Tuesday October 17, 2006

Death Valley's Biggest Games and Most Hyped Games

Just How Big Is This Game?
Saturday night games versus Georgia Tech will be just the 16th game in Death Valley that features two teams ranked in the top 25. It will be the 12th game in Death Valley that features two 20 teams and just the second time that a game here will feature two teams ranked in the top 13. The Tigers are 10-5 in games at Death Valley with two top 25 teams.

Below is the list of previous top 25 match ups at Death Valley:
November 3, 1956 Clemson (13) 21 Virginia Tech (15) 6
November 12, 1977 Notre Dame (5) 21 Clemson (15) 17
November 6, 1982 Clemson (13) 16 North Carolina (18) 13
November 12, 1983 Clemson (17) 52 Maryland (11) 27
September 18, 1987 Clemson (8) 21 Georgia (18) 20
September 28, 1988 Florida State (10) 24 Clemson (3) 21
October 15, 1988 Clemson (11) 49 Duke (22) 17
November 19, 1988 Clemson (15) 29 South Carolina (25) 10
November 3, 1990 Clemson (18) 20 North Carolina (24) 3
September 28, 1991 Clemson (7) 9 Georgia Tech (19) 7
October 26, 1991 Clemson (19) 29 N.C. State (12) 19
September 12, 1992 Florida State (5) 24 Clemson (15) 20
September 20, 1997 Florida State (5) 35 Clemson (16) 28
November 18, 2000 Clemson (16) 16 South Carolina (25) 14
September 17, 2005 Miami (13) 36 Clemson (20) 30 (3OT)

The Top Five Most Hyped Games In Death Valley
The Tigers have played in some huge games in their history but lets take a look back at the top five pre-game build ups in Death Valley.

A. This is not a list of the greatest games in school history.
B. This list does not include any road games or bowl games
C. This is simply a list of the most hyped home games in the last 30 years.

1. November 12, 1977 Clemson-Notre Dame
Clemson plays host to fifth-ranked Notre Dame. It was the first meeting between the two schools. There were 38 players in this game that went on to play in the NFL including Joe Montana. The Tigers held a late lead but “Comeback Joe” led the Irish to a late 21-17 win. The Tigers were ranked 15th at the time but fell to the eventual national champions. The game will also be remembered for two other items. The student body at Clemson organized a silent treatment for the Irish before the game. During pre-game warm ups you could hear a pin drop but Death Valley erupted as the Tigers poured into the Valley making this one of the loudest games in Clemson history. The other side note to this affair was the conduct of Notre Dame coach Dan Devine who received a couple of penalties for his actions. Many Clemson fans still remember Devine flipping the crowd his middle finger during the game. It was also one of the first times tickets were being scalped at outrageous prices before the game. Clemson football had many proud moments prior to this affair but this was in my opinion the birth of big-time football in Death Valley where the game had national title implications.

2. September 17, 1988 Clemson-Florida State
Clemson and FSU played in the first game in Death Valley that featured two top ten ranked teams. CBS televised the battle between the third-ranked Tigers and 10th-ranked Seminoles. A rainy day met both squads that afternoon that will always be remembered as the “Puntrooskie Game.” Clemson held FSU deep in its own territory with the game tied at 21 but FSU ran its famous fake punt as Leroy Butler raced 78 yards to the Clemson three-yard line. Controversy ensued as FSU appeared to call a time out that they did not have. The Noles kicked the game winning field goal in the contests last minute.

3. October 23, 1999 Clemson-Florida State
This game marked the first time a father and son played each other as opposing head coaches. Florida State and Bobby Bowden came into the contest ranked number-one in the country on the way to the national title. Tommy Bowden was in his first season at Clemson and ran a fake punt to keep the Tigers in the game. A record crowd of 86,092 watched as the Tigers missed a field goal in the last two minutes that could have tied the game at 17.

4. September 19, 1987 Clemson-Georgia
Clemson had defeated Georgia the previous year on a last-second David Treadwell field goal in Athens. This time the Tigers were ranked eighth and favored over the 18th ranked Bulldogs. The game was hyped all summer as two of the nation’s top powers of the 1980s were set to collide in mid-September. Clemson trailed Georgia 20-16 late in the fourth quarter but pinned the Bulldogs inside their own one-yard line with a terrific punt. UGA signal caller James Jackson was stopped for a safety on the second play after the punt to cut the Dawg lead to 20-18. Terry Allen broke a couple of big gains on the game’s final drive to set up another game winning field goal from Treadwell.

5. November 18, 2000 Clemson-South Carolina
Only one other time in history (1988) had Clemson and South Carolina entered their rivalry game with both teams ranked in a game that was to be played in Death Valley. The Tigers entered the game at number 16 and the Gamecocks came in at number 25. Tommy Bowden was looking to go 2-0 against Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz who had turned South Carolina around after an 0-11 campaign the previous year. Clemson came in 8-2 and the Gamecocks were 7-3. This game did not disappoint as Rod Gardner came away with one of the most famous plays in school history on an incredible 50-yard pass from Woody Dantzler. The play set up a game-winning 25-yard field goal by Aaron Hunt for a 16-14 Clemson victory.

The other game I would mention with these top five hyped games was the 1983 Maryland game. The Terps were ranked 11th and Clemson came into the game number 17. This game saw 3,000 Clemson students arrive at Death Valley at 7:00 AM to blow up 363,729 balloons. The Maryland team was trounced that day 52-27.

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