Note: The following appears in the Stanford football gameday program.
Clemson and Stanford have met on the gridiron just once previously. That contest took place in Jacksonville, Fla. in the Gator Bowl on Dec. 27, 1986. It marked the first time Clemson played a game exactly two days after Christmas.
The Tigers entered the contest with a 7-2-2 overall record and had won the ACC championship for the first time since 1982. The Tigers earlier defeated No. 10 Georgia by a score of 31-28 on the road in the second game of the year on David Treadwell’s 46-yard field goal on the last play of the game. That was just the second time Clemson had won in Athens since 1914.
Clemson finished the regular season with consecutive games that ended in a tie for the first time since 1919. The first was a 17-17 tie against Maryland that gave the Tigers the ACC title. That tie felt like a win. Clemson tied a 3-6-1 Gamecock team 21-21 in the regular-season finale at home, a tie that felt like a loss.
Stanford entered this game 2,357 miles from home with an 8-3 record. Stanford also had success in 1986, wining at Texas 31-20 to open the season. The Cardinal later defeated No. 12 UCLA 28-23 and No. 12 Arizona 29-24. Also like the Tigers, they did not beat their rival, losing to California 17-11.
Clemson was led by future Hall of Fame Head Coach Danny Ford. Stanford was coached by Jack Elway, the father of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway.
The Tigers were favored because Stanford quarterback John Paye, whose sister, Kate, is now the women’s basketball head coach at Stanford, was injured in the final regular-season game and could not play. Paye completed 62 percent of his passes for 2,261 yards in 11 starts during the regular season.
That meant backup signal-caller Greg Ennis would have to play against Clemson’s strong defensive line, led by All-American and Outland Trophy finalist Michael Dean Perry. Ennis had thrown just eight passes all year.
Both teams were ranked in at least one poll. The Tigers were No. 18 by UPI, and Stanford was No. 20 by AP and No. 17 by UPI.
Many believed this would be a close, defensive game, because both teams were in the top 15 in the nation in scoring defense. In fact, Stanford was 13th in the country in scoring defense (13.7), and Clemson was 14th (13.8).
The Tigers had to punt on their first possession, but then they scored on their next five drives. Rodney Williams was brilliant in the first half, completing 8-11 passes. He ran the option with precision, pitching the ball to Terrence Flagler and Kenny Flowers at just the right time. Those two talented running backs combined for 149 yards on 26 carries in the game.
Clemson had a 17-0 lead when Reggie Harris forced a fumble on a Stanford kickoff return. The Tigers recovered at the 16, and on the second play after the turnover, Ford called a reverse run by wideout Ray Williams. His 14-yard run, one of four rushing touchdowns in his Clemson career, gave the Tigers a commanding 24-0 lead.
David Treadwell added a 46-yard field goal, tied for his career long, just before halftime. Legendary CBS announcer Verne Lundquist must have looked at his “filler notes” at halftime.
However, Stanford and All-America running back Brad Muster made sure he did not need to refer to those notes in the second half.
Muster, who had 1,053 rushing yards and 61 receptions for 565 yards in 1986, put on a show in the second half. He scored a rushing touchdown in the third quarter, then scored two on receptions of 13 and 37 yards in the fourth quarter to bring Stanford within 27-21 with 2:50 left. He had just one receiving touchdown up to that point, then had two in the last quarter of the season.
The Cardinal defense shut Clemson out in the second half and forced a three-and-out, giving the Stanford offense the ball with 1:43 remaining.
But Clemson’s defense, led by linebacker Henry Carter, who had a game-high 13 tackles, and safety Gene Beasley, allowed just six yards in four plays. Clemson ran out the clock to record the Tigers’ first bowl victory since beating Nebraska to win the national championship at the end of the 1981 season.
Rodney Williams, who completed 12-19 passes for 135 yards and a touchdown, was named game MVP, the first of two consecutive bowl game MVP honors for the Clemson quarterback.
