Post-Game Notes

Sept. 5, 2005

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• Clemson’s win over #17 Texas A&M was the first over a top 25 team in the season opener since 1959 when Clemson defeated a top 20 North Carolina team.
• Clemson now has won six consecutive games in Death Valley against teams that defeated the Tigers on the road the previous season.
• Clemson is now 12-1 in its last 13 home games.
• James Davis had 19-101 yards rushing. It was the most rushing yards for a Clemson first-year freshman in his firs game since the late Bobby Gage had 144 yards in eight carries against Presbyterian in 1945. Actually, another freshman had a 100-yard rushing day in that 76-0 Clemson victory. Jim Reynolds had 5-105 in his first career game as a freshman for the Tigers that day. Jim Whitmire, a freshman in 1943, had 15-121 against Presbyterian in 1943. Thus, Davis was the fourth first-year freshman in Clemson history to record 100 yards rushing in his first career game, joining Gage, Reynolds and Whitmire. It was the most rushing yards by a first-year freshman since Lamont Pegues had 28-136 vs. Georgia Tech in 1994. It was the most yards rushing for any Clemson freshman (first year or red-shirt) since current teammate Tye Hill had 14-105 at North Carolina in 2002.
• Davis carried the ball on eight straight running plays leading to the winning field goal by Jad Dean with two seconds left. That was the most consecutive carries by a Clemson running back since Raymond Priester had a record 12 consecutive rushes at Maryland in 1997.
• Clemson played eight first-year freshman against Texas A&M and six red-shirt freshmen for 14 total out of the 57 players who participated in Saturday night’s game.
• The victory over #17 Texas A&M was the eighth top 25 win for Tommy Bowden. He moved ahead of Ken Hatfield into third place on Clemson’s coaching list for wins over top 25 opponents in a career. It was the fourth top 20 win for Clemson in the last 16 games.
• Clemson had the ball for 37:58 for the game, including 11:23 in the fourth quarter. That was the most time of possession for the Tigers in the seven seasons Tommy Bowden has been the Tigers head coach.
• Clemson is now 10-1 (dating to 2002) in the its last 11 games when it rushes for at least 150 yards).
• Will Proctor was Clemson’s quarterback for the last 23 plays of the game after Charlie Whitehurst was shaken up after a hard tackle on a running play. Proctor had quarterbacked Clemson for just six plays previously in his career. He led Clemson to a pair of field goals in the fourth quarter in the one-point win.
• Jad Dean set a Clemson record and tied an ACC record with six field goals in the win over Texas A&M. Nelson Welch had booted five field goals in a game three times in the 1990s. The ACC record is six by Josh McGee of North Carolina against Duke in 1999 and by Vince Fusco of Duke against Clemson in 1976. That game was at Clemson, so two of the three times an ACC player has booted six field goals in a game, it has come at Death Valley.
• Dean’s 42-yard game-winning field goal with two seconds left against Texas A&M was the latest game winning kick by a Tiger since David Treadwell booted a 21-yard game winning field goal with two seconds left against Georgia in a game at Clemson in 1987.