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The Monday Afternoon Conference Realignment Committee
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[AMA] I'm Univ. of Michigan Regent Jordan Acker, AMA! (Answers start 8/16 @ 11am ET)
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https://www.reddit.com/r/CFB/comments/15s3a8h/ama_im_univ_of_michigan_regent_jordan_acker_ama/
u/jimbobbypaul
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Ranking the Top 131 FBS Programs of the Last 40 Years: 10. Clemson
Analysis

Main hub thread with the full 131 rankings

Kicking off the top 10 is a team very happy to make it here, Clemson. The Tigers were my #2 team of the 2010’s, helping them finish higher than some expected. Funnily enough, if this series covered a 42 year period instead of 40, they might’ve snuck into the top 5 with a 21-1-1 record from 1981-82. Clemson became the class of the ACC in the 2010’s, and one of the premier teams in the country, having won 7 ACC titles since 2015. Clemson’s been known for their amazing D-Lines, damn good WRs, and Trevor Lawrence/Deshaun Watson. Also, shoutout to CJ Spiller and Jacoby Ford.

Best Seasons and Highlights

1. 2018: 1. Clemson: 15-0 (73.137)
2. 2016: 2. Clemson: 14-1 (60.037)
3. 2015: 2. Clemson: 14-1 (54.326)
4. 2019: 3. Clemson: 14-1 (53.828)
5. 2017: 5. Clemson: 12-2 (47.013)
6. 1989: 6. Clemson: 10-2 (38.054)
7. 2020: 3. Clemson: 10-2 (37.178)
8. 1988: 9. Clemson: 10-2 (34.818)
9. 2012: 12. Clemson: 11-2 (33.254)
10. 2013: 14. Clemson: 11-2 (32.365)
11. 1983: 8. Clemson: 9-1-1 (31.411)
12. 2022: 9. Clemson: 11-3 (31.054)
13. 1990: 9. Clemson: 10-2 (29.657)
14. 2014: 14. Clemson: 10-3 (28.588)
15. 1987: 11. Clemson: 10-2 (27.469)
16. 2021: 13. Clemson: 10-3 (26.617)
17. 1986: 11. Clemson: 8-2-2 (26.048)
18. 1991: 15. Clemson: 9-2-1 (25.754)
19. 2011: 21. Clemson: 10-4 (22.407)
20. 2003: 20. Clemson: 9-4 (20.625)
21. 2000: 16. Clemson: 9-3 (20.061)
22. 2007: 24. Clemson: 9-4 (17.896)
23. 2009: 23. Clemson: 9-5 (16.901)
24. 1984: 23. Clemson: 7-4 (14.863)
25. 2006: 29. Clemson: 8-5 (14.746)
26. 2005: 22. Clemson: 8-4 (13.870)
27. 1993: 26. Clemson: 9-3 (11.177)
28. 1995: 30. Clemson: 8-4 (9.681)
29. 1997: 39. Clemson: 7-5 (1.529)
30. 2001: 46. Clemson: 7-5 (1.373)
31. 2008: 47. Clemson: 7-6 (1.221)
32. 1999: 41. Clemson: 6-6 (1.035)
33. 2004: 41. Clemson: 6-5 (-0.563)
34. 1996: 38. Clemson: 7-5 (-1.032)
35. 2010: 54. Clemson: 6-7 (-3.281)
36. 2002: 54. Clemson: 7-6 (-3.709)
37. 1985: 44. Clemson: 6-6 (-4.977)
38. 1992: 52. Clemson: 5-6 (-7.668)
39. 1994: 60. Clemson: 5-6 (-11.927)
40. 1998: 81. Clemson: 3-8 (-30.657)
Overall Score: 42128 (10th)

