Clemson vs. Wake Forest Series
•Clemson owns 56 wins over Wake
Forest in history, its second highest victory total
over any opponent. Clemson has 63 wins over
South Carolina. Forty-six of those wins against
Wake Forest have taken place since the ACC
was formed in 1953.
•Clemson won the 2006 game at
Wake Forest, 27-17. Gaines Adams, now with
the Tampa Bay Bucs of the NFL, had a game
changing 66-yard fumble return on a botched
field goal attempt in the fourth quarter to cut
the Demon Deacons lead to 17-10. The Tigers
scored 24 points in the fourth period to gain the
victory.
•This is Clemson’s third appearance
at Wake Forest in the last four years. With the
expansion of the ACC in 2004 and 2005 there
were some changes made to the schedule and
it forced Clemson to go to Wake Forest in consecutive
years, 2005 and 2006. Wake Forest
won the 2005 meeting 31-27 and Clemson won
the 2006 game, 27-17.
•Clemson leads the series 56-16-1
overall, including a 32-7 record in games played
at Clemson and a 28-7 mark in games played
in Death Valley. Clemson has won 22 of the
last 24 against Wake Forest in Death Valley.
Clemson did not lose at home to Wake Forest
between 1962-92. Wake Forest broke the streak
in 1993 when Jim Caldwell’s first team defeated
Clemson 20-16 at Death Valley. Wake Forest
also won at Clemson in 1998.
• The Deacs won 45-17 in 2003
against a Clemson team that finished the year
9-4 and ranked in the top 25 in the nation.
Clemson won four in a row after that game and
Wake Forest lost its last three games. In 2005,
Wake Forest defeated Clemson 31-27. Clemson
finished that season in the top 25 as well with an
8-4 record. So the last two wins for Wake Forest
in the series they defeated Clemson teams that
ended the season in the top 25.
•Clemson has a 46-8-1 edge in the
series since 1953, a .845 winning percentage.
Clemson has played Wake Forest in football
55 consecutive years, as the last year the
two schools did not play was 1952. The two
schools are in the same division, so they will
continue to play annually.
•Clemson has a 20-9-1 lead in the
series in games played at Wake Forest, including
12-5-1 in games played at Groves Stadium.
•Only one coach in history won as
many as four games against Clemson without
a loss in Death Valley and the coach was from
Wake Forest. Frank Howard and Peahead
Walker had a close friendship, but Peahead had
a 4-0 record against Howard in Death Valley.
•Clemson has won 11 out of 14 against
Wake Forest dating to 1994. The Demon
Deacons won back-to-back games in 1992-93,
the only time Wake Forest has won consecutive
contests against Clemson since 1946-47.
•Clemson has a 7-2 record against
Wake Forest under Tommy Bowden, but five of
the seven Clemson wins have been decided
by 10 points or less. The Tigers won 12-3 in
1999, 21-14 in 2001, 31-23 in 2002 and 37-30 in
double overtime in 2004. The Tigers won 27-17
in 2006, but trailed 17-3 entering the fourth period.
•Clemson’s only two large margins against
Wake Forest under Bowden took place in 2000
when Clemson won by a 55-9 score and last
year when Clemson won 44-10.
•The two teams have played at three
neutral sites games over the years, including
Tokyo, Japan. Clemson won that game in 1982
by a 21-17 score to close out an ACC Championship
season.
•Clemson defeated a Wake Forest
team coached by current Virginia coach Al Groh
on Halloween Day 1981 by an 82-24 score. That
is the highest scoring game in ACC history involving
two league teams. Clemson was 12-12
on third down in that game, a school record. The
Tigers went on to win the national championship
that season.
Clemson Only Team to beat Wake Forest Last
Two Years
While Wake Forest has been given
Clemson trouble since Jim Grobe became the
head coach of the Demon Deacons in 2001, the
Tigers have defeated Wake Forest each of the
last two years, the only team that can make that
claim. Clemson won the 2006 contest at Wake
Forest by a 27-17 score, the year Wake Forest
won the ACC championship.
