The Dabo Era vs. Georgia Tech

GTRX7

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,524
Location
Atlanta
I came across some additional historical info on Clemson the other day. It is really unbelievable how much (a) college football has changed over the years and (b) how much better a program can become by dumping in tons of new money. Right now, Clemson is an absolute dominant power house. On the flip side, our fans are having an absolute heart attack about how bad we have been against Duke.

Did you know that we have basically the exact same all-time record against Clemson as we have against Duke?
v. Clemson: 50-31-2
v. Duke: 51-34-1
 

Heisman's Ghost

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,945
Location
Albany Georgia
Whoops, good catch. I originally lumped all P5 together before manually splitting it out. Missed that one.

The point differential would be interesting and certainly has some advantages. At the end of the day it's about W and L, and that was tedious enough for me.

South Carolina is Clemson's biggest rival. I was surprised to see that the Gamecocks had won 5 games but the Head Ball Coach beat them almost every time during his tenure so maybe understandable. I would not want to be in Champ's shoes right now. A frenzied and demanding fan base combined with a schedule that features both UGA and Clemson as well as Florida is not going to be an easy row to hoe. On the other hand, USCe was fortunate in joining the SEC at the same time as Missouri and got the Tigers as their "traditional" cross division rival. Could be worse, the Gamecocks could have ended up with LSU like Florida has or Alabama like Tennessee was struck with.
 

Heisman's Ghost

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,945
Location
Albany Georgia
I came across some additional historical info on Clemson the other day. It is really unbelievable how much (a) college football has changed over the years and (b) how much better a program can become by dumping in tons of new money. Right now, Clemson is an absolute dominant power house. On the flip side, our fans are having an absolute heart attack about how bad we have been against Duke.

Did you know that we have basically the exact same all-time record against Clemson as we have against Duke?
v. Clemson: 50-31-2
v. Duke: 51-34-1

True, but back in the day Duke was a lot better than the Tigers in football. Hard to imagine, I know but Duke was a consistent winner in football all during the 50s and early 60s while Clemson was pretty bad especially in the 60s. I think we have played the Blue Devils more than any other opponent other than UGA. Could be wrong about that but seems like I heard that in some broadcast or another.
 

Heisman's Ghost

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,945
Location
Albany Georgia
True, but back in the day Duke was a lot better than the Tigers in football. Hard to imagine, I know but Duke was a consistent winner in football all during the 50s and early 60s while Clemson was pretty bad especially in the 60s. I think we have played the Blue Devils more than any other opponent other than UGA. Could be wrong about that but seems like I heard that in some broadcast or another.

I was wrong. Clemson during Frank Howard's tenure from 1940 to 1970 won EIGHT conference championships (the old Southern Conference and the ACC which began in 1953 or thereabouts) while Duke won 6. Damn, the old "Bashful Baron of Barlow Bend" was the football coach for 30 years. Amazing. The discrepancy of Duke winning almost as many games against us as Clemson is mostly a result of recent success combined with the tenure of Wallace Wade in Durham during the 1930s and early 40s. Let me tell you, that man was some kind of football coach. Even Bear Bryant respected him above all else. To be sure, Duke has been a thorn in our side for quite some time. It seems they almost always play us tough especially in that mausoleum stadium of theirs. Even Ted Roof beat us one year there.
 

GTRX7

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,524
Location
Atlanta
True, but back in the day Duke was a lot better than the Tigers in football. Hard to imagine, I know but Duke was a consistent winner in football all during the 50s and early 60s while Clemson was pretty bad especially in the 60s. I think we have played the Blue Devils more than any other opponent other than UGA. Could be wrong about that but seems like I heard that in some broadcast or another.

Top 10 opponents by number of matchups:
1. Georgia (41-67-5)

2. Auburn (41-47-4)

3. Duke (51-34-1)

4. Clemson (50-31-2)

5. North Carolina (30-21-3)

6. Alabama (21-28-3)

7. Tulane (37-13-0)

8. Tennessee (17-25-2)

9. Virginia (21-19-1)

10. Vanderbilt (20-15-3)
 

GTRX7

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,524
Location
Atlanta
I agree but others said it would make the schedule too difficult .

