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Do Ya'll Remember....
Nov 4, 2016, 7:47 PM
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COLLEGE FOOTBALL; Teams Play Coachless Tie
Published: November 16, 1986
BALTIMORE, Nov. 15— Something was missing today as a 21-yard field goal by David Treadwell on the final play of the game gave Clemson a 17-17 tie with Maryland, enabling the Tigers to clinch the Atlantic Coast Conference championship.
In fact, two somethings were missing.
Well, they weren't really missing. The coaches, Danny Ford of Clemson and Bobby Ross of Maryland, were in Memorial Stadium but not at their customary stations on the field. Because of sanctions by the conference, stemming from their involvement in separate incidents before today, they were forced to direct their charges from a box at the mezzanine level in Memorial Stadium.
That made this the first college game in which both coaches had been banished from the sidelines. Made a Lot of News
''I don't think it accomplished much but make a lot of news,'' said Ford, who like Ross, complained that the experience was one he would just as soon not repeat.
''I didn't like it,'' said Ross. ''It was not a good experience, not very enjoyable at all. This has been something on my mind, and now I'm glad to get it behind me.''
Ford's removal came as a result of an incident the last time these teams met, last year at Clemson, when he stepped onto the field and screamed at an official. That's not all that unusual, given the highly-charged atmosphere of college football games. Unfortunately for Ford, however, his dissertation included naughty words, and a nearby microphone plugged into a national television feed recorded what he said.
His verbiage then sparked something that resembled a small fight near the end of the game, a 34-31 Maryland victory, in which six Clemson players accosted one Maryland player in front of the Clemson bench. Probation for a Year
As a result, he was put on probation for a year and was forced to the sidelines the next time the teams were scheduled to play.
''You just can't do everything from the press box,'' Ford said. ''You can't control the sidelines or get into the flow of the game. I feel like I was scouting next week's opponent, rather than just played a football game.''
Ross got into trouble two weeks ago, when he became upset with an official in the immediate aftermath of Maryland's 32-30 loss to North Carolina. He ran down Don Safrit, the referee, and grabbed him. That's not allowed.
His penalty: Separation from his team the next time Maryland played an A.C.C. opponent.
Each coach was allowed, however, to be on the field before the game, in the locker room before and after the game and at the half. They were also allowed to orchestrate the action as they saw fit from above, although both left play-calling responsibilities to assistants, the usual routine. Crammed With Aides
And so throughout the game, they watched, directed, fidgeted, screamed at officials, shook their heads, shook their fists, cheered after good plays, grimaced after bad - in short, doing just about everything they would normally do - except move around. They almost couldn't. Their respective boxes - Ford's at the 30-yard line, Ross's at the 50 - weren't much more than five yards long and crammed with assistant coaches. Ford shared his with seven assistants; Ross, with five.
''We knew he wasn't there, but we felt him down on the field,'' said John Phillips, Clemson's right guard.
If confined surroundings of the coaches inhibited their behavior, it was not necessarily reflected on the field. The game was marked by intense play, lots of penalties (19), a few big plays and fine play by both teams in the fourth quarter, when Maryland scored on Tommy Neal's 1-yard touchdown run to give the Terrapins a 17-14 lead, and Clemson drove 88 yards in the last seven minutes before Treadwell kicked the tying field goal.
The tie gave Clemson its first league championship since 1981 with an overall record of 7-2-1, and a league mark of 5-1-1 in the A.C.C.
Maryland, which won the conference the last three seasons, is now 4-5-1 and 1-3-1 in the A.C.C.
Photos of Maryland coach Bobby Ross and Clemson coach Danny Ford (AP)
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