1980 Clemson Tigers football team

The 1980 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson University in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. In its third season under head coach Danny Ford, the team compiled a 6–5 record (2–4 against conference opponents), tied for fourth place in the ACC, and was outscored by a total of 222 to 217.^[1][2] The team won the 100th ACC game in Clemson history on November 1 and played its home games at Memorial Stadium in Clemson, South Carolina.

1980 Clemson Tigers football
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Record	6–5 (2–4 ACC)
Head coach	Danny Ford (3rd season)
Offensive coordinator	Nelson Stokley (1st season)
Defensive coordinator	Mickey Andrews (4th season)
Captain	Lee Nanney, Willie Underwood
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Seasons ← 1979 1981 →

1980 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team	W		L		T			W		L		T
No. 10 North Carolina $	6	–	0	–	0			11	–	1	–	0
Maryland	5	–	1	–	0			8	–	4	–	0
NC State	3	–	3	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Clemson	2	–	4	–	0			6	–	5	–	0
Wake Forest	2	–	4	–	0			5	–	6	–	0
Virginia	2	–	4	–	0			4	–	7	–	0
Duke	1	–	5	–	0			2	–	9	–	0
$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

Lee Nanney and Willie Underwood were the team captains. The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Homer Jordan with 1,311 passing yards, Chuck McSwain with 544 rushing yards, Perry Tuttle with 915 receiving yards, and placekicker Obed Ariri with 87 points scored (23 field goals, 18 extra points).^[3]

Schedule

Date	Time	Opponent	Site	Result	Attendance	Source
September 13	1:00 p.m.	Rice*	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 19–3	60,361	[4]
September 20	1:30 p.m.	at No. 10 Georgia*	Sanford Stadium Athens, GA (rivalry)	L 16–20	61,200	[5]
September 27	1:00 p.m.	Western Carolina*	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 17–10	58,490	[6]
October 4	1:00 p.m.	Virginia Tech*	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	W 13–10	64,558	[7]
October 11	1:30 p.m.	at Virginia	Scott Stadium Charlottesville, VA	W 27–24	32,443	[8]
October 18	1:00 p.m.	Duke	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	L 17–34	59,873	[9]
October 25	1:00 p.m.	at NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium Raleigh, NC (rivalry)	L 20–24	44,400	[10]
November 1	1:00 p.m.	at Wake Forest	Groves Stadium Winston-Salem, NC	W 35–33	28,200	[11]
November 8	1:00 p.m.	No. 14 North Carolina	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC	L 19–24	62,500	[12]
November 15	1:20 p.m.	at Maryland	Byrd Stadium College Park, MD	L 7–34	32,650	[13]
November 22	1:00 p.m.	No. 19 South Carolina*	Memorial Stadium Clemson, SC (rivalry)	W 27–6	64,200	[14]
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

^[15][16]

Roster

1980 Clemson Tigers football team roster
Players			Coaches
Offense Pos. # Name Class QB 3 Homer Jordan So WR 15 Jeff Stockstill So WR 22 Perry Tuttle Jr RB 35 Chuck McSwain So WR 41 Jerry Gaillard Jr OT 77 Lee Nanney Jr	Defense Pos. # Name Class DE 57 Nick Bowman Jr DL 66 Steve Durham Sr DT 71 Dan Benish So DT 99 Jeff Bryant Jr	Special teams Pos. # Name Class K 1 Obed Ariri Sr	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. "1980 Clemson Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
3. "1980 Clemson Tigers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
4. "Jordan, Ariri key Clemson over Rice". The Victoria Advocate. September 14, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
5. "Georgia stops Tigers". The News and Observer. September 21, 1980. Retrieved October 31, 2023 – via Newspapers.com.
6. "Sluggish Clemson survives Western Carolina rally, 17–10". The Times and Democrat. September 28, 1980. Retrieved August 11, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
7. "Ariri's field goal beats Gobblers". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 5, 1980. Retrieved December 15, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
8. "Clemson pulls out 27–24 win by Cavs". Bristol Herald Courier. October 12, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
9. "Clemson shocked by Duke 34–17". The Roanoke Times & World-News. October 19, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
10. "Wolfpack slips past Clemson". The Sun-News. October 26, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
11. "Tigers get scare from Wake 35–33". The Charlotte Observer. November 2, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
12. "Goal line stand saves Tar Heels". The Danville Register. November 9, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
13. "Maryland defeats Tigers, 34–7". The Macon Telegraph & News. November 16, 1980. Retrieved January 28, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
14. "Clemson shocks Carolina, 27–6". The Times and Democrat. November 23, 1980. p. 1B – via Newspapers.com.
15. "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1980". Clemson University. 1980. p. 2. Retrieved November 10, 2023.
16. "Clemson Football Media Guide - 1981". Clemson University. 1981. p. 2. Retrieved November 10, 2023.