I mean, we basically have been doing that. We played a home and home with AU 20 years ago, played UT just a few years ago, played teams like Miss St. and BYU in between, and had Alabama scheduled before they pulled out (due to our option offense IMHO).

I like the idea of mixing it up, but do like playing AU and UT in particular.
 

Heisman's Ghost

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,945
Location
Albany Georgia
Top 10 opponents by number of matchups:
1. Georgia (41-67-5)

2. Auburn (41-47-4)

3. Duke (51-34-1)

4. Clemson (50-31-2)

5. North Carolina (30-21-3)

6. Alabama (21-28-3)

7. Tulane (37-13-0)

8. Tennessee (17-25-2)

9. Virginia (21-19-1)

10. Vanderbilt (20-15-3)

Well it will not be long before both Clemson and Duke pass Auburn. This is what happens when you have power conferences with schedules filled with conference opponents. I am kind of surprised that our series with Vanderbilt is as close as it is. Can't remember the last time we lost to the Commodores. We have losing records against most of the SEC teams and winning records against all 4 of the ACC teams. Well, Coach Dodd said that if we did not leave the SEC in 1963 that it would not be long before the only teams we would be able to beat would be Kentucky, Tulane, Vanderbilt and Florida because of recruiting advantages of the SEC powerhouses. He may have said that with hyperbole but given the recruiting and especially the tremendous disparity in funding the handwriting was on the wall. How we managed to beat Alabama twice in the early 80s and Auburn twice with Reggie will remain one of life's mysteries.
 

GTRX7

Helluva Engineer
Messages
1,524
Location
Atlanta
We have a historical winning record against:
Miss St (5-0)
Florida (23-9-6)
LSU (12-7)
Kentucky (12-7-1)
South Carolina (12-9)
Vanderbilt (20-15-3)

We have a losing record against:
Auburn (41-47-4)
Alabama (21-28-3)
Tennessee (17-25-2)
U(sic)GA (can't remember ; (

We are .500 against A&M, Ole Miss, Missouri, and Arky, but only played each 1 or 2 times.
 

iopjacket

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
812
True, but back in the day Duke was a lot better than the Tigers in football. Hard to imagine, I know but Duke was a consistent winner in football all during the 50s and early 60s while Clemson was pretty bad especially in the 60s. I think we have played the Blue Devils more than any other opponent other than UGA. Could be wrong about that but seems like I heard that in some broadcast or another.

Clemson's record versus Duke in Football is 37 wins, 16 losses, and 1 tie. The Clemson Duke series was 5-5 in the sixties. I agree with you that Duke was a much better team in the 40s and 50s. Duke and Clemson started playing each other yearly in 1959 and stopped in 2008.
 

stech81

Helluva Engineer
Messages
8,962
Location
Woodstock Georgia
Well it will not be long before both Clemson and Duke pass Auburn. This is what happens when you have power conferences with schedules filled with conference opponents. I am kind of surprised that our series with Vanderbilt is as close as it is. Can't remember the last time we lost to the Commodores. We have losing records against most of the SEC teams and winning records against all 4 of the ACC teams. Well, Coach Dodd said that if we did not leave the SEC in 1963 that it would not be long before the only teams we would be able to beat would be Kentucky, Tulane, Vanderbilt and Florida because of recruiting advantages of the SEC powerhouses. He may have said that with hyperbole but given the recruiting and especially the tremendous disparity in funding the handwriting was on the wall. How we managed to beat Alabama twice in the early 80s and Auburn twice with Reggie will remain one of life's mysteries.
I have no way of knowing but I would have thought if we had stayed in the SEC recruiting may have been a little better and we would have had more sellouts. Know real way to know .
 

