Re: Hill Watch...27 days!!!

The Clemson Tigers (as always – we’re the Good Guys) have won three football National Championships and 27 Conference Championships.

According to ClemsonTigers.com:

“The Tigers won or tied for four Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association (SIAA) Titles. The Tigers won the championship outright in 1900 and 1902 and tied for the 1903 and 1906 titles. In John Heisman’s four years at Clemson, he coached the powerful Tigers to three conference championships (1900, 1902, and 1903).
…
Head Coach Frank Howard coached the Tigers to two Southern Conference titles in 1940 and 1948. The 1948 season saw Clemson post a perfect 11-0 record and a 5-0 mark in the Southern Conference.
…
Clemson won three ACC titles in the first decade of the Atlantic Coast Conference, 1956, 1958 and 1959. The Tigers won three straight titles in Howard’s last few years of his coaching tenure, 1965, 1966 and 1967. Howard retired after the 1969 season, claiming a total of eight conference titles for Clemson.

Head Coach Charlie Pell led the Tigers to the 1978 ACC Championship and a number-six national ranking. Clemson was the ACC’s football team of the decade in the 1980s under Head Coach Danny Ford, winning five conference titles including a three-peat in 1986, 1987 and 1988. The Tigers won back-to-back titles in 1981 and 1982. The 1981 Tigers were undefeated and also won the National Championship that year. In 1991, Ken Hatfield led the Tigers to the league title.

Head Coach Dabo Swinney and the Tigers won the ACC Championship in 2011. Swinney has also won or tied for three Atlantic Divisional titles.”

https://clemsontigers.com/cus-conference-championships/

Wikipedia adds the following about Clemson’s Conference Championships:

“Conference championships

Clemson won the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association in 1900 and 1902 (tied 1903 and 1906) along with the Southern Conference title in 1940 and 1948. Their 21 ACC titles (19 outright, 2 tied) are the most ACC football championships. In 1965, South Carolina violated participation rules relating to two ineligible players and was required to forfeit wins against North Carolina State and Clemson. North Carolina State and Clemson were then declared co-champions.”

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clemson_Tigers_football

Something tells me that even after Clemson leaves the ACC, it will still be a long time before any other team catches Clemson in the having the most ACC Championships.

Here is a list of Clemson’s Conference Championships from Wikipedia:

Head Coach John Heisman:
1. 1900: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association 6-0 (4-0)
2. 1902: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association 6-1 (6-0)
3. 1903*: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association 4-1-1 (2-0-1)

Head Coach Bob Williams:
4. 1906*: Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association 4-0-3 (4-0)

Head Coach Frank Howard:
5. 1940: Southern Conference 6-2-1 (4-0)
6. 1948: Southern Conference 11-0 (5-0)
7. 1956: Atlantic Coast Conference 7-2-2 (4-0-1)
8. 1958: Atlantic Coast Conference 8-3 (5-1)
9. 1959: Atlantic Coast Conference 9-2 (6-1)
10. 1965*: Atlantic Coast Conference 5-5 (5-2)
11. 1966: Atlantic Coast Conference 6-4 (6-1)
12. 1967: Atlantic Coast Conference 6-4 (6-0)

Head Coach Charley Pell:
13. 1978: Atlantic Coast Conference 11-1 (6-0)

Head Coach Danny Ford:
14. 1981: Atlantic Coast Conference 12-0 (6-0) (National Champions)
15. 1982: Atlantic Coast Conference 9-1-1 (6-0)
16. 1986: Atlantic Coast Conference 8-2-2 (5-1-1)
17. 1987: Atlantic Coast Conference 10-2 (6-1)
18. 1988: Atlantic Coast Conference 10-2 (6-1)

Head Coach Ken Hatfield:
19. 1991: Atlantic Coast Conference 9-2-1 (6-0-1)

Head Coach Dabo Swinney:
20. 2011: Atlantic Coast Conference 10-4 (6-2)
21. 2015: Atlantic Coast Conference 14-1 (8-0)
22. 2016: Atlantic Coast Conference 14-1 (8-0) (National Champions)
23. 2017: Atlantic Coast Conference 12-2 (7-1)
24. 2018: Atlantic Coast Conference 15-0 (8-0) (National Champions)
25. 2019: Atlantic Coast Conference 14-1 (8-0)
26. 2020: Atlantic Coast Conference 10-2 (8-1)
27. 2022: Atlantic Coast Conference 11-3 (8-0)

* Co-Champions

Clemson’s recent trophy case additions (2011-2020):

It is interesting to note that Clemson also has 27 bowl wins – which is more bowl wins than the number of bowl APPEARANCES of any other team in South Carolina.