  • 356-144-4 record

  • 2 national titles

  • 12 conference titles

  • 20-18 bowl record

  • 25 consensus All-Americans

  • 164 NFL players drafted

OH. MY. GOODNESS. 2018 Clemson has just SHATTERED the best team score that we’ve seen so far. I’m gonna need you to hear me out below, but that team was more dominant than I think most people realize. Also, 2016 Clemson finishing #2 makes me think I should weight bowl games more heavily, because they should for sure be ranked #1 that year. Clemson was tied for the 6th most wins of any team remaining at 356, with an average season of 9-3, or 9-4. Consensus All-Americans we won’t discuss below are DT William “Refrigerator” Perry (1983) who was the ACC Player of the Year and scored a TD in Super Bowl XX, RB Terrence Flagler (1986), K David Treadwell (1987) who hit 18 of 22 FGs, DB Donnell Woolford (1988), OL Stacy Long (1990), LB Levon Kirkland (1991), OL Jeb Flesch (1991), OL Stacy Seegars (1993), LB Anthony Simmons (1997) (no relation to Isaiah), LB Keith Adams (2000), DB Tye Hill (2005) who was a 1st round pick, DE Gaines Adams (2006) who had 12.5 sacks and was the 4th overall pick, AP CJ Spiller (2009) who had 1212 rushing yards, 503 receiving yards, 4 kick return TDs, 1 punt return TD, and 1 passing TD, and won ACC Player of the Year, DE Da’Quan Bowers (2010) who had 15.5 sacks and was the projected 1st overall pick at one point, TE Dwayne Allen (2011) who won the Mackey Award, DE Vic Beasley (2013, 2014) who’s 1st in Clemson history with 30 sacks, and AP Travis Etienne (2020) who had 1502 yards and 16 TD from scrimmage in only 12 games. Top NFL players include S Brian Dawkins, WR DeAndre Hopkins, QB Deshaun Watson, QB Trevor Lawrence, WR Tee Higgins, RB Travis Etienne, WR Hunter Renfrow, DT Grady Jarrett, WR Mike Williams, CB AJ Terrell, WR Sammy Watkins, DT Vic Beasley, DT Dexter Lawrence, DL Christian Wilkins, LB Isaiah Simmons, DT William “Refrigerator” Perry, DL Michael Dean Perry, LB Levon Kirkland, DL Trevor Pryce, DL Chester McGlockton, and P Bradley Pinion.

Top 5 Seasons

Worst Season: 1998 (3-8 overall, 1-7 ACC)

The 1998 Adam Sandler movie “The Waterboy” mentions the South Central Louisiana State University Mud Dogs beating Clemson 6-3. That’s actually pretty believable for 1998 Clemson. 6th year head coach Tommy West was a nice guy and well liked, but wasn’t cutting it on the field. 2 shutout losses of 0-38 to Virginia Tech and 0-48 to #6 Florida State marred the year, while 5 of the other 6 losses were by one possession. I guess it was a very hit or miss season for Clemson, as they were able to shutout Maryland 23-0, so over 25% of Clemson’s games featured a shutout. And, in Tommy West’s final game, he beat South Carolina 28-19, so it really couldn’t have been that bad of a year. That Palmetto Bowl might’ve been between 2-8 Clemson and 1-9 South Carolina, but a win over your rival is a win over your rival. Freshman Woodrow Dantzler was on the team, but just a backup at the time. Starting QB Brandon Streeter threw for 1948 yards 13 TD 14 INT, which might explain his QB development as Clemson’s QB coach over the last few years. DB Antuan Edwards and WR Rod Gardner were 1st round draft picks. West was fired after the season and Tommy Bowden took over with Rich Rodriguez as his offensive coordinator.

5. 2017 (12-2 overall, 7-1 ACC)

The Kelly Bryant year. Kelly had the unfortunate circumstance of being sandwiched between two generational QBs in Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence, but still led Clemson to a great year with a #1 regular season finish and 12 wins. The defense was still otherworldly, with one of the best defensive lines of the decade. That was evident in a week 2 14-6 win over #13 Auburn, holding Jarrett Stidham to just 79 yards on 24 passes, and the Auburn team to 38 rushing yards on 42 carries. After that, when Kelly Bryant was healthy, Clemson was actually the best team in the country. Wins of 47-21 over #14 Louisville, 34-7 over Boston College, and 31-17 over #12 Virginia Tech followed. Bryant went out with an injury against Syracuse, and Clemson ended up losing 24-27, their worst loss in 8 years. Because Bryant didn’t play the whole game, Clemson was viewed favorably in the polls, ending up at #1 by the end of the regular season with wins of 38-31 over #20 NC State, 34-10 over #24 South Carolina, and 38-3 over #7 Miami (FL) in the ACC Championship. Playing against #4 Alabama for the 3rd straight postseason, the Tide took a 2-1 series lead with a 24-6 win, shutting down Kelly Bryant for just 124 passing yards and 2 INTs.

By Clemson standards, they left a lot to be desired offensively even though they averaged 33.3 PPG. The defense was as good as ever with 13.6 PPG allowed. Opposing QBs straight up did not have a good time facing 1st Team All-American DE Clelin Ferrell, 1st Team All-American DE Austin Bryant, and 1st Team All-American DT Christian Wilkins. Even LB Dorian O’Daniel was 2nd Team All-American. QB Kelly Bryant threw for 2802 yards 13 TD 8 INT with 665 rushing yards and 11 TD. The RBs were by committee with Travis Etienne, Tevin Feaster, and Adam Choice sharing carries.

