Wake Forest Contest Is 1000th Clemson Football Game

Sept. 11, 2000

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Clemson Has 100 Points in Two Games

Clemson is one of the top scoring teams in the nation with 100 points after just two games. Clemson opened the season with a 38-0 win over The Citadel, then defeated Missouri in the second game 62-9. This is the first time since 1929 that Clemson has scored 100 points over the first two games of the season. Clemson outscored Newberry and Davidson by a combined 100-14 over the first two games of 1929.

The 100 points scored in the first two games this year ranks in a tie for third most over the first two games of any Clemson season. The record is 128 points scored against Guilford and Tennessee in 1901, a team coached by the legendary John Heisman. Clemson also scored 102 points in the first two games of 1903 (Heisman’s last Clemson team) and had 100 points in the first two games of 1915.

In case you are looking ahead, the Clemson record for points scored in the first three games of the season is 157, set by the 1901 team. Clemson’s 1901 team outscored the opposition 157-11 over the first three games of the season. The 1900 team put 136 on the board for the first three games, while the 1903 and 1929 teams had 126 points apiece. The 1984 team outscored its first three opponents 118-33 and that ranks fifth best as far as scoring points in the first three games of a season.

Clemson’s 62 points scored against Missouri last week rank as the most by a Tiger team in any game since the National Championship 1981 season when the Tigers defeated Wake Forest 82-24, still the highest point total by one team in any game involving two ACC teams. Clemson’s 53-point victory margin last week was the best by a Tiger team since the season opener of 1990 when Clemson defeated Long Beach State, 59-0.

Scoring Points Nothing New for Bowden Teams

Scoring a lot of points is not a new experience for Tommy Bowden coached teams. Between his 22 games at Tulane and his 14 games as Clemson head coach, he has had 16 games in which his team has score at least 40 points in a game. Even the 62 points the Tigers scored against Missouri were not the most by a Bowden coached team. His Tulane team of 1998 defeated Southwest Louisiana, 72-20. The last game he coached at Tulane, the Green Wave scored 62 in a 62-30 win over Louisiana Tech.

Overall, Bowden coached teams have scored in the 70s on one occasion, scored in the 60s three times, scored in the 50s on four occasions and scored in the 40s eight times. For his 36 games as a Division I head coach his teams have scored 1295 points, an average of 36 points per game.

Wake Forest Contest is 1000th Clemson Football Game

Saturday’s game with Wake Forest will be the 1000th game in Clemson history. It is a day of numbers because Clemson has also played and even 100 neutral site games. Clemson has played 501 games on the opponent’s home field and Saturday game will be the 399th on Clemson’s home field (not just Death Valley, all of Clemson’s home facilities combined).

Here are some facts about Clemson’s program over the first 999 games:

Clemson Offense is balanced

Clemson has had a productive balanced offense so far this year. We mean balanced in terms of rushing yards and passing yards, but also balanced in terms of a lot of people contributing. Clemson has played at least 72 players in each of the first two games as a team, 28 per game on offense. Clemson leads the ACC in many offensive categories, including scoring, yet has not had a 100-yard rusher, 100-yard receiver, or 200-yard passer. Eight different Clemson players have already scored at least one touchdown this year. Ten different Tigers have already caught a pass.

The second team offense struggled in the first game, but came back with a 140-yard fourth quarter that included a pair of touchdowns. Willie Simmons hit 3-5 passes for 87 yards, including 2-75 to freshman wide out Kevin Youngblood.

Rod Gardner had another outstanding game with two touchdown receptions and 98 yards receiving in the win over Missouri. His 38-yard scoring pass on a fourth-down play with 2:27 left in the second period blew the game open in Clemson’s favor.

Clemson Seeks 51st Win vs. Deacs

Clemson holds a 50-14-1 advantage in the series against Wake Forest, including 20 wins in the last 23. Clemson’s 50 wins over Wake Forest rank second when it comes to Tiger wins over the same school. Clemson has 58 wins over South Carolina over the years, more than any other opponent.

Clemson won the last meeting, at Wake Forest a year ago, 12-3. Wake Forest won at Clemson in 1998, 29-19, the third win in the 1990s for the Deacs over the Tigers. The visiting team has won three straight in this series. Current Wake Forest coach Jim Caldwell has two wins over the Tigers in Death Valley. He also won at Clemson in 1993. Wake Forest had not won at Clemson since 1961 prior to that game in 1993.

