Clemson vs. The Citadel Football Game Notes

Sept. 3, 2008

Clemson vs. The Citadel Series Clemson holds a 29-5-1 advantage in the series with The Citadel that dates to 1909. Clemson won that first meeting at Charleston by a 17-0 score. In fact, Clemson won the first six games of the series by a margin of 130-17. Four of the six wins were by shutout.

The Citadel’s first win took place in 1916 by a 3-0 score in Orangeburg, SC. then won the next four all by shutouts before there was a 7-7 tie in 1921. The Bulldogs had their most successful era in the series from 1924-31 when they won four of eight games. Their biggest win in that stretch took place in 1928 when The Citadel upset an 8-2 Clemson team by a 12-7 score on December 8th, the latest regular season game in school history.

The Citadel also took a 6-0 win over the Tigers in 1931 and that is the last time the Bulldogs beat Clemson. That game was played in Florence, SC. After the game, Clemson head coach Jess Neely met with some school administrators and told them he needed $10,000 to enhance the program’s infrastructure. meeting led to the formation of IPTAY, the department’s athletic scholarship organization.

Clemson has won the last 14 games in the series since that 1931 Citadel victory. The Citadel has scored in double figures just twice in those 14 games and Clemson has outscored The Citadel by 345-41.

In 1954, defensive end Walt Laraway had one of the great defensive games in Clemson history against The Citadel. Laraway had a 30-yard interception return for a score and a 39-yard blocked punt return for a score. He is one of just two Clemson players in history to score two touchdowns on returns in the same game. Justin Miller is the other to do it with two kickoff returns for scores against Florida State in 2004.

The two schools played five times in the 1970s. The 1973 game was an interesting contest for Clemson Head Coach Red Parker. It was Parker’s first game as Clemson head coach and he had been the head coach at The Citadel the previous year. Clemson won the game 14-12. Tigers won in 1976 by a 10-7 score. Those consecutive games are the closest The Citadel has come to beating Clemson since 1931.

Clemson won its season opener of an 11-1 season in 1978 against The Citadel by a 58-3 score. Quarterback Steve Fuller was 9-9 passing in that game, the highest perfect game by a Tiger quarterback. Billy Lott was 6-8 off the bench, giving the two a combined 15-17 passing day. That .882 percentage is the best by a Clemson team in history given a minimum of 15 attempts.

The two teams have played just twice since 1978, a 24-0 Clemson win in 1986 and a 38-0 victory in 2000. The Citadel has not scored against Clemson since that 1978 game when it kicked a field goal and has not scored a touchdown against Clemson since the 1976 game at Clemson.