2017 Clemson is my 82nd best team since 1983.

4. 2019 (14-1 overall, 8-0 ACC)

How good was Clemson from 2015-19 that a season where they started 14-0 and lost in the National Championship is just their 4th best in that span? A 69-5 record in 5 years with 4 National Championship appearances is unreal. In 2019 they were coming off a 15-0 season and returned most of their key players (Trevor Lawrence, Travis Etienne, etc.), leading to a #1 preseason ranking. They wouldn’t fudge it up either, sweeping the regular season at 13-0. 2019 was one of the strongest College Football Playoff fields we’ve ever seen with 13-0 LSU, 13-0 Ohio State, and 13-0 Clemson, with the Tigers being #3. Only #3, and they averaged 46.5 PPG while giving up just 10.6 PPG! 11 of their 13 wins in the regular season were by 30+ points, most notably 45-10 over 8-5 Louisville, 52-3 over 8-5 Wake Forest, 38-3 over South Carolina, and 62-17 over #23 Virginia in the ACC Championship. They overcame a 0-16 deficit to beat #2 Ohio State 29-23, with a heroic performance that included a 67 yard rushing TD and a game-winning 94 yard TD drive. His TD run is still the best play I’ve seen live. Unfortunately, Clemson’s 29 game win streak came to an end with a 25-42 loss to #1 LSU in the natty, which was basically inevitable with the way LSU had been playing.

8 players were 1st Team All-ACC. Trevor Lawrence threw for 3665 yards 36 TD 8 INT with 563 rush yards and 9 TD, finishing 7th in Heisman voting. Helping him out was ACC Player of the Year RB Travis Etienne, who had 2046 yards and 23 TD from scrimmage. Etienne would eventually leave with the most yards in ACC history (6107) and 4th most TDs in NCAA history (78). WR Tee Higgins was 1st Team All-ACC and is now tearing up the NFL with Joe Burrow, and WR Justyn Ross was a former 1st round prospect who had 865 yards and 8 TD. LB Isaiah Simmons was a do-it-all player, notching 104 tackles, 8 sacks, 16.5 total TFL, 8 PBU, and 3 INT, winning ACC Defensive POTY and the Butkus Award.

2019 Clemson is one of my top 50 teams since 1983. The full list will be revealed as more teams come up.

3. 2015 (14-1 overall, 8-0 ACC)

When Dabo Swinney first took over in 2008, Clemson was all right, stagnant for nearly 2 decades at that point. QB Tajh Boyd helped them become a good/great team from 2011-13, but the play of QB Deshaun Watson in 2015 turned them into the power we know them as today. Watson flashed with crazy potential as a freshman in 2014, and Clemson fans knew all they had to do was keep him healthy and the 2015 team could be special. #12 Clemson had a good start, going 6-0 with a win over #6 Notre Dame, but it wasn’t until a 58-0 win over Miami (FL) that the media would really take them seriously. “Clemsoning” was still a thing at the time, and the 58-0 beating dug Miami coach Al Golden’s grave and elevated Clemson from fringe top 5 team to top 3. A few weeks later, Clemson faced their first 1st-half deficit of the season, down 6-10 to #16 Florida State, but continued to shake the “Clemsoning” moniker with a 23-13 comeback win. Ranked #1 and 12-0, Clemson got their 2nd win over a top 10 opponent, beating #8 North Carolina 45-37 thanks to 318 combined rushing yards from Watson and RB Wayne Gallman. #1 Clemson faced a sophomore Baker Mayfield and #4 Oklahoma, who was also having their best year since 2008. A 21-0 second half from the Tigers led to a 14-0 record with a chance to go 15-0 with a national title, something that’d never been done. In a classic game with #2 Alabama, the Tide did just enough for a 45-40 win thanks to TE OJ Howard’s 208 receiving yards, Heisman winning RB Derrick Henry’s 158 rushing yards, and some great special teams play. Watson played his butt off with 405 passing yards and 73 rushing yards, but didn’t get the happy ending he wanted.

