The Clemson Insider went back and ranked Clemson’s 25 best teams of all-time.
What classifies a certain team as one of the best? Of course winning a championship—national or conference—will be the first qualification. The next qualifications are overall record, national ranking and where they fell in the conference standings.
We continue our rankings with the No. 23 team on our list:
The 1940 Tigers (6-2-1, 4-0 SoCon, SoCon Champions)
On January 11, 1940, Frank Howard, who had been an assistant coach at Clemson since 1931, was named the new head coach at Clemson College, replacing Jess Neely, who posted a 43-35-7 record in his nine seasons in the same position. Neely guided the Clemson program through the Great Depression years, while his ideas to keep the football program afloat began the nation’s first booster club organization… IPTAY.
After guiding the Tigers’ to their first bowl appearance in the 1940 Cotton Bowl win over Boston College, and Clemson’s first ever finish (No. 12) in the Associated Press College Football Poll, Neely resigned as head coach to take the same position at Rice.
On September 1, 1940, the Tigers opened the Howard Era, which lasted 30 years, with a touchdown on his first offensive play as head coach. George Floyd reversed around left end and raced 18 yards untouched for the score. Clemson went on to a 38-0 victory over Presbyterian College.
In their first four wins of the season, the Tigers outscored PC, Wofford, NC State and Wake Forest by a combined score of 129-7. Only the Wolfpack cracked the scoreboard as Clemson won 26-7 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Tigers opened with five straight wins overall, including a 21-13 victory over rival South Carolina that moved the Tigers into the top 10 for the first time in school history. Clemson was ranked No. 10 following its win over the Gamecocks.
In that victory at Columbia’s State Fair Grounds, the Tigers recorded five interceptions including two from Tom Wright. They also got touchdown runs from Floyd, Joe Blalock and Chippy Maness.
The win over the Gamecocks extended Clemson’s winning streak to 13 games dating back to the previous season when it ended the year with eight straight wins.
Tulane, who was the last team to beat Clemson, snapped the 13-game winning streak with a 13-0 victory in New Orleans. The Tigers then lost the following week at Auburn, 21-7, before tying Rhodes College in the next game.
But Clemson clinched its first ever Southern Conference Championship with a 13-7 win at Furman to close the year. Maness led the way with 136 rushing yards on 18 carries.
The 1940 Southern Conference Champions were the first of eight conference championships for Clemson under Howard’s direction.
Link to Clemson’s 25 Best Teams
—Photo courtesy Clemson Athletic Communications
TCI’s Clemson preseason magazine is now available. Order your copy of Unfinished Business – An Insider Look at Clemson’s 2016 season today.