Wake Forest’s defense held Clemson in check last year, limiting the Tigers to just 12 total points. And 10 of those took place in the fourth quarter. It was the finest defensive performance against Clemson by an ACC team last year in terms of points allowed. Clemson did gain 394 yards of total offense, including 273 passing, but it took a comeback led by Brandon Streeter in the fourth quarter to get Clemson the win.

Streeter led Clemson nine plays for 70 yards to a leading field goal by Tony Lazzara with 7:08 left in the fourth period. After a Dextra Polite interception, Streeter led Clemson 39 yards in 11 plays to a touchdown that he scored from one yard out with just 1:18 left.

Woodrow Dantzler started for Clemson and gained 252 yards of total offense in three quarters, but could not get the Tigers in the endzone. It is the only game he has played under Bowden’s system in which he has played the majority of the game, yet failed to score or throw for a touchdown.

Clemson’s defense was obviously outstanding against Wake Forest last year, holding the Deacs to three points. Chad Carson had 16 tackles, while Terry Jolly added a career high 10 stops. Altroy Bodrick had eight stops, two behind the the line of scrimmage.

In terms of total offense, Clemson has had at least 400 yards against Wake Forest in seven of the last nine, and nine of the last 12 years. Even in last year’s 10-point Wake Forest victory in 1998, Clemson gained 406 yards of total offense, including 350 passing. Clemson has averaged 275 yards a game passing against Wake Forest over the last five years.

Clemson had a record 756 yards against Wake Forest in 1981, an 82-24 Clemson victory, still the highest scoring game in ACC history. Clemson set 11 school and conference records in that game, including a perfect 12-12 on third-down conversions.

Clemson Looks for 3-0 Start

Clemson is looking for its first 3-0 start to a season since 1991, the last time Clemson won the ACC Championship. Clemson has been 3-0 just four times in the last 39 years. The other seasons in addition to 1991 were 1989 (4-0), 1987 (6-0), 1981 (12-0). It is an accomplishment to be 2-0, something Clemson has now done just eight times in the last 30 years.

In recent years Clemson has not gotten off to a great start, yet has been resilient, making improvement over the course of the season. Clemson has been to a bowl game 16 of the last 23 seasons, yet has been 2-0 just four times in that era. Clemson had a 12-0 season in 1981 of course, and was 6-0 to start 1987. Clemson was last 2-0 in 1997. That year and 1991 were the only two seasons in the 1990s that Clemson started 2-0.

Clemson 31-0-1 With 200 Yards Passing and Rushing

Clemson gained 236 yards rushing and 222 passing in the win over The Citadel in the season opener. The Tigers had 206 rushing and 275 more passing in the win over Missouri. That kind of balance, in particular gaining at least 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing in the same game, means a Clemson victory. In history, Clemson has a 31-0-1 record when it has at least 200 yards of each.

Clemson had three such games last year, wins over North Carolina, Maryland and Duke. That means Clemson has had five games of at least 200 yards of each in the 14 games Tommy Bowden has coached at Clemson. The program had just 28 such games in the first 103 years of Clemson football prior to Bowden’s arrival.

The streak was nearly snapped last year at Georgia Tech. Clemson had 231 yards rushing and 197 passing in the loss at Georgia Tech last year. The only tie game in which Clemson had at least 200 of each took place in 1976 when Clemson had 248 rushing and 234 passing in a 24-24 tie in Atlanta against Tech.

Carswell Chasing Kinard’s Record

Senior safety Robert Carswell will eclipse a record held by one of Clemson’s all-time greats in Saturday’s game. Carswell has 293 career tackles entering the Missouri contest, just one behind the career total recorded by former All-American Terry Kinard. Kinard was a two-time consensus All-American at Clemson, including a unanimous selection in 1982 when he was National Defensive Player of the Year. Kinard was named Clemson’s greatest player of the 20th Century by Sports Illustrated earlier this summer.

That said, Carswell certainly should take pride in this record. He had 129 tackles last year to set the Clemson record for stops by a Tiger defensive back. But, Carswell can do more than just tackle, he had six interceptions last year to tie for the ACC statistical championship in that category. He was named a preseason first-team All-American by Playboy, Clemson’s first Playboy All-American since Anthony Simmons.

Clemson Leads ACC in Many Areas

Clemson leads the ACC in nine different statistical categories. Such dominance is usually something you see from Florida State in the ACC stats, but the Tigers are off to quite a start when it comes to offensive and defensive statistics.

Clemson leads the ACC in scoring offense (50.0 PPG) and scoring defense (4.5 PPG). The Tigers also rank first in rushing offense, pass defense, total defense, passing efficiency offense, pass efficiency defense, first down defense and turnover margin. The last statistic might be regarded as the most important. Clemson is +7 in terms of turnover margin so far this year. In other words, Clemson has forced seven more turnovers than it has committed on offense.