Last year Clemson defeated Wake
Forest 44-10 at Clemson in what proved to be a
Atlantic Division race elimination game. That 44-
10 Clemson victory is Wake Forest’s largest margin
of defeat since 2004, a period of time dating
43 games. Tommy Bowden is 5-2 against Jim
Grobe head-to-head, and Bowden is 7-2 against
Wake Forest overall.
Last Game in Winston-Salem: Clemson 27, Wake Forest 17 (2006)
With No. 15 Clemson trailing 17-3 entering
the fourth quarter, the Tigers scored the final 24
points to defeat unbeaten Wake Forest 27-17 at
Groves Stadium on October 7, 2006. It was the
third time in school history that the Tigers overcame
a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to gain victory.
The turning point came on the first play
of the fourth quarter. Wake Forest lined up for a
field goal that would have given it a 17-point lead.
But Jon Temple was unable to cleanly receive the
snap. He got up and tried to make a play, but
Gaines Adams caused a fumble, grabbed the ball
out of midair with one hand, and raced 66 yards
for a score.
Clemson scored two more touchdowns
and a field goal thanks in part to two more turnovers
caused by its defense.
The Tigers started four drives inside their
own five, including twice on the one. But, Clemson
had a pair of 96-yard drives, the first time in Tiger
history that it had two drives of 95 yards or more
in the same game.
C.J. Spiller rushed for 104 yards on nine
carries, while James Davis carried 26 times for 95
yards. Davis was kept out of the end zone, snapping
his nine-game streak of scoring at least one
rushing touchdown.
Will Proctor was 20-30 for 214 yards
and came through with the game-tying score on
a touchdown pass to Aaron Kelly. Kelly had five
catches for 91 yards, both game-highs. Riley Skinner
showed pinpoint accuracy, as he was 18-23
for 169 yards to lead the Demon Deacon passing
attack.
Kevin Marion took the opening kickoff 93
yards to the Tiger seven. But C.J. Gaddis stripped
De’Angelo Bryant on first-and-goal from the two,
and Duane Coleman recovered at the one.
Clemson marched 96 yards in 14 plays
on the ensuing drive, but settled for a Jad Dean 20-
yard field goal after the drive stalled at the three.
Late in the first quarter, the Demon Deacons
drove 67 yards in nine plays to take the lead.
Skinner hit Morton down the sideline for 36 yards to move into Tiger territory. Then on third-and-goal,
Skinner connected with Willie Idlette in the back
of the end zone for a six-yard touchdown pass.
Later in the quarter Morton lofted a
perfectly-thrown 19-yard strike to Skinner on an
end-around pass to put Wake Forest up 14-3. Sam
Swank added a field goal to make the count 17-3
going into the fourth period.
A Proctor interception late in the third
period gave the Demon Deacons possession
again in Tiger territory. Five plays netted 15 yards
to the Tiger 24. That is when Adams came through
with the play-of-the-game on the botched field-goal
attempt. Adams’ 66-yard fumble return on the first
play of the fourth quarter was his only touchdown
as a Tiger.
Brandon Cannon stripped Skinner on
Wake Forest’s ensuing drive, and Donnell Clark
recovered at the Demon Deacon 43. Five plays
later, Proctor zipped a 20-yard touchdown pass to
Kelly to tie the score.
Clemson’s defense forced a three-and-
out, but Swank pinned the Tigers inside their own
five again. After Thomas Hunter’s 10-yard catch
on third down, C.J. Spiller sprinted 72 yards for
the go-ahead touchdown with 7:22 left. It was the
longest run by a Tiger running back since 1993.
Wake Forest drove into Tiger territory
on the ensuing drive, but was called for a penalty.
Gaddis later intercepted Skinner’s pass and returned
the ball near midfield.
The Tigers drove inside the 10 before
settling for Dean’s field goal that gave Clemson a
10-point lead with 1:12 left.
Tigers Unusual Schedule Continues
Clemson just completed a four-game home stand in four
consecutive weeks, the first time that has happened since 1989. Now
the Tigers are in a stretch in which they will play just one home game in a
48-day period. That game will be against Georgia Tech on October 18.
