On This Date: 1986 (15)Clemson- 17 Maryland- 17 F/T

Nov 15, 2022, 2:32 PM

11/15/1986
Baltimore, MD

Teams Play Coachless, Tie. Clemson wins ACC Championship

By Sally Jenkins
WASHINGTON POST ARCHIVES
Sunday November 16,1986

What happened to Maryland today was not necessarily worse than fisticuffs, worse than controversy, or worse than a loss, but it was inconclusive. The game that could have provided the Terrapins with a moral to their bewildering story this season instead ended with a 17-17 tie with Clemson at Memorial Stadium.

Clemson clinched the Atlantic Coast Conference title outright by driving 88 yards and eating up the last 7:01 of the game, David Treadwell kicking a 21-yard field goal with two seconds left. The drive came after Maryland had gone ahead, 17-14, on Tommy Neal's one-yard scoring run with 9:05 to go.

The Tigers chose to go for the field goal instead of a victory on third down from the 4-yard line. It may not have been courageous, but it did give them a 7-2-1, 5-1-1 record and the conference title that Maryland had held for three straight years.

"We came up to win the Atlantic Coast Conference championship and the outcome of the game gave us that," Coach Danny Ford said. "I wouldn't always encourage our players to go for a tie, but we want to do things that will better our program and I think winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship right now is better than a win."

The Terrapins are 4-5-1, 1-3-1 in the ACC, and will have to beat Virginia in Scott Stadium in two weeks to avoid a losing season for the first time since 1981, when they went 4-6-1 in former coach Jerry Claiborne's last season. The game's end was entirely typical of this season, in which Maryland had lost five of its last six games under peculiar and/or controversial circumstances.

"I really don't know what to say," Maryland Coach Bobby Ross said. "If I were Danny Ford I would have done the same thing . . . It beats losing, but it doesn't give you the win either. It's kind of in between."

The chief peculiarity to this game was that both head coaches watched it from the press box. Ross was banned from the sideline for confronting officials following a loss to North Carolina two weeks ago, and Ford was sanctioned for his conduct after last year's loss to Maryland, when he delivered a tirade against officials and six Tigers ended the game by pummeling Maryland defensive back Lewis Askew on the sideline.

"I didn't like it," Ross said. "It was not a very good experience. I felt I was in the game, but I felt a little handicapped in not being with the kids."

Said Ford, "I couldn't get in the flow of the game. But it was fair in what they did in making both of us sit up there."

What is most frustrating for the Terrapins is that they appeared to have Clemson beaten for most of the game. They got a one-yard scoring run from Neal late in the first quarter, and a 22-yard field goal from Dan Plocki late in the third. They were led by quarterback Dan Henning, who completed 15 of 36 passes for 195 yards and in the process set Maryland single-season records for completions (203), yardage (2,565) and total offense (2,513).

The previous record for completions was by Boomer Esiason (176), set in 1982. Stan Gelbaugh held the records for passing yardage (2,475) and total offense (2,385), set in 1985.

"You want to win, you don't want to lose or tie," Henning said. "A tie is settling for something. I wouldn't rather lose, but personally, I think it's just as bad."

The Tigers got a one-yard second-quarter scoring run from quarterback Rodney Williams, who rushed for 49 yards on eight carries in Clemson's option and added 10 of 19 completions for 103 yards. After a 7-7 tie at halftime, Kenny Flowers scored on a 28-yard run with 10:25 to go in the third quarter to put Clemson ahead, 14-7.

Then Maryland capitalized on Tracy Johnson's fumble, recovered by Tommy Parker at the Clemson 6, with Neal's scoring run. But then came Treadwell. He had missed field goal attempts of 46 and 47 yards earlier in the game, but he was good on the last.

Ironically, it was Askew who helped prevent a Clemson victory. The Tigers took over on their 8 with 7:01 to go and drove to a first down at the Maryland 6 with 1:14 remaining. Fullback Johnson carried for one yard up the middle, and then a personal foul penalty on Maryland after Terrence Flagler's one-yard gain gave them second and goal on the two.

Then Flagler started around end. Askew made a shoestring tackle for a loss of two.

"It was a fine tackle," Ross said. "A great open-field tackle."

On second down, Williams looked for Terrance Roulhac in the end zone. He dove, the ball went through his arms with five seconds left, and that brought on Treadwell.

"Maryland just put on a #### of a goal-line stand at the end," said Williams. "They shut us down right at the end after we had put together a good drive. I pretty much figured we would go for the field goal after we missed the pass play. It was the right thing to do, we were playing for a conference championship."

Maryland was not without its opportunities. The Terrapins' seeming inability to stop the Tigers' final drive belied the fact that they had done a commendable job the rest of the day. Clemson's backfield leads the ACC in rushing. The Tigers gained 246 yards on the ground, led by Johnson's 84 yards. But Flagler, the sixth-leading rusher in the nation who came in averaging 119.7 yards, was held to 32.

The key play on the final drive was a pass. On fourth and one at the Maryland 36, Williams audibled at the line when he saw Maryland in a goal-line defense. Lineman Rob Klein broke through and pursued him a good 20 yards backward, but Williams circled back and managed to get off a six-yard completion.

Against North Carolina two weeks ago, Maryland lost, 32-30, on a last-play field goal, sparking Ross' tirade. Against Penn State last week, a two-point conversion by Maryland at the very end failed, for a 17-15 loss. Then, today's dead end.

"Everyone felt like something had been taken away," Parker said. "We feel like we should have had more, like we deserved more and didn't get it."

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On This Date: 1986 (15)Clemson- 17 Maryland- 17 F/T

Re: On This Date: 1986 (15)Clemson- 17 Maryland- 17 F/T

I believe it was two years earlier...

Wasn’t that the touchdown where the receiver

The COLDEST game I have attended!

The game in Baltimore two years later was really cold too***

Re: The game in Baltimore two years later was really cold too***

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