Coach Tommy Bowden will tell you that is the most important indicator of a good team. Last year Clemson improved 92 spots in the national turnover margin statistics compared to the 1998 season. Clemson’s offense has not had a turnover this year. The one miscue by Clemson this year was a fumble by Joe Don Reames on a kickoff return against Missouri.

Two individuals have the lead in ACC statistics. Woodrow Dantzler paces the conference in passing efficiency with a 212.3 figure. He is third in the nation in that area.

Points Off Turnovers Impressive

While turnover margin is important, points off turnover might be even more important. Clemson was about as productive as you can get in terms of converting turnovers into points in its 62-9 win over Missouri.

Clemson forced six turnovers in the game, most forced by a Tiger team since 1995 when Clemson forced seven in a win over NC State in Raleigh. Clemson scored 34 points off those six Missouri turnovers. When you figure the maximum you can score (assuming you try to kick the extra points and not go for two) is 42 points, that is good production. Missouri scored just three points off Clemson’s one turnover.

This year, Clemson has a 48-3 advantage when it comes to points off turnovers. In the 14 games Tommy Bowden has coached at Clemson the margin is 148-47. Clemson forced six turnovers against Missouri, three fumbles and three interceptions.

Mance Ties Clemson Record

Clemson sophomore Brian Mance had a very productive 16 plays of action against Missouri in the second game of the season. For those 16 plays, Mance had two interceptions and a fumble recovery. In addition to those three takeaways, he also had four tackles and two passes broken up. He also contributed a 28-yard punt return on special teams in the fourth quarter, second longest punt return by a Tiger under Tommy Bowden.

Mance, a backup cornerback in the Missouri game, became just the seventh Clemson player in history to have three takeaways in the same game. He was the first to do it since Brian Dawkins had three interceptions against Duke in 1995.

Hafley Has Best Performance

Junior safety Charles Hafley had his best single game performance as a Clemson Tiger in the 62-9 win over Missouri. Making just his third career start, the native of Pompano Beach, FL had a career high 11 tackles, including eight first hits. He also had a 27-yard interception return for a score early in the third period. He also had a touchdown saving tackle at the six-yard line at a key juncture in the first half. He did that in just 51 plays of action.

Hafley, who was named the defense’s 12th man award recipient last year, had eight tackles in 47 plays as a freshman against South Carolina in 1998. He had an interception, forced a fumble and touchdown saving tackle in the first half of that game in 1998, a Clemson victory in the season finale.

Tigers Open ACC Schedule

Clemson opens its ACC schedule against Wake Forest on Saturday. This is the first of eight straight league games on eight consecutive Saturdays for Tommy Bowden’s team. Clemson won its first ACC game under Bowden last year, a 33-14 victory over #19 Virginia.

Clemson had struggled in the first ACC game of the year recently. Prior to last year’s win over the Cavs, Clemson had lost six of its last seven conference openers. Clemson broke a five-game ACC opener losing streak when it defeated NC State in the opener in 1997 in Raleigh.

Overall, Clemson is 28-18-1 in ACC openers, 13-9-1 on the road, 14-9 at home and 1-0 at neutral sites.

Tiger Mascot Getting a Workout

After each Clemson score the Tiger mascot does pushups equal to Clemson’s new point total. That has been a tough job for Clemson mascot Jon Potter so far this year. The senior from Anderson, SC tied one Clemson mascot pushup record and set another in Clemson’s season opening win over The Citadel. First, he tied the record for pushups in a first quarter (42), then set the home night game record with 135.

Potter more than doubled that total in the Missouri victory, a 62-9 Clemson triumph. He did 310 pushups on the afternoon, a game that was played in 82 degree heat. That was the most pushups by a Clemson mascot since 1981 when Ricky Capps did 465 in Clemson’s 82-24 win over Wake Forest.

Potter, who had to get an IV in the Clemson locker room after Saturday’s game, now has 445 pushups in two games this year. He has made a good start toward the single season record of 1124 by Zack Mills in 1978. The tradition of the mascot doing pushups dates to the 1978 season.

Potter follows the Clemson team very closely. He actually lives with Clemson starting defensive lineman Jason Holloman and starting punter Jamie Somaini.

