Note: The following appears in the Georgia Southern football digital gameday guide, available HERE.
Today, we honor our Clemson football reunion teams of 1976, 2001, 2016 and 2021. All had varying degrees of success, including the 2016 team that reached the ultimate goal, but all four teams had a unique impact on the history of Clemson football.
1976 (50-Year Anniversary)
The 1976 team had just three victories, but two of the wins were over coaches in the College Football Hall of Fame (Bobby Ross, Bobby Bowden), and a third (Jim Carlen) is on the ballot for induction in the future. Red Parker’s final team was just 3-6-2, but seven of the 11 games were decided by four points or less.
The schedule was ranked as the 25th-most difficult in the nation, as the Tigers’ non-conference slate included games against Florida State, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee and Georgia Tech. Maryland (No. 8), Georgia (No. 10) and North Carolina (No. 19) all finished the season in the AP top 20.
The season included some heartbreaking losses or ties. The Tigers lost at Tennessee by a score of 21-19 and tied Duke (18-18) on Homecoming, when the Blue Devils’ Vince Fusco kicked a 56-yard field goal that hit the crossbar and bounced over on the last play of the game. It was his sixth field goal of the game.
The other tie was 24-24 against Georgia Tech, a game when the young Clemson offense showed what it would be in the future. The Tigers gained 248 rushing yards and 234 passing yards. Sophomore Jerry Butler had five receptions for a career-high 165 yards to lead the aerial attack. Clemson is 119-2-1 in the history of the program when its offense gains at least 200 rushing yards and 200 passing yards in a game. That Georgia Tech contest in 1976 is the tie.
The season closed with a 28-9 victory over rival South Carolina in Death Valley. The Tigers rushed for 280 yards and four touchdowns. Warren Ratchford led the way with 127 yards on only 10 carries.
The 1976 season roster was very talented, but very young. The squad included nine players who would be inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame, but all nine were freshmen or sophomores in 1976. That fact is a testimony to Parker and his staff’s recruiting ability.
The list of Clemson Athletic Hall of Famers on that team included Clemson Ring of Honor inductees Steve Fuller and Butler. Other Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame members from the 1976 offense include Joe Bostic, Lester Brown, Steve Kenney and Dwight Clark. The three Hall of Famers on defense were Bubba Brown, Randy Scott and Jim Stuckey.
The experience these young players gained in 1976 led to the Tigers finishing No. 19 in the nation in 1977 and then a program-best No. 6 in the AP poll in 1978.
2001 (25-Year Anniversary)
The 2001 Clemson football season will be remembered as the year Woodrow Dantzler became the first player in FBS history to total 2,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in one season. It was an era when teams played just 11 regular-season games and bowl game statistics did not count, so it was more difficult to achieve a 2,000/1,000 season.
But it still is not easy. With teams playing as many as 17 games now, only two quarterbacks achieved a 2,000/1,000 last year, including none at a Power 4 Conference school.
The 2001 Tiger team got off to a great start, winning four of its first five games. The first half of the season included a 47-44 overtime victory at No. 9 Georgia Tech, a nationally televised game when Dantzler first joined the Heisman Trophy conversation. He totaled 254 passing yards and 164 rushing yards for 418 yards of total offense out of Clemson’s 502.
He followed that performance two weeks later, the next game, at NC State with a then-record 517 yards of total offense (333 passing yards, 184 rushing yards). He was just 16 rushing yards away from becoming the second player in college football history to amass 300 passing yards and 200 rushing yards in one game. The Tigers came away with a 45-37 victory over the Philip Rivers-led Wolfpack and improved to No. 13 in the AP poll.
A 38-3 North Carolina victory the next week behind a Tar Heel defense led by future Hall of Famer Julius Peppers stopped Clemson’s momentum.
The Tigers finished the season by winning their last two games to finish with a 7-5 record. Dantzler reached the 2,000/1,000 mark in the final game of the regular season, a Dec. 1 home game against Duke that had been rescheduled from Sept. 15 due to 9/11.
The year finished with a 49-24 victory over Louisiana Tech in the Humanitarian Bowl in Clemson’s only football game in the state of Idaho. It snowed overnight and Clemson student managers made a Howard’s Rock out of snow for the Tigers to rub as they came on the field for a game that started at 10:30 a.m. local time, the earliest kickoff in program history.
Dantzler finished the season with 1,061 rushing yards(including the bowl) and 2,578 passing yards. Senior Travis Zachery supported Dantzler in the running game with 576 rushing yards and was the second-leading receiver with 45 catches for 414 yards. Freshman Derrick Hamilton led all receivers with 53 catches for 684 yards.
The offense averaged 434 yards per game, 241 rushing and 193 passing, thanks to a veteran offensive line that included senior Kyle Young. Young earned first-team Academic All-America honors for the third time in his career, at the time one of just two offensive linemen in college football history to accomplish that feat. He is still one just three ACC football players to be a three-time first-team Academic All-American.
Chad Carson led the defense with 137 tackles and John Leake added 134 tackles and Charles Hafley totaled 128 tackles. Brian Mance was one of the top kick returners in the ACC, as he averaged 12.4 yards per punt return and 23.5 yards per kickoff return.