First, Clemson will travel to Wake Forest to play the Demon
Deacons on Thursday, October 9. The Wake Forest and Georgia Tech
games are the only games on the schedule in October for the Tigers. This
is the first time since 1918 that Clemson plays just two games in the month
of October, That year Clemson had just one October game and it was
against Georgia Tech. Clemson plays just on just one of the four Saturdays
in October this year.
Clemson will concluded the season with five games in November,
including three ACC games on the road, at Boston College, at Florida
State and at Virginia. This will be the first time Clemson has played five
games in November since 1958, exactly 50 years ago. That year Clemson
won four of its last five to finish with an 8-2 mark and gain a berth in the
Sugar Bowl for the only time in school history.
Tigers Have Started Four Different OL Combinations in Five Games
Clemson has had four different starting combinations in the
offensive line over the first five games of the season. Injuries to three
starters have led to the changes over the course of the first month of the
season. It was not an area that Clemson could afford to have injuries
because the Tigers were replacing four starters from last year’s team that
led the conference in scoring.
The problems began when Barry Humphries suffered a knee
injury against Alabama. The starting guard has not returned since. Chris
Hairston, starting tackle, then sustained a knee injury in a moped accident
after The Citadel game. He returned to limited action against Maryland.
David Smith, a starting guard, suffered a high ankle sprain against South
Carolina State and did not play against Maryland.
At times Clemson has started three red-shirt freshmen in the offensive
line at the same time, a first since 1943. Bobby Hutchinson started
the last game at a guard. The senior was suppose to spend the season as
a student assistant coach, but the injuries have brought him to the active
roster.
Despite the injuries, the Tigers have faired well in the ACC stats
so far this year. As a team, Clemson is fourth in the ACC in scoring at
30.6 points per game, sixth in rushing offense at 165.6 yards per game
and fourth in passing offense at 220.2 yards per game. Clemson is
second in the conference in pass efficiency offense at 134.5 and is third in
total offense at 385.8 yards per game.
Center Thomas Austin is the only Tiger to start all five games at
the same offensive line position. Austin and tackle Cory Lambert are the
only two to start all five games.
Tigers Gain 221 Yards Rushing vs. Maryland
Clemson rushed for 221 yards in its 20-17 loss to Maryland
on September 27. It marked the first time since 1999 that Clemson lost
a game in which it ran for at least 200 yards. Clemson had won 30 consecutive
games since a loss at Georgia Tech in 1999 when it had gained
at least 200 yards rushing. Clemson is now 33-2 under Tommy Bowden
when it gains at least 200 yards rushing.
Spiller Has Had Long Plays vs. Wake Forest
Clemson running back C.J. Spiller has 11 touchdown runs of
at least 50 yards in his career and two of them have come against Wake
Forest, one in each of the last two years. As a freshman in 2006, Spiller
had a 72-yard touchdown run in the fourth period in Clemson’s 27-17 victory.
Last year, Spiller had a 90-yard kickoff return for a touchdown against
Wake Forest, the second longest play of his three-year career. The only
play that is longer is a 96-yard kickoff return for a score against Alabama
earlier this year.
Davis Nearing 100-yard Rushing Game Record
Clemson senior running back James Davis had his 14th career
100-yard rushing game against Maryland on September 27. Davis now
needs just one 100-yard rushing game to tie Raymond Priester’s career
record of 15 set between 1994-97. Priester is Clemson’s career rushing
leader with 3966 yards and Davis is second with 3505. Thus, Davis needs
462 to break the career mark.
Davis had 17 attempts for 126 yards and a touchdown against
Maryland, but the Tigers dropped a 20-17 decision. It was the first time
Clemson had lost a game in which Davis gained at least 100 yards so the
record is now 13-1. Davis averaged 7.4 yards per carry against Maryland
and now has a 6.15 average for the season. Davis has a 5.45 yards per
carry figure for his career, 17th best in the nation among active Division I
players.
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