Young Leads O-Line

Center Kyle Young was Clemson’s highest graded offensive lineman in the win over Missouri. The junior first-team Academic All-American had an 80 percent grade and four knockdown blocks from the Clemson coaches for his 55 plays. Young was Clemson’s highest graded lineman in eight of the 12 games last year. The native of Clemson is the grandson of Ed McClendon, who was a member of Clemson’s 1939 Southern Conference Championship team. His brother, Will Young, was an All-ACC player for the Tigers in 1995.

The offensive line, which also features graduate students Theo Mougros and John McDermott, had a strong game against Missouri, helping Clemson to eight touchdowns and 481 yards of total offense. The line, which also included second-time starter Brady Washburn, and freshman Jermyn Chester, combined to keep Missouri All-America candidate Justin Smith in check most of the day. At one point, Clemson scored 34 points in 8:33, production you don’t see from many NBA teams these days.

Wake Forest Update

Wake Forest enters Saturday’s game with an 0-2 record. The Demon Deacons are coming off their top season in seven years, a 7-5 campaign that included a top 15 win over Georgia Tech in their final home game, and a bowl win over Arizona State. Coach Jim Caldwell must replace 17 starters in 2000 from that team. That very impressive 1999 team allowed Clemson just 12 points last year, the best scoring defense by an ACC team against the Tigers last year.

Wake Forest had a 14-10 lead at halftime against North Carolina in its most recent game. But the Tar Heels went on a 25-0 run in the second half to gain the victory. Wake Forest lost the season opener to Appalachian State, 20-16.

C.J. Leak is the leader of the Wake Forest offense. The sophomore has completed 24 of 55 passes for 290 yards. He has been sacked many times however, including eight by North Carolina’s outstanding defense. The top rusher for Wake Forest is Tarence Williams, a sophomore, who has gained 54 yards in 21 attempts. Ira Williams is the top receiver with 9-105.

The young Wake Forest defense is led by Tehran Carpenter and Nathan Bolling, who both have 14 tackles so far this year. Boiling leads the team in tackles for loss with five. Nick Bender, one of the few seniors in the Wake Forest lineup, has 12 stops. Wake Forest’s defense has 18 tackles for loss, including seven sacks in just two games, better totals than Clemson’s defense has so far this year.

Adams on Display at College Football Hall of Fame

Clemson linebacker Keith Adams is one of 10 active players featured in the “Race for the Pantheon 2000” exhibit at the College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana. The display, located in the main exhibit hall, includes Adam’s jersey and photos of the Clemson junior linebacker. It was unveiled September 8.

The “Race for the Pantheon Display” features what the College Football Hall of Fame considers to be the top 10 players in college football. Adams was the only linebacker listed and is one of four juniors involved. He is a first-team preseason All-American for 2000 after earning All-America honors last year as a sophomore when he led the nation in tackles for loss and total tackles.

Dantzler Continues Efficient Passing

Clemson’s quarterback Woodrow Dantzler is ranked third in the nation in passing efficiency this week. Dantzler is an impressive 28-36 for 380 yards and five touchdowns so far this season. He has not thrown an interception and is now ranked first in Clemson history in interception avoidance (2.36 percent).

Dantzler broke two Clemson records in the season opening win over The Citadel. His .941 completion percentage broke a 41-year old Clemson record. The previous best was a 90 percent turned in by Harvey White against South Carolina (9-10) in 1959. Dantzler also broke the Clemson record for passing efficiency given a minimum of 15 attempts. His efficiency rating of 247.2 for that game was also a Clemson record, breaking the mark of 240.4 by Jimmy Addison against Virginia in 1966.

Dantzler has been very effective in terms of total offense in this Clemson offense. He has been at the controls of the Clemson offense for the majority of the snaps in nine games (seven as a starter, two games off the bench when Brandon Streeter was hurt) in his Clemson career. In those nine games he is 132 for 221 passing, a 59.7 percentage. He has 13 touchdown passes and just five interceptions in those nine games. He has passed for 198 yards a game and rushed for 72 a game, giving him a total offense average of 270.6.

The junior quarterback has been effective getting Clemson into the endzone. In those nine games he has passed or rushed for 16 touchdowns. Only one team has kept Dantzler out of the endzone…Wake Forest, this week’s opponent. Dantzler was 22-32 for 201 yards passing and rushed for 50 more against the Deacs, but he did not get Clemson into the endzone.

Dantzler is now 18th on Clemson’s career total offense list with 2749 yards. He needs just 251 against Wake Forest to become the 13th Tiger in history to accumulate at least 3000 yards in a career.

