Thoughts on Playing Citadel,

Sep 16, 2020, 6:50 AM

Since the Tigers took the field in their first game against Furman on October 31, 1896, 1235 games have been played against 90 different foes. To be sure, our football team has a long, storied past. And I have a plan to make it even better.

Of those 90 teams, Clemson has a winning record against most, 53 to be exact. Of those 90, Clemson has a losing record against 27 teams, and a .500 record against 10 teams.

Now this is where it gets interesting. With very little effort (and some wins) Clemson could move itself out of the "loser's bracket" against a number of these teams pretty quickly if they were simply put on the schedule.

First, I will note there are 7 teams that will forever have a winning record against the Tigers. Why? Because their football team no longer exists. Georgia Pre-flight (12-2-1; 1942-1943), Jacksonville Naval Air Station (9-3; 1943), Pacific (209-280-9; 1943-1995), and Sewanee (161-155-23; 1902-1941) are all 1-0 against the Tigers. Centre (51-20-3; 1919-1935) is astoundingly 3-0 against the Tigers. Fordham (126-70-17; 1909-1954) and the notorious Cumberland (7-5-1; 1903-1905) are both 0-0-1 against Clemson. Oh what I would give to have a chance to go one game up on, or at least even the score with these teams. Yet, they will forever reign as undefeated against us, leaving Clemson 20 other teams with a winning record for us to focus on.

Clemson is either .500 all-time or one win away from .500 against some very interesting teams. Mississippi State, Nebraska, Colorado, TCU, Texas A&M, VMI, West Virginia and Villanova are 8 worthy opponents with an even record against Clemson, and scheduling them would not be difficult. One win against any one of these teams is all it would take to tilt our winning percentage into positive territory. Likewise, it would take only one win against Texas Tech, USC, Minnesota, Miami, Marshall, Pitt, and South Florida to even our records. At least a win against these teams would get us out of the losing side of the ledger.

Then there are some surprises. Let's start with Wofford. I bet you didn't realize that Clemson has a losing record against the Terriers. Yes, the Tigers need 1 more win to get to 3-3 against them. So, wouldn't it be nice if we were playing Wofford this season rather than The Citadel? Clearly a win against Wofford would have more meaning, than beating Citadel for the 25th time does. If you were shocked by the Wofford thing, consider that it will take two wins for Clemson to get to 3-3 against Vanderbilt and to become 6-6 against Tulane.

Then there are the teams that we have some real work to do to reach the stated goal. It would take double-digit wins, with no losses, against Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, and Auburn to get close to overtaking them in head-to-head winning percentage. Obviously this would take decades. Thanks in part to John Heisman, even for our annual opponent GTech it will take 21 years to get even with them.

If the 2020 season goes as expected Clemson should even our overall record with both Pitt (11/28) and Miami (10/10), and we could have easily added another to that list if Wofford had been scheduled. Let's hope that football administration sees this opportunity and then seizes it by focusing future scheduling toward those teams where only one win can make a bigger difference.

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Thoughts on Playing Citadel,

Re: Thoughts on Playing Citadel,KICK THAT DOG!***

Re: Thoughts on Playing Citadel,

We know what to do with a dog on our grass...........***

Re: Thoughts on Playing Citadel,

might want to double check the series history with Wofford

Re: might want to double check the series history with Wofford

Re: might want to double check the series history with Wofford

I knew he was wrong the moment I read it, but was too lazy

No reason to be playing Citadel,

Re: No reason to be playing Citadel,

Re: Thoughts on Playing Citadel,

I'd rather just stick with the 21st Century and look forward***

Awesome report - T U

Hre is a GREAT link -- to Winsipedia

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