2016 (10-Year Anniversary)
It is hard to believe it has already been 10 years since the 2016 team won the program’s second national championship, including the first in 35 years. It was a thrilling season that saw the Tigers win seven games by a touchdown or less, the most in school history.
Dabo Swinney’s team posted a 14-1 record against the nation’s most difficult schedule. Clemson opponents were 107-51 (.677) when not playing Clemson. Clemson was just the sixth team since 1977 to win the national championship during a season it played the nation’s toughest schedule.
The Tigers won 11 games against FBS schools that finished the season with a winning record, including five teams that won 10+ games, and six that finished the season in the top 25 of the AP poll. Those schools were No. 2 Alabama, No. 6 Ohio State, No. 8 Florida State, No. 16 Virginia Tech, No. 21 Louisville and No. 24 Auburn. It is still the most wins over teams ranked in the final top 25.
Clemson was never ranked No. 1 in the AP poll that year until it beat Alabama in the national championship game. The Crimson Tide had been ranked No. 1 in every poll prior to the game.
The season began with a 19-13 victory at Auburn, then it finished with the victory over Alabama. Clemson was the first non-SEC school to beat both Auburn and Alabama in one season since 1990, when Southern Mississippi accomplished the feat.
There were countless big moments during 2016. The regular-season meeting between Clemson and No. 3 Louisville was one of the most electric atmospheres in the history of Death Valley, as the game featured Heisman Trophy frontrunners Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson. Jackson finished with 162 rushing yards and 295 passing yards, while Watson had 91 rushing yards and 306 passing yards along with five touchdowns.
The game was decided in the final seconds when Marcus Edmond tackled Louisville wide receiver James Quick one yard short of a first down at the three-yard line. Later in the season, Edmond had a walkoff interception to give the Tigers a 24-17 overtime win against NC State.
Clemson fans celebrated a 56-7 win over South Carolina to close the regular season. The 49-point win was the largest margin of victory by an ACC team over an SEC team in history. The Tigers then won the ACC championship for the second straight year, a 42-35 victory over Virginia Tech. It was the second of six straight ACC titles for the Tigers.
Clemson defeated No. 2 Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl in dominating fashion (31-0). It was the first time an Urban Meyer coached team had been shut out in 194 games and the first time Ohio State had been shut out since 1993. The Buckeyes entered the game averaging 43 points per game.
The win over Alabama was landmark in many ways. The Crimson Tide had won 26 games in a row and 16 games in a row over AP top-25 teams. The Tigers overcame a 24-14 deficit entering the fourth quarter and won on a touchdown pass from Watson to Hunter Renfrow with one second left. Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban had been 97-0 when leading by 10+ points entering the fourth quarter.
Swinney became the first head coach to beat his alma mater to win the national championship. He joined Bud Wilkinson as the second coach to play on a national championship team and win a title as a head coach.
Seven Tigers were named to various All-America teams. The list includes Ben Boulware (LB), Jordan Leggett (TE), Cordrea Tankersley (CB), Carlos Watkins (DT), Deshaun Watson (QB), Christian Wilkins (DT) and Mike Williams (WR).
2021 (Five-Year Anniversary)
The season opener of 2021 was one of the most anticipated in Clemson history. The No. 3 Tigers faced No. 5 Georgia in Charlotte, N.C. The Tigers had been to the College Football Playoff six consecutive years, which is equivalent to six straight Final Fours in basketball terms, still the only school to accomplish that feat.
Georgia was one of the top defensive teams in recent years, and they proved it in this game by winning 10-3. There were no offensive touchdowns in the game, and the two teams combined for just 436 yards of total offense.
The Tigers dropped road conference games to NC State in overtime and to a top-25 Pittsburgh team to register a 4-3 record at midseason. However, the team responded to win its last six games, including a 48-27 victory over No. 13 Wake Forest. The regular season ended with a dominating 30-0 win at rival South Carolina. The season concluded with a 20-13 bowl win over Iowa State in Orlando, Fla.
The bowl victory gave Clemson a 10-3 record, extending Clemson’s streak of consecutive seasons with at least 10 wins to 11. It would be extended to 12 in a row in 2022. The Tigers ranked No. 14 in the final AP poll, the 11th straight top-15 season for the Tigers.
DJ Uiagalelei had 2,246 passing yards and 308 rushing yards on the season. Will Shipley led the rushers with 738 yards and 11 touchdowns. Justyn Ross was the top wide receiver with 46 catches for 514 yards.
In many ways, it was the defense that carried the Tigers to 10 wins and a top-15 final ranking. Brent Venables’ defensive unit was second in the nation in scoring defense (14.8), second in red-zone defense, fifth in pass efficiency defense, seventh in rushing defense, eighth in rushing defense and ninth in sacks per game.
The defense was led in tackles by James Skalski (100). Baylon Spector added 85 tackles and Trenton Simpson had 78. Three defensive players were named to All-America teams, as Mario Goodrich, Myles Murphy and Skalski were all selected.