1979 Clemson Tigers football team

The 1979 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1979 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its second season under head coach Danny Ford, the team compiled an 8–4 record (4–2 against conference opponents), tied for second place in the ACC, lost to Baylor in the 1979 Peach Bowl, and outscored opponents by a total of 205 to 116.^[1][2] The team won the 300th game in Clemson history on September 22 and played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

1979 Clemson Tigers football
Peach Bowl, L 18–24 vs. Baylor
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	8–4 (4–2 ACC)
Head coach	Danny Ford (2nd season)
Offensive coordinator	Jimmye Laycock (3rd season)
Defensive coordinator	Mickey Andrews (3rd season)
Captain	Bubba Brown, Billy Lott
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1978 1980 →

1979 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
NC State $	5	–	1	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Clemson	4	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
Maryland	4	–	2	–	0			7	–	4	–	0
Wake Forest	3	–	2	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
No. 15 North Carolina	3	–	3	–	0			8	–	3	–	1
Virginia	1	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Duke	0	–	6	–	0			2	–	8	–	1
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Bubba Brown and Billy Lott were the team captains. The team's statistical leaders included Billy Lott with 1,184 passing yards, Marvin Simms with 743 rushing yards, Perry Tuttle with 544 receiving yards, and placekicker Obed Ariri with 62 points scored (16 field goals, 14 extra points).^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 8	1:00 p.m.	Furman*		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 21–0	55,908	^[4]
September 15	3:20 p.m.	Maryland		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	L 0–19	52,474	^[5]
September 22	1:00 p.m.	Georgia*		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC (rivalry)	W 12–7	62,573	^[6]
October 6	1:00 p.m.	Virginia		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 17–7	62,310	^[7]
October 13	1:30 p.m.	at Virginia Tech*		Lane Stadium Blacksburg, VA	W 21–0	37,700	^[8]
October 20	1:30 p.m.	at Duke		Wallace Wade Stadium Durham, NC	W 28–10	24,600	^[9]
October 27	1:00 p.m.	NC State		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC (rivalry)	L 13–16	61,412	^[10]
November 3	1:00 p.m.	No. 14 Wake Forest		Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 31–0	59,205	^[11]
November 10	1:00 p.m.	at North Carolina	No. 18	Kenan Memorial Stadium Chapel Hill, NC	W 19–10	50,100	^[12]
November 17	1:30 p.m.	at Notre Dame*	No. 14	Notre Dame Stadium Notre Dame, IN	W 16–10	59,075	^[13]
November 24	1:30 p.m.	at No. 19 South Carolina*	No. 13	Williams–Brice Stadium Columbia, SC (rivalry)	L 9–13	56,887	^[14]
December 31		vs. No. 19 Baylor*	No. 18	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium Atlanta, GA (Peach Bowl)	L 18–24	57,321	^[15]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[16][17]

Game summaries

Duke

1 2 3 4 Total • Clemson 7 14 7 0 28 Duke 3 0 0 7 10 Date: October 20 Location: Wallace Wade Stadium • Durham, North Carolina Game attendance: 24,600

Scoring summary 1 DUKE Scott McKinney 34 yard field goal Duke 3-0 1 CLEM McSwain 14 yard run (Pauling kick) Clemson 7-3 2 CLEM McSwain 12 yard run (Pauling kick) Clemson 14-3 2 :22 CLEM Perry 1 yard run (Pauling kick) Clemson 21-3 3 CLEM Perry 1 yard run (Pauling kick) Clemson 28-3 4 DUKE Greg Rhett (Scott McKinney kick) Clemson 28-10

^[18]

Roster

1979 Clemson Tigers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 3 Homer Jordan Fr WR 22 Perry Tuttle So RB 39 Marvin Sims Sr OL 55 Jeff Bostic Sr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DL 66 Steve Durham Jr DT 83 Jim Stuckey Sr DT 99 Jeff Bryant So	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 1 Obed Ariri Jr	Head coach Danny Ford Coordinators/assistant coaches Legend (C) Team captain (S) Suspended (I) Ineligible   Injured   Redshirt Roster

References

1. "2016 Media Guide" (PDF). clemsontigers.com. Clemson Athletics. 2016. pp. 200–208. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
2. "1979 Clemson Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "1979 Clemson Tigers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Furman fails to tame Clemson". The Greenville News. September 9, 1979. Retrieved September 17, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Tigers blanked by Terps, 19–0". Greensboro Daily News. September 16, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Clemson gains revenge, dumps Georgia". The Times and Democrat. September 23, 1979. Retrieved October 30, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Clemson defense leaves Virginia 0-for-forever". The Charlotte Observer. October 7, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Clemson making progress 21–0". The Charlotte Observer. October 14, 1979. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Clemson rips Blue Devils, 28–10". The Lynchburg News. October 21, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "'Pack edges Tigers, 16–13". The Sun-News. October 28, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Wake Forest bubble bursts at Clemson". The Opelika-Auburn News. November 5, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Tigers boot Heels". The Greenville News. November 11, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Clemson feasts on Irish errors". Dayton Daily News. November 18, 1979. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. Abe Hardesty (November 25, 1979). "Gamecocks trip lunging Tigers". The Greenville News. p. 1C – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Baylor's passing game shocks Clemson". The Odessa American. January 1, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
16. "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1979". Clemson University. 1979. p. 154. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
17. "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1980". Clemson University. 1980. p. 2. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
18. Gainesville Sun. 1979 Oct 21.