Finally Clemson had broken out and gotten past that 2-3 loss ceiling to just 1 loss, in the National Championship. Dabo won his first of 3 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year awards, as well as a bunch of other national COTY awards. Watson was a consensus All-American, throwing for 4109 yards 35 TD 13 INT with 1105 rushing yards and 13 TD. He finished as the best QB in Heisman voting, 3rd to Derrick Henry and Christian McCaffrey. RB Wayne Gallman never went down easy, and put up 1740 yards and 14 TD from scrimmage for a 2nd Team All-ACC season. 2015 Clemson didn’t have the 1st/2nd round talent receivers that a lot of other Clemson teams had, but they had some dawgs: WR Artavis Scott (93 catches 901 yards) who is Clemson’s all-time catch leader, walk-on freshman WR Hunter Renfrow who had a breakout 88 yard 2 TD game against Alabama, WRs Charone Peak, Deon Cain, and Ray-Ray McCloud who were all late round NFL draft picks, and 2nd Team All-American TE Jordan Leggett (525 yards 8 TD). DE Shaq Lawson was a consensus All-American and 1st round pick, leading the NCAA with 25 total TFL, 12.5 of which were sacks. CB Mackensie Alexander and S Jayron Kearse were 3rd and 2nd Team All-Americans, respectively.

2015 Clemson is one of my top 50 teams since 1983. The full list will be revealed as more teams show up.

2. 2016 (14-1 overall, 7-1 ACC)

To lose in the National Championship in 2015, only to come back the next year and win it against the same team that beat them the previous year, doesn’t get talked about enough. 2016 Clemson somehow managed to have a chip on their shoulder despite being preseason #2, something Dabo Swinney’s been good at with his “Little ol’ Clemson” talk. A so-so 4-0 start dropped Clemson from #2 to #5 due to close wins over Auburn and Troy. Meanwhile, Louisville had leapfrogged them at #3, and was captivating the nation with QB Lamar Jackson leading them to a 63-20 win over #2 Florida State and 63.5 PPG. Clemson’s experience would win out though, beating Louisville 42-36 thanks to 397 yards and 5 TD from QB Deshaun Watson. As good as this Clemson team was, they had their fair share of troubles. NC State missed a game winning 33 yard FG with 0 seconds left, Clemson winning 24-17 in OT. Clemson also needed a late TD to beat #12 Florida State 37-34. Finally things came to a head against Pitt, stunned 42-43 in Death Valley at the foot of Pitt kicker Chris Blewitt, who nailed a 48 yard FG with 6 seconds left. Still, they won out to get into the Playoff at 12-1, with a 56-7 win over South Carolina and 42-35 win over #23 Virginia Tech in the ACC title game. Clemson was back in the top 4, but could they get as close to the title as they did in 2015, and potentially even win it? #3 Ohio State entered the game as the favorite over #2 Clemson, but the Clemson defense absolutely destroyed geriatric OSU QB JT Barrett, holding him to 125 yards on 44 pass/run plays. Clemson won 31-0.

Finally, it was #1 Alabama vs #2 Clemson in the National Championship. Alabama came in as 6.5 point favorites, regarded as perhaps the best team of the Saban era with a 14-0 record. TE OJ Howard scored a 68 yard TD to put Alabama up 24-14 late in the 3rd, shades of 2015 coming back to haunt Clemson. Deshaun “the human helicopter” Watson played his ass off, leading Clemson to a 28-24 lead with just 4:30 left. Jalen Hurts did the same for Alabama, scoring a 30 yard rushing TD with 2 minutes to go, but Watson went right back to work, getting them 2 yards from the end zone with essentially 1 play left. Either they score and are immortalized in Clemson history forever, or they don’t and they hit a FG and try their luck in OT. In a cheeky move by former walk-on WR Dabo Swinney, WR Hunter Renfrow got the game winning 2 yard TD pass, 35-31 with 1 second to go. Clemson gets their 2nd ever national championship, and their 1st since 1981. Watson had 463 yards and 4 TD, finally getting the happy ending he wanted.

I have Clemson finishing #2 in 2016, but hell no, this team should be #1 and I need to add more weight to postseason games. Watson finished 2nd in Heisman voting, throwing for 4593 yards 41 TD 17 INT with 629 rush yards and 9 TD. He added the Davey O’Brien, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm, and Manning awards to his trophy case. RB Wayne Gallman had 17 TDs, future 7th overall pick WR Mike Williams had 1361 receiving yards and 11 TD. The defense as usual, did their job. Held OSU to 0 points in the playoffs and allowed just 18.0 PPG. DE Carlos Watkins was a 1st Team All-American, DT Christian Wilkins was a 1st Team All-American, and CB Cordrea Tankersley was a 2nd Team All-American. Vocal leader of the defense, LB Ben Boulware, won the Jack Lambert Trophy after leading the Tigers with 116 tackles. This is probably the most satisfying Clemson season on the list.