Clemson Still Ranked in Top 20

Clemson is ranked 16th in AP and USA Today this week. Clemson moved up one spot in AP and three in USA Today with its 62-9 win over Missouri. When Clemson was ranked 17th in the preseason it marked the first time since 1997 that Clemson had been ranked in the top 25. The Tigers reached a number-17 ranking after a 2-0 start that year. A win against Wake Forest might move Clemson into the top 15, a ranking Clemson has not reached since September 9, 1992 when Clemson was 15th with a 1-0 record. Clemson’s last trip to the top 10 took place on October 1, 1991 when Clemson had a 3-0 record.

Tigers On Opening Day NFL Rosters

Clemson had 17 players on active opening day NFL rosters this year, plus an 18th player on a practice squad. The list of players includes 14 players on defense. The veteran of the list is Chris Gardocki, who is in his 10th year as an NFL punter and is now with the Cleveland Browns. Levon Kirkland, Ed McDaniel and Chester McGlockton, all members of Clemson’s 1990 defense that led the nation in total defense, are in their ninth seasons in the league. James Trapp, who was inducted into the Clemson Hall of Fame last weekend, is in his eighth seasons and is also a former member of that 1990 defense.

The Cleveland Browns have the most former Tigers with three. In addition to the veteran punter Gardocki, Jim Bundren and Rahim Abdullah are two more former Tigers on the Browns roster. The Browns also have Jerry Butler as wide receivers coach and Dwight Clark as the General Manager. They were starting wide receivers on Clemson’s 1978 team that finished 11-1 and ranked sixth in the nation.

The list of active Tigers in the NFL includes six who have been chosen to the Pro Bowl at one time or another in their careers. That list includes Chester McGlocton, Trevor Pryce, Brian Dawkins, Chris Gardocki, Levon Kirkland and Ed McDaniel. Tony Horne made second-team All-Pro last year as a kick returner, but was not chosen for the Pro Bowl.

No one off of last year’s Clemson team made an NFL active roster for the 2000 season. Wide receiver Brian Wofford is playing professionally in Canada with Saskatchewan. O.J. Childress, who played for the Giants last year, is listed on the practice squad for the Giants at the opening of the season.

Gardner Countdown to Clemson Records

Rod Gardner will be chasing a couple of Clemson records this season. With his record 80 catches for a record 1084 yards last year, Gardner has vaulted from virtual obscurity to a record challenger.

Gardner enters the Wake Forest game with 118 receptions for 1610 yards. He ranks sixth in career receptions and 10th in reception yardage. If Gardner has 55 catches for 1233 yards this season, he will break both records, marks held by former All-ACC receiver Terry Smith. Smith had 162 catches for 2681 yards in his career.

Coming into last year Gardner had just 28 catches for 364 yards. An 80-catch season will obviously put him over the top, but the yardage record will be a challenge. Entering this season, the native of Jacksonville, FL trails only Smith, Perry Tuttle, Jerry Butler, Brian Wofford and Tony Horne in receptions.

Horne reached the final 10 of the Biletnikoff Award in his senior year (1997) when he had 70 catches. Gardner broke his record for a season last year. Horne, now the top kickoff return player in the NFL with the St. Louis Rams, is the only Clemson receiver in school history to reach the final 10 of the Biletnikoff Award voting. (The award did not exist when Butler and Tuttle played).

Zachery Paces the Running Game

Running back Travis Zachery will be a key to Clemson’s rate of success on offense this year. The junior running back is Clemson’s top returning rusher with 1455 career yards, including a team best 820 last year. He actually had 827 in 10 regular season games last year, then had -7 in the Peach Bowl when he suffered a dislocated elbow, allowing him to play just five snaps.

Zachery was significant in Clemson’s 38-point performance against The Citadel in the opener. He gained 52 yards on the first Clemson play of the game, his longest rush of the year and longest run by a Clemson running back since 1996 when Raymond Priester went 65 yards against South Carolina. Zachery had 86 yards rushing and 51 receiving, plus eight on punt returns for 145 total. He continued his productivity with 67 yards and three touchdowns against Missouri.

Zachery scored 16 touchdowns a year ago, second highest figure in Clemson history and he ranked ninth in the nation in scoring. Only the 17 touchdowns scored by Lester Brown in 1978 is more. Zachery has shown an ability to catch the ball out of the backfield (check action picture in player’s section of this program) and has 35 catches for his career, just 10 away from the Clemson career record for a running back.

Zachery now has 26 touchdowns for his career, six away from tying the Clemson career record held by Lester Brown, who had 32 between 1976-79. At Zachery’s rate he will eclipse that record by midseason this year. He is already seventh in Clemson history in total touchdowns scored.