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2020 Clemson

10–⁠2 (8–⁠1 Atlantic Coast Conference), coached by Dabo Swinney, finished No. 3 in the AP poll.

NCAA FOOTBALL 2020: Pitt at Clemson NOV 28
NCAA FOOTBALL 2020: Pitt at Clemson NOV 28Photo: ClemsonTigerNet, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Flickr, found with OpenverseFound using Openverse, which does not endorse or certify this site.

Schedule and results

Clemson in 2020, game by game: won at Wake Forest 37–13; won vs. The Citadel 49–0; won vs. Virginia 41–23; won vs. No. 7 Miami 42–17; won at Georgia Tech 73–7; won vs. Syracuse 47–21; won vs. Boston College 34–28; lost at No. 4 Notre Dame 40–47; won vs. Pittsburgh 52–17; won at Virginia Tech 45–10; won vs. No. 2 Notre Dame 34–10; lost vs. No. 3 Ohio State 28–49+66−21Won 37–13 at Wake Forest+24Wake ForestWon 49–0 vs. The Citadel+49The CitadelWon 41–23 vs. Virginia+18VirginiaWon 42–17 vs. No. 7 Miami+25No. 7 MiamiWon 73–7 at Georgia Tech+66Georgia TechWon 47–21 vs. Syracuse+26SyracuseWon 34–28 vs. Boston College+6Boston CollegeLost 40–47 at No. 4 Notre Dame-7No. 4 Notre DameWon 52–17 vs. Pittsburgh+35PittsburghWon 45–10 at Virginia Tech+35Virginia TechWon 34–10 vs. No. 2 Notre Dame+24No. 2 Notre DameLost 28–49 vs. No. 3 Ohio State-21No. 3 Ohio State
Each game’s margin, wins above the line and losses below.
DateOpponentResultElo
Sep 12atWake ForestW 37–⁠1373%
Sep 19vsThe CitadelW 49–⁠095%
Oct 3vsVirginiaW 41–⁠2380%
Oct 10vs7MiamiW 42–⁠1781%
Oct 17atGeorgia TechW 73–⁠784%
Oct 24vsSyracuseW 47–⁠2192%
Oct 31vsBoston CollegeW 34–⁠2887%
Nov 7at4Notre DameL 40–⁠4752%
Nov 28vsPittsburghW 52–⁠1783%
Dec 5atVirginia TechW 45–⁠1078%
Dec 19vs2Notre DameACC Championship GameW 34–⁠1052%
Jan 1Bowls & playoffvs3Ohio StateSugar Bowl, CFP SemifinalL 28–⁠4955%

Elo: a pregame chance from scores alone.

How it ended: Lost to Ohio State 49–⁠28 in the Sugar Bowl, CFP Semifinal; No. 3 in the final AP poll; Atlantic Coast Conference champions.

In program history: The 6th-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 3: 1
  3. Wk 4: 1
  4. Wk 5: 1
  5. Wk 6: 1
  6. Wk 7: 1
  7. Wk 8: 1
  8. Wk 9: 1
  9. Wk 10: 1
  10. Wk 11: 4
  11. Wk 12: 4
  12. Wk 13: 4
  13. Wk 14: 4
  14. Wk 15: 4
  15. Wk 16: 4
  16. Final: 3

Atlantic Coast Conference champions8–⁠1 in the conference, won the ACC Championship Game

Heisman voteTrevor Lawrence, second

Consensus All-AmericanTravis Etienne, APB

Record
10–⁠2
Conference
8–⁠1 2nd in Atlantic Coast Conference
AP final
No. 3 peak No. 1
Points
522–⁠242
Coach
Dabo Swinney
Elo
1819 +61 this season
SP+ rating
26.1 No. 4 of 130; offense No. 6, defense No. 7
Returning
76% of last season’s EPA, No. 37 of 130
Recruiting class
No. 3 roster talent No. 4 in FBS
Offensive coordinator
Tony Elliott
Defensive coordinator
Brent Venables
Offense
Spread
Defense
4–⁠3

How good, play by play

  • Offense10th of 127
  • Defense8th of 127
  • Offense, opponent-adjusted9th of 127
  • Defense, opponent-adjusted4th of 127
EPA per playSuccessExplosivenessFBS rank
Offense0.2748%1.3210th of 127
Defense-0.0436%1.458th of 127
Opponent-adjusted0.24 off
-0.02 def		48% off
35% def		—9th off
4th 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
Offense4.3own 3015% allowed
Defense2.6own 2723% caused

CORE rating 28.5, 2nd of 127 (offense 14.2, defense -14.3).

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 QB3,153 yds
Passing touchdownsTrevor Lawrence QB24 TD
Rushing yardsTravis Etienne RB914 yds
Rushing touchdownsTravis Etienne RB14 TD
Receiving yardsAmari Rodgers WR1,020 yds
Receiving touchdownsAmari Rodgers WR7 TD
TacklesBaylon Spector LB64 tkl
SacksBaylon Spector LB4.5 sacks
InterceptionsNolan Turner S3 INT

Top recruits in the 2020 class

Bryan Bresee DT★★★★★No. 1
Myles Murphy SDE★★★★★No. 7
D.J. Uiagalelei PRO★★★★★No. 10
Demarkcus Bowman RB★★★★★No. 20
Trenton Simpson OLB★★★★★No. 26
DeMonte Capehart DT★★★★No. 34
Walker Parks OT★★★★No. 50
Fred Davis II CB★★★★No. 53

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

The 2020 class by position

SignedStarsRating
Quarterbacks24.00.903
Running backs24.00.939
Receivers33.70.912
Offensive line63.80.918
Defensive line44.50.984
Linebackers34.30.937
Defensive backs43.80.913
Whole class244.00.930

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 2021

The 2021 draft
Rd 1Trevor Lawrence QBJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 1Travis Etienne RBJacksonville Jaguars
Rd 2Jackson Carman OTCincinnati Bengals
Rd 3Amari Rodgers WRGreen Bay Packers
Rd 5Cornell Powell WRKansas City Chiefs

Roster 123

The 2020 roster

123 players, with numbers, heights, hometowns and each player’s 2020 line; 83 have a stat line. See the roster

2020 Atlantic Coast Conference standings

Conference page
TeamConf.OverallAP final
Notre Dame9–⁠010–⁠25
Clemson8–⁠110–⁠23
Miami7–⁠28–⁠322
North Carolina7–⁠38–⁠418
NC State7–⁠38–⁠4
Pittsburgh5–⁠56–⁠5
Boston College5–⁠56–⁠5
Virginia Tech5–⁠55–⁠6
Virginia4–⁠55–⁠5
Wake Forest3–⁠44–⁠5
Georgia Tech3–⁠63–⁠7
Louisville3–⁠74–⁠7
Florida State2–⁠63–⁠6
Duke1–⁠92–⁠9
Syracuse1–⁠91–⁠10

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