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27 - Cliff Austin Added 27 Receiving Yards

Aug 4, 2024, 5:32 AM

Clifford Austin scored 162 Clemson points. He was the primary RB that helped propel Clemson to its first National Championship in 1981! In every sense of the word, he is a Clemson legend.

Who would have thought he spent two hours stuck in an elevator the day of his most important game of all for Clemson!

While at Clemson:

In the 1978 Gator Bowl, true freshman Cliff Austin scored a key touchdown for the Tigers in Clemson’s victory over Ohio State. As we all know, that loss to Clemson was Ohio State Head Coach Woody Hayes’ final game (and final day) as a coach. With so much focus on Hayes’ antics, it would easy for Austin’s critical score to get overlooked. According to ClemsonTigers.com:

“The contest was close throughout and a defensive struggle. Late in the third quarter with Clemson leading 10-9, the Tigers had the ball on the Ohio State one. Two runs by Warren Ratchford were stopped, so Ford put in a fresh running back, first-year freshman Cliff Austin.
Austin had played just six games all year and had only 36 carries to that point. But Austin took the ball from Steve Fuller and went over the top and into the endzone to give Clemson a 17-9 lead in the fourth quarter. The Tigers won the game over the No. 20 Buckeyes 17-15, so Austin’s score was in effect the winning touchdown.”

https://clemsontigers.com/best-performances-off-the-bench-2023-program-story/

Smart move Coach Ford!!

Cliff Austin really burst on the scene for Clemson as the starting tailback in 1981. Austin lead the Good Guys to a perfect 12-0 season and the program’s first (I love having to clarify “first”) National Title!!

However, the day of the Orange Bowl game against Nebraska did not exactly start the way Austin had hoped. According to Sports Illustrated:

“It was a special night in Miami, Fla. on Jan. 1, 1982. There were some moments that day that Ford figured it would not be Clemson’s night. During the day, Cliff Austin was stuck in an elevator at the team hotel for two hours. Later that night, he would score an important touchdown in the second quarter.”

https://www.si.com/college/clemson/football/danny-ford-a-living-legend

Stuck in an elevator the day Clemson was going to play for its first National Title! Glad that did not come back to haunt us!!

Fortunately for Clemson (not so much for Nebraska), Austin did find a way out of the elevator before the Orange Bowl began. And, once again, he found the end zone in a Clemson bowl game – another key score on the way to a huge Tiger victory. According to a Nebraska site:

“Clemson again took advantage of excellent field position and added another Igwebuike field goal to pull up, 7-6, at the quarter. The Tigers then broke on top near the end of the half, thanks to another Husker fumble at the NU 27. Five running plays later, Cliff Austin scored from the two for a 12-7 lead. Clemson's two-point try failed and the second half started with a heart-throbbing national championship game as tight as a bow string.”

https://www.huskermax.com/games/1981/OBrecap.html

The State newspaper summarized the game as follows:

“Clemson defeated Nebraska 22-15. Jordan (11-of-22, 134 yards) threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Perry Tuttle, running back Cliff Austin scored from two yards out and Clemson kicker Donald Igwebuike had three field goals.”

https://www.thestate.com/sports/college/acc/clemson-university/article254568952.html#storylink=cpy

For his Clemson career:
According to Sports-Reference.com, Austin registered the following statistics at Clemson:

Cliff Austin (1978-1982):
- 413 Carries for 2,106 Yards (5.1 Average)
- 25 Rushing Touchdowns
- 6 Receptions for 27 Yards (4.5 Average)
- 2 Kick Returns for 34 Yards (17.0 Average)
- 0 for 1 in Passing Attempts

https://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/cliff-austin-1.html

After Clemson:

The New Orleans Saints selected Cliff Austin with the 66th Pick (3rd Round) of the 1983 NFL Draft. HE played one season for New Orleans (1983). He then played for the Atlanta Falcons between 1984-1986. His spent his final NFL season (1987) with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. According to Pro-Football-Reference.com, Cliff Austin registered the following NFL statistics:

Cliff Austin (1983-1987: Saints, Falcons, Buccaneers):
- 109 Carries for 445 Yards (4.1 Average)
- 2 Rushing Touchdowns
- 11 Receptions for 118 Yards (10.7 Average)
- 57 Kick Returns for 1,147 Yards (20.1 Average)
- 1 Kick Return for Touchdown

https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/A/AustCl00.htm

Thanks to Scott Rymer for yet another great Dark Territory Clemson Letterman fo the Day video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KVIGx5A7l4

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Clemson: Academic Excellence! Athletic Excellence!

Hill Watch...27 days!!!