47–⁠6
Boston College4–⁠47–⁠6
Syracuse4–⁠47–⁠6
Maryland3–⁠57–⁠6
Pittsburgh3–⁠57–⁠6
Wake Forest2–⁠64–⁠8
NC State0–⁠83–⁠9
Virginia0–⁠82–⁠10

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