Clemson Vs. Duke Game Notes

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Dantzler Emerges as Heisman Candidate In light of his 374-yard total offense performance against Virginia, many members of the media have proclaimed Woodrow Dantzler a 2000 Heisman candidate. The junior from Orangeburg, SC certainly has some impressive and unusual numbers (see below), data that is in line with those of a Heisman Trophy candidate. Clemson has had just one player rank in the final top 10 of the Heisman Trophy voting. That was Steve Fuller, who finished tied for sixth in the voting with fellow ACC player Ted Brown of NC State in 1978. The only Clemson player to win a National Award is Terry Kinard, who was named National Defensive Player of the Year by CBS and Chevrolet in 1982.

Dantzler Ranked in Top 15 Nationally in Four Areas Clemson quarterback Woodrow Dantzler is ranked in the top 15 in the nation in four different statistical categories, a testimony to his all-around abilities. Dantlzer ranks third in the nation in passing efficiency with a 166.0 figure. He is ranked seventh in total offense with a 296.5 figure and is also seventh in points responsible for with 18.0 per game. Finally, Dantzler is 13th in the nation in rushing with an average of 123.8 yards per game. It is safe to say that this is the highest a Clemson quarterback has ever ranked in rushing at any time in a season. Dantzler is the prime reason that Clemson is ranked first in the nation in total offense with an average of 510.8 yards per game. The Tigers are also tied for first in the country in scoring offense and fifth in rushing.

Dantzler on Pace for 2000-1000 Season Heisman Trophy voters are usually attracted to an unusual and extraordinary statistical accomplishment. Clemson quarterback Woodrow Dantzler has a realistic chance of doing something that no other Division I quarterback in history has accomplished. Prior to the season Clemson Head Coach Tommy Bowden told Sports Illustrated’s Ivan Maisel that Dantzler had a chance to become the first quarterback in NCAA history to record 1000 yards rushing and 2000 yards passing in the same season. A look to the chart below tells us that Bowden did his research. Ten different quarterbacks on 11 occasions have had at least 1000 of each in the same season, but none of the 1000- yard rushers have reached 2000 yards passing. The closest to reaching both levels is Brian Mitchell, who had 1311 rushing and 1966 passing in 1989 at Louisiana-Lafayette. Mitchell has gone on to an NFL career as one of the top kick returners in the league and he is still playing with the Philadelphia Eagles. NCAA backs who Have Accumulated at least 1000 yards rushing and 1000 yards passing in the same season:

Player          Team            Year Rush PassJohnny Bright   Drake           1950 1232 1168Reggie Collier  S. Mississippi  1981 1005 1004Bart Weiss      Air Force       1985 1032 1449Darian Hagan    Colorado        1989 1004 1002Dee Dowis       Air Force       1989 1286 1285Brian Mitchell  LA-Lafayette    1989 1311 1966Michael Carter  Hawaii          1991 1092 1172Beau Morgan     Air Force       1995 1285 1165Beau Morgan     Air Force       1996 1494 1210Chris McCoy     Navy            1997 1370 1203Scott Frost     Nebraska        1997 1095 1237

Dantzler has 495 yards rushing and 691 yards passing through four games this year. He is on pace for a 1361-yard rushing season and a 1900-yard passing season. He leads the ACC and ranks 13th in the nation in rushing and is ranked third in the nation in passing efficiency with a 166.0 mark. For those of your who might doubt Dantzler’s ability to accomplish the 2000, 1000 double, check the chart below. Dantzler has played the majority of Clemson’s plays in 11 games in his career, the number of games for a normal season. In those 11 games he has passed for 2095 yards and rushed for 1039. He has had at least 200 yards total offense in 10 of those 11 games and has completed 59 percent of his passes.

Dantzler as Clemson's Quarterback (11 Games)Date     Opp  Passing           Rushing     Total Offense              C-A-Yds-TD-I      Att-Yds-TD  Plays-Yards10-2-99  UNC  7-15-131-1-0      11-82-1     26-21310-9-99  NCS  23-41-284-2-2     13-3-0      54-28710-16-99 MD   16-23-252-0-0     22-183-1    45-43510-23-99 FSU  9-24-102-1-1      24-86-1     48-18810-30-99 WF   22-32-201-0-1     18-51-0     50-25211-13-99 GT   13-24-185-2-0     26-120-1    50-30511-20-99 USC  14-26-249-2-1     15-17-0     41-2669-2-00   Cit  16-17-192-3-0     12-44-0     29-2369-9-00   MO   12-19-188-2-0     13-65-1     32-2539-16-00  WF   9-19-157-1-0      15-166-2    34-3239-23-00  VA   15-24-154-1-1     18-220-2    33-374Totals        156-264-2095-15-6 187-1039-9  442-3134              (.591) (190.4)      (94.5) (285.0)                          

Items on Dantzler’s Big Day in Charlottesville Clemson quarterback Woodrow Dantzler had another outstanding game in the victory over Virginia on September 23rd. The junior signal caller rushed for 220 yards and passed for 154, leading the Tigers to a 31-10 victory. He was named National Player of the Week by CNNSI.com for his performance against Virginia. Here are a few items on his performance that day.

*Gained 220 yards rushing, fifth highest total in Clemson history regardless of position. *The 220 yards rushing set a Clemson and ACC record for rushing yards by a Tiger quarterback. Broke his own record in terms of rushing yards by a Clemson quarterback. *Gained 374 yards of total offense, tied for second highest figure in Clemson history. *Now has 386 yards rushing in the last two games, second highest two-game total in Clemson history. Terrence Flagler had 387 in consecutive games in 1986. *Set Clemson record for consecutive 200-yard total offense games. The Virginia game was his fourth straight game of at least 200 yards. *Became first Clemson player in history to gain at least 300 yards total offense in consecutive games. *His 220 yards rushing against Virginia included a 75- yard touchdown run, tied for the longest run in history by a Clemson quarterback. Steve Fuller had a 75-yard run against Virginia Tech at Clemson in 1978. *The 75-yard run was the longest by any Clemson player since 1993 when Derrick Witherspoon raced 89 yards for a touchdown against Maryland. *The 75-yard run was the longest on an opponent’s home field since Terrence Flagler ran 88 yards at Wake Forest in 1986. *Became just the second Clemson quarterback in history to have consecutive 100-yard rushing games. Louis Solomon did it against Virginia and Duke in 1992. *Had 223 yards of all-purpose running (yes, he even caught a pass for three yards), 13th highest figure in Clemson history, most since Tony Horne had 225 against UTEP in 1997.