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 other qualifications are overall record, national ranking and where they fell in the conference standings.
We continue our rankings with the No. 18 team on our list:
The 1989 Tigers (10-2, 5-2 ACC, Final ranking No. 12)
Expectations for the 1988 season at Clemson were high because fans, and the media like, always expected great things out of a Danny Ford coached Clemson team. However, those expectations were tempered somewhat with the loss of eight starters on offense and five on defense.
It also did not help that Clemson received a letter of inquiry from the NCAA in regards to recruiting violations and there was a quarterback controversy to replace the graduated Rodney Williams. Chris Morocco and DeChane Cameron were in a heated battle for the starting job and Ford decided not to pick a starter until minutes before the Tigers’ season opener against Furman.
Ford went with Morocco. Why?
“He was the first one I saw after we ran down the hill,” Ford said in the book Death Valley Days: The Glory of Clemson Football.
For the first time in four years, Clemson was not the favorite to win the ACC and represent the conference in the Citrus Bowl. But that’s what the outsiders were thinking. Inside the program, the Tigers felt as if they were just as good, if not better than the 1987 and 1988 teams, which both finished at 10-2 and were ACC Champions.
Thanks to convincing wins over Furman, Florida State, Virginia Tech and Maryland to open the season, expectations suddenly arose as Clemson suddenly became the favorite to not only win the ACC, but possibly the national championship as well.
The most impressive win that season came at Florida State on September 9, 1989. The Tigers jumped out to a 21-0 lead behind a 73-yard interception return by linebacker Wayne Simmons and a 73-yard touchdown run by running back Terry Allen.
Clemson won the game 34-23, and moved up to No. 7 in the polls the following week. It was a landmark win for the program as it was just the 10th home loss for the Seminoles in 10 years. It also snapped a 10-game home winning streak for No. 16 FSU.
The Seminoles did not lose another game the rest of the year and finished No. 3 in the final polls.
“I’m not surprised we played that well, but I am surprised it came as early as it did in the season against that kind of football team,” Ford said after the game. “We beat a quality team at their place. This is a great win for our team. It should give us plenty of confidence the rest of the season. I just hope we don’t get overconfident.”
But they did.
After steamrolling Virginia Tech and Maryland, the Tigers surged out to a 14-0 lead behind two Allen touchdowns at Duke in Week 5. It looked like it was going to be another easy win for Clemson, but Steve Spurrier’s team, which was 1-3 at the time, rallied for a stunning 21-17 victory. It was the Tigers first loss to Duke in nine years.
Duke closed the season with seven straight wins and won a share of the ACC Championship.
The Tigers bounced back in the following game at home against Virginia, but in the process lost Allen to a sprained knee. The next week they lost to Georgia Tech and were out of the ACC Championship race.
But all was not lost. Ford rallied his team before hosting undefeated and 12th-ranked NC State. He broke out the orange pants for the first time all season and his team responded with a 30-10 victory.
They finally started looking like the Clemson team that beat Florida State. After the NC State win, the pounded Wake Forest, 44-10, and then went to Chapel Hill and drilled North Carolina 35-3.
That set up a showdown with arch rival South Carolina the following week in Columbia. It was no contest. Clemson slaughtered the Gamecocks, 45-0 … The largest margin of victory in the rivalry’s 89-year history.
The Tigers outgained USC 466-155 and picked up 355 rushing yards. The Clemson defense forced five turnovers. The game also marked Allen’s return. He rushed for 89 yards in the first half, but he was injured again just before halftime, ending his season and what turned out to be his Clemson career.
On December 30, 1989, the Tigers defeated 17th-ranked West Virginia 27-7 in the Gator Bowl. Clemson held the Mountaineers to 237 total yards, including just 118 yards on the ground. Heisman Trophy runner-up Major Harris completed just 11 of 21 passes for 119 yards. He was intercepted once and fumbled three times.
Harris came into the game ranked eighth nationally in total offense and ninth in passing efficiency. However, outside linebacker Levon Kirkland was kept in check all day. Kirkland had nine tackles, a sack, forced a key fumble, broke up a pass and had three quarterback pressures.
With Kirkland, the game’s MVP providing pressure, Clemson held Harris to 136 total yards.
The victory was Clemson’s fifth straight to close the season, moving the Tigers up to No. 12 in the final Associated Press poll with a 10-2 record.
The win also marked the last for the Tigers under Ford. On January 18, 1990, Ford resigned as head coach after 11 full seasons. He finished his career tied for first in the ACC in career victories with 96 and was second in win percentage.
Ford had a 96-29-4 record as a head coach at Clemson, a .760 win percentage. He was the third winningest active coach in the country at the time of his resignation.
— Photo credit: USA TODAY Sports
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