Clemson vs. Furman Football Game Notes

Clemson vs. Furman SeriesFurman is Clemson’s oldest football rival. The two teams played in the first game in Clemson football history back on October 31, 1896. Clemson won that game in Greenville, SC by 14-6 score. The two teams did not meet again until 1902, a 28-0 Tiger victory. Clemson won the first seven games of the series between 1986 and 1918. Furman broke the string when the two teams tied 7-7 in 1919.

Furman got its first win in 1920 in Greenville, a 14-0 Paladins win. The first game in the series at Clemson took place at Riggs Field in 1916, a 7-6 Tiger win. That was the season opener of 1916 and Clemson’s first win at Riggs Field.

Clemson has won 29 straight games against Furman dating to a 0-0 tie between the two schools at Furman in 1937. Furman’s last win over Clemson took place in 1936 by a 12-0 score in a November 26 game played in the snow in Clemson. It is the only time on record that Clemson has had a home game played in the snow.

Overall, Clemson has a 41-10-4 lead in the series, including a 23-2 lead in games played at Clemson and an 18-0 advantage in games played in Clemson Memorial Stadium. The two teams played at Clemson Memorial Stadium as far back as 1942, the first year of the facility and just the third Clemson game in history played at Death Valley.

This will be the first meeting between the two schools since 2007 when Clemson won 38-10. Clemson did not allowed a Furman touchdown between 1962 and 1998, a span of eight games. But that streak ended in the 2003 game when Bo Moore threw a touchdown pass to Brian Bratton in the second quarter. The Paladins had scored five field goals over the last 34 quarters against Clemson. But, Furman has scored 27 points against Clemson over the last two games.

Charlie Whitehurst threw for 301 yards and Kevin Youngblood had 10 catches for 100 yards to lead the Tigers to the 2003 victory. Leroy Hill, now with the Seattle Seahawks, had 10 tackles, including three tackles for loss.

The 2003 Furman game on September 6, 2003 was the last game broadcast by Jim Phillips, Clemson’s Hall of Fame broadcaster who died suddenly the following Tuesday morning (Sept. 9).

This will be just the ninth meeting between the two schools since 1964.

Both teams won national championships in the 1980s. Clemson won the Division I crown in 1981 and Furman won the Division I-AA title in 1988. Furman was the second winningest program in Division I-AA in the 1980s, while Clemson was fifth for that decade among Division I schools. Clemson graduate George Bennett was the athletic director at Furman when they won the I-AA National title.

Twenty-NineClemson has a 29-game winning streak against Furman enter this Saturday’s game. It is the second 29-game winning streak for the Clemson program against any opponent. The other 29-game streak took place against Virginia from 1955-89. That streak ended in 1990, a 20-7 loss in Charlottesville. Clemson went on to a 10-2 season losing only to Virginia and Georgia Tech that year. Both teams went on to outstanding seasons as the Cavs finished ranked 15th in the final USA Today poll and Georgia Tech won the National Championship according to USA Today.

The number 29 is unusual in Clemson history because there are some other streaks that reached 29, then ended.

Streaks of 29 in Clemson History

• Clemson won 29 in a row against Virginia in its football series from 1955-89.
• The Clemson record for consecutive home men’s basketball victories is 29 set between Jan. 8 1989 and Dec. 8, 1991. The last win in the streak was against Wisconsin-Green Bay, whose starting point guard was current Virginia head coach Tony Bennett.
• The Clemson record for consecutive men’s singles wins by a men’s tennis player is 29 by Pender Murphy in 1980.
• Clemson beat Furman 29 straight times in baseball from 1984-2002, then Furman ended the streak with a 10-8 victory at Furman in 2003.