2016 Clemson is one of my top 50 teams since 1983. The full list will be revealed as more teams show up.

1. 2018 (15-0 overall, 8-0 ACC)

All right. Let’s talk about 2018 Clemson. I’m genuinely surprised they’re not mentioned more in the “GOAT team” discussion, as they nuked basically every team in front of them, including their Playoff opponents. Maybe it’s because they were starting a true freshman Trevor Lawrence at QB? Clemson struggled a bit with QBs early on, with Dabo hesitant to give the reigns to a true freshman due to his loyalty to 2017 starter Kelly Bryant. A 28-26 win over Texas A&M wasn’t going to cut it, especially if this team was going to be one of the greatest ever. A few weeks later, Trevor went out with an injury against Syracuse, and Clemson escaped by the skin of their teeth 27-23, overcoming a 13-23 4th quarter deficit. So, how exactly did they end up with a 73.137 score, the highest we’ve seen so far? Because every game after the first 5 was…chefs kiss. They followed the Syracuse win up with a 63-3 destruction of a Wake Forest team that’d go on to win a bowl game. #16 NC State was regarded as a potential upset bid, but the game was over by halftime with Clemson winning 41-7. Games against Florida State and Louisville were historically bad, for them, not Clemson. The Tigers held a 59-3 lead over FSU with 13 minutes to go, and beat Louisville 77-16. A 27-7 win over #17 Boston College evoked mixed feelings, as the game was never close, but BC starting QB Anthony Brown went out early with an injury. The Eagles scored their only TD on a 74 yard punt return and gained just 113 yards to Clemson’s 424. Clemson then dispatched 7-3 Duke 35-6, 6-4 South Carolina 56-35 (744 yards from Clemson), and Pitt 42-10 in the ACC title game.

As good as these wins all were, it was the Playoffs where Clemson would truly establish themselves as an all-time great. A 30-3 win over #3 Notre Dame saw Clemson outgain the Irish 538-248. In the National Championship, all the talk was about #1 Alabama potentially finishing 15-0 and being one of the greatest teams ever. The Tide were 5.5 point favorites despite Clemson’s 14-0 record. In a performance nobody saw coming, Clemson had a 44-16 lead by the end of the 3rd quarter, and just spent the 4th watching a #1 Alabama team trip over their own feet. If you told me before the game that Clemson would pull their starters in the 4th, I’d have thought Clemson was blown out. I don’t think we truly realize just how rare that national title game was, with such a beatdown of a Saban-coached team.

To recap, 2018 Clemson beat 9-4 Texas A&M 28-26, 10-3 Georgia Southern 38-7, 7-6 Georgia Tech 49-21, 10-3 Syracuse 27-23, 7-6 Wake Forest 63-3, 9-4 NC State 41-7, Florida State/Louisville by a combined 136-26, 7-5 Boston College 27-7, 8-5 Duke 35-6, 7-6 South Carolina 56-35, 7-7 Pitt 42-10, 12-1 Notre Dame 30-3, and 14-1 Alabama 44-16. That’s 12 wins over teams with a .500 record or better, with an average score of 40-14.

2018 Clemson averaged 44.3 PPG and allowed 13.1 PPG against the 19th most difficult schedule. Trevor Lawrence, a true freshman who was the #1 recruit of 2018, completed 65% of throws for 3280 yards and 30 TD to just 4 INT. RB Travis Etienne popped off for 1658 rushing yards and 24 TD on 8.1(!) YPC, wining ACC Player of the Year. WRs Justyn Ross, Tee Higgins, and Hunter Renfrow have all either played like Pro Bowlers in the NFL or should have played like one if not for injuries. OT Mitch Hyatt was a consensus All-American and 1st Team All-ACC for the 3rd straight year. Another fantastic Clemson D-line featured consensus All-American DT Christian Wilkins (5.5 sacks, 8.5 TFL), consensus All-American DE Clelin Ferrell (11.5 sacks, 8.5 TFL, ACC DPOTY), and All-American DT Dexter Lawrence (1.5 sacks, 5.5 TFL). LB Isaiah Simmons was the leading tackler. Dabo Swinney won his 3rd Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Award in just 4 years.

2018 Clemson is one of my top 50 teams since 1983. The full list will be revealed as more teams come up.

5th Quarter

How would you re-order Clemson’s top 5 seasons, if at all? Does the 2018 team deserve to be rated as highly as I have them? Is the 2018 team underrated in greatest all-time team conversations? Which season was more fun, 2016 or 2018? Who is the more beloved RB, CJ Spiller or Travis Etienne? Who was the more beloved QB, Trevor Lawrence or pre-allegations Deshaun Watson? Where does Dabo rank among coaches of the last 25 years for you? Does he rank above guys like Urban Meyer, Pete Carroll, Bill Snyder…even Nick Saban…? Which team’s up next?

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