Clemson vs. Wake Forest Football Game Notes

Oct. 8, 2008

Clemson vs. Wake Forest Series Clemson owns 56 wins over Wake Forest in history, its second highest victory total over any opponent. Clemson has 63 wins over South Carolina. Forty-six of those wins against Wake Forest have taken place since the ACC was formed in 1953.

Clemson won the 2006 game at Wake Forest, 27-17. Gaines Adams, now with the Tampa Bay Bucs of the NFL, had a game changing 66-yard fumble return on a botched field goal attempt in the fourth quarter to cut the Demon Deacons lead to 17-10. The Tigers scored 24 points in the fourth period to gain the victory.

This is Clemson’s third appearance at Wake Forest in the last four years. With the expansion of the ACC in 2004 and 2005 there were some changes made to the schedule and it forced Clemson to go to Wake Forest in consecutive years, 2005 and 2006. Wake Forest won the 2005 meeting 31-27 and Clemson won the 2006 game, 27-17.

Clemson leads the series 56-16-1 overall, including a 32-7 record in games played at Clemson and a 28-7 mark in games played in Death Valley. Clemson has won 22 of the last 24 against Wake Forest in Death Valley. Clemson did not lose at home to Wake Forest between 1962-92. Wake Forest broke the streak in 1993 when Jim Caldwell’s first team defeated Clemson 20-16 at Death Valley. Wake Forest also won at Clemson in 1998.

The Deacs won 45-17 in 2003 against a Clemson team that finished the year 9-4 and ranked in the top 25 in the nation. Clemson won four in a row after that game and Wake Forest lost its last three games. In 2005, Wake Forest defeated Clemson 31-27. Clemson finished that season in the top 25 as well with an 8-4 record. So the last two wins for Wake Forest in the series they defeated Clemson teams that ended the season in the top 25.

Clemson has a 46-8-1 edge in the series since 1953, a .845 winning percentage. Clemson has played Wake Forest in football 55 consecutive years, as the last year the two schools did not play was 1952. The two schools are in the same division, so they will continue to play annually.

Clemson has a 20-9-1 lead in the series in games played at Wake Forest, including 12-5-1 in games played at Groves Stadium.

Only one coach in history won as many as four games against Clemson without a loss in Death Valley and the coach was from Wake Forest. Frank Howard and Peahead Walker had a close friendship, but Peahead had a 4-0 record against Howard in Death Valley.

Clemson has won 11 out of 14 against Wake Forest dating to 1994. The Demon Deacons won back-to-back games in 1992-93, the only time Wake Forest has won consecutive contests against Clemson since 1946-47.

Clemson has a 7-2 record against Wake Forest under Tommy Bowden, but five of the seven Clemson wins have been decided by 10 points or less. The Tigers won 12-3 in 1999, 21-14 in 2001, 31-23 in 2002 and 37-30 in double overtime in 2004. The Tigers won 27-17 in 2006, but trailed 17-3 entering the fourth period. Clemson’s only two large margins against Wake Forest under Bowden took place in 2000 when Clemson won by a 55-9 score and last year when Clemson won 44-10.

The two teams have played at three neutral sites games over the years, including Tokyo, Japan. Clemson won that game in 1982 by a 21-17 score to close out an ACC Championship season.

Clemson defeated a Wake Forest team coached by current Virginia coach Al Groh on Halloween Day 1981 by an 82-24 score. That is the highest scoring game in ACC history involving two league teams. Clemson was 12-12 on third down in that game, a school record. The Tigers went on to win the national championship that season.