Heisman's Ghost

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,945
Location
Albany Georgia
I have no way of knowing but I would have thought if we had stayed in the SEC recruiting may have been a little better and we would have had more sellouts. Know real way to know .
Perhaps, the above was not my opinion just Coach Dodd. I was 10 years old in 1964. Seems, my dad who was a season ticket holder was not happy. I can only attest that when Grant Field was host to Alabama, Auburn, Tennesse, and UGA there was definitely an aura of excitement that is not exactly duplicated when we play Virginia, Duke, Wake etc. Whether or not we could have remained competitive is another story. Probably not but I can tell you this: In his biography the Bear was at a meeting with some of his assistants just after his first national championship at the Capstone and complained that "...we would have it made. The only thing that bothers me about coaching each Saturday is the one time I have to look across the field and see that damn Dodd"
 

Heisman's Ghost

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,945
Location
Albany Georgia
Clemson's record versus Duke in Football is 37 wins, 16 losses, and 1 tie. The Clemson Duke series was 5-5 in the sixties. I agree with you that Duke was a much better team in the 40s and 50s. Duke and Clemson started playing each other yearly in 1959 and stopped in 2008.

Yep. Upon "further review" the video evidence was sufficient to overturn my first post on this and had to do a retraction. Both teams had their moments in the ACC which started in the early 1950s but Clemson was much more of a football school and it showed with 8 conference championships for Coach Howard during his 30 year tenure. Impressive even back when the ACC was not that good.
 

Heisman's Ghost

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,945
Location
Albany Georgia
We have a historical winning record against:
Miss St (5-0)
Florida (23-9-6)
LSU (12-7)
Kentucky (12-7-1)
South Carolina (12-9)
Vanderbilt (20-15-3)

We have a losing record against:
Auburn (41-47-4)
Alabama (21-28-3)
Tennessee (17-25-2)
U(sic)GA (can't remember ; (

We are .500 against A&M, Ole Miss, Missouri, and Arky, but only played each 1 or 2 times.

Nothing earth shattering here but I will confess that our record against Alabama is better than I thought it would be and no way would I have suspected us to have a winning record against LSU. Believe it or not, I read a book about Florida football and according to the author, experts on the Gators say UF's upset win against Tech ( circa 1961?) at Florida Field is considered to have been a milestone as Ray Graves first big win as the head coach of the Gators. It is seen as similar to how Coach Dodd viewed his first win at Tennessee against his old mentor General Neyland. Tech went in a big underdog in the late 1940s and won 27-0. Dodd later said it was one of his biggest wins as a head coach to do it on the same field he had played on as an All American 10 years earlier.
 

Heisman's Ghost

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,945
Location
Albany Georgia
Clemson's record versus Duke in Football is 37 wins, 16 losses, and 1 tie. The Clemson Duke series was 5-5 in the sixties. I agree with you that Duke was a much better team in the 40s and 50s. Duke and Clemson started playing each other yearly in 1959 and stopped in 2008.

Maybe the Blue Devils would like to swap cross divisional rivals. We take whoever they have, I don't know who it is and they take Clemson just for old times sake hmm?
 

iopjacket

Ramblin' Wreck
Messages
812
Maybe the Blue Devils would like to swap cross divisional rivals. We take whoever they have, I don't know who it is and they take Clemson just for old times sake hmm?

We are going to have a hard time unloading Clemson as cross divisional rivals. The only way may be to swap divisions. Still have to play the Tigers though.
 

Heisman's Ghost

Helluva Engineer
Messages
4,945
Location
Albany Georgia
We are going to have a hard time unloading Clemson as cross divisional rivals. The only way may be to swap divisions. Still have to play the Tigers though.

There is no one dumb enough to do this. We are stuck with playing them and UGA so let's make the best of it and improve to the point where we can be GIANT KILLERS to one or the other as the opportunity presents itself. But in order to get in a position of making a nuisance of ourselves we have to get better: better recruiting especially of linemen, superior roster management, increase our commitment to player development, and further improvement of facilities. To put icing on the cake, we need to be uh, creative in improving and expanding curriculum so that it becomes a plus and not the current minus in recruiting. Do these things and there may come a day when both Clemson and UGA will be looking at ways to get rid of US and not the other way around.
 
Top