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2019 Clemson

14–⁠1 (8–⁠0 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dabo Swinney, finished No. 2 in the AP poll.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 2019, game by game: won vs. Georgia Tech 52–14; won vs. No. 12 Texas A&M 24–10; won at Syracuse 41–6; won vs. Charlotte 52–10; won at North Carolina 21–20; won vs. Florida State 45–14; won at Louisville 45–10; won vs. Boston College 59–7; won vs. Wofford 59–14; won at NC State 55–10; won vs. Wake Forest 52–3; won at South Carolina 38–3; won vs. No. 22 Virginia 62–17; won vs. No. 2 Ohio State 29–23; lost vs. No. 1 LSU 25–42+52−17Won 52–14 vs. Georgia Tech+38Georgia TechWon 24–10 vs. No. 12 Texas A&M+14No. 12 Texas A&MWon 41–6 at Syracuse+35SyracuseWon 52–10 vs. Charlotte+42CharlotteWon 21–20 at North Carolina+1North CarolinaWon 45–14 vs. Florida State+31Florida StateWon 45–10 at Louisville+35LouisvilleWon 59–7 vs. Boston College+52Boston CollegeWon 59–14 vs. Wofford+45WoffordWon 55–10 at NC State+45NC StateWon 52–3 vs. Wake Forest+49Wake ForestWon 38–3 at South Carolina+35South CarolinaWon 62–17 vs. No. 22 Virginia+45No. 22 VirginiaWon 29–23 vs. No. 2 Ohio State+6No. 2 Ohio StateLost 25–42 vs. No. 1 LSU-17No. 1 LSU
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Aug 29vsGeorgia TechW 52–⁠1485%
Sep 7vs12Texas A&MW 24–⁠1080%
Sep 14atSyracuseW 41–⁠674%
Sep 21vsCharlotteW 52–⁠1093%
Sep 28atNorth CarolinaW 21–⁠2087%
Oct 12vsFlorida StateW 45–⁠1488%
Oct 19atLouisvilleW 45–⁠1086%
Oct 26vsBoston CollegeW 59–⁠789%
Nov 2vsWoffordW 59–⁠1495%
Nov 9atNC StateW 55–⁠1085%
Nov 16vsWake ForestW 52–⁠388%
Nov 30atSouth CarolinaW 38–⁠387%
Dec 7vs22VirginiaACC Championship GameW 62–⁠1781%
Dec 28Bowls & playoffvs2Ohio StateFiesta Bowl, CFP SemifinalW 29–⁠2350%
Jan 13Bowls & playoffvs1LSUCFP National ChampionshipL 25–⁠4254%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to LSU 42–⁠25 in the CFP National Championship; No. 2 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 2nd-best season in program history by end-of-season Elo (of 125 on file).

AP poll, week by week

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

Atlantic Coast Conference champions8–⁠0 in the conference, won the ACC Championship Game

Butkus AwardIsaiah Simmons, OLB

2 consensus All-AmericansJohn Simpson, OL; Isaiah Simmons, OLB

Record
14–⁠1
Conference
8–⁠0 first in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 2 peak No. 1
Points
659–⁠203
Coach
Dabo Swinney
Elo
1887 +96 this season
SP+ rating
28.1 No. 4 of 130; offense No. 5, defense No. 3, special teams No. 83
SRS
24.2 No. 4 of 130 in FBS
Returning
81% of last season’s EPA, No. 19 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 10 roster talent No. 9 in FBS
Offensive coordinators
Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott
Defensive coordinator
Brent Venables
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense5th of 130
  • Defense2nd of 130
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted5th of 130
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted1st of 130
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.3150%1.265th of 130
Defense-0.0936%1.082nd of 130
Opponent-adjusted0.27 off
-0.10 def		50% off
34% def		—5th off
1st 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
Offense4.6own 3014% allowed
Defense3.2own 2425% caused

CORE rating 33.3, 4th of 130 (offense 12.3, defense -21.0).

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. CORE is CollegeFootballData.com’s context- and opponent-adjusted rating (points better than an average team; lower is better on defense). From CollegeFootballData.com.

Leaders

Passing yardsTrevor Lawrence QB3,665 yds
Passing touchdownsTrevor Lawrence QB36 TD
Rushing yardsTravis Etienne RB1,614 yds
Rushing touchdownsTravis Etienne RB19 TD
Receiving yardsTee Higgins WR1,167 yds
Receiving touchdownsTee Higgins WR13 TD
TacklesIsaiah Simmons LB104 tkl
SacksIsaiah Simmons LB8 sacks
InterceptionsTanner Muse S4 INT

Top recruits in the 2019 class

Andrew Booth CB★★★★★No. 23
Frank Ladson Jr. WR★★★★No. 39
Joe Ngata WR★★★★No. 52
Will Putnam OG★★★★No. 101
Sheridan Jones CB★★★★No. 130
Tyler Davis DT★★★★No. 137
Joseph Charleston S★★★★No. 150
Bryton Constantin OLB★★★★No. 173

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

The 2019 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks14.00.916
Running backs23.50.886
Receivers63.30.897
Offensive line43.00.870
Defensive line53.40.896
Linebackers53.60.900
Defensive backs73.40.898
Athletes and specialists13.00.830
Whole class313.40.892

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 2020

The 2020 draft
Rd 1Isaiah Simmons OLBArizona Cardinals
Rd 1A.J. Terrell CBAtlanta Falcons
Rd 2Tee Higgins WRCincinnati Bengals
Rd 3Tanner Muse SLas Vegas Raiders
Rd 4John Simpson OGLas Vegas Raiders
Rd 4K’Von Wallace SPhiladelphia Eagles
Rd 7Tremayne Anchrum OGLos Angeles Rams

Roster 118

The 2019 roster

118 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2019 line; 78 have a stat line. See the roster

2019 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Clemson8–⁠014–⁠12
Virginia6–⁠29–⁠5
Louisville5–⁠38–⁠5
Virginia Tech5–⁠38–⁠5
Wake Forest5–⁠48–⁠5
Pittsburgh4–⁠48–⁠5
Boston College4–⁠46–⁠7
Miami4–⁠46–⁠7
Florida State4–⁠46–⁠7
North Carolina4–⁠57–⁠6
Duke3–⁠55–⁠7
Syracuse2–⁠65–⁠7
Georgia Tech2–⁠63–⁠9
NC State1–⁠74–⁠8

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