1981 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM
TRADITIONS
Notes of Interest on the 1981 Team • Clemson won its first national title in any sport and the first for the ACC in football in 28 years. • Clemson had five different players earn All-America honors, more than any other Tiger team in history. • There was no controversy concerning the voting of the National Champion in 1981. Clemson ended the season as the only undefeated, untied team and was the only team with three top-10 wins. • Head Coach Danny Ford (age 33 at the time) remains the youngest coach in history of college football to win the National Championship. • Clemson forced 41 turnovers in the 12 games, still a school record for turnovers forced in a season. • During one stretch in the season, the Clemson defense held the opposition without a touchdown for 18 consecutive quarters and no opponent scored a rushing touchdown against Clemson during the first seven games of the season. • Clemson won the national title in 1981 after going 6-5 the previous season. The Tigers were unranked in every preseason poll. • Clemson’s improvement of 5.5 games from 1980 to 1981 was the largest improvement in the nation. • Only one team (Wofford) had more time of possession in a game against Clemson all season. • Clemson had the lead at the end of the first quarter in only four of the 12 games. • Clemson scored 316 points during the regular season of 1981, the exact same total Georgia scored in its 11-game regular season of 1980, the year the Bulldogs won the national title. • Good health was a big reason for Clemson’s success in the 1981 season. Only five different starters missed any games during the entire season and no player missed more than two games all year. A collective total of only eight games were missed by five starters during the 1981 season. • No opponent had a run from scrimmage longer than 26 yards and no opponent had a play over 30 yards all season. The longest
1981 TIGERS IN PRO FOOTBALL Pro S.B. Draft NFL Player, Pos. Bowls Champ. Round Years Cliff Austin, TB --- --- 3 5 Dan Benish, DT --- 1 FA 6 Jeff Bryant, DT --- --- 1 12 Brian Clark, OT --- --- 12 1 Kenny Danforth, SS --- --- FA 1 Billy Davis, DB --- --- FA 1 Jeff Davis, LB --- --- 5 6 Ty Davis, DB --- 1 3 3 K.D. Dunn, TE --- --- 5 3 Dale Hatcher, P 1 --- 3 7 Andy Headen, OLB --- 1 8 6 Donald Igwebuike, PK --- --- 10 6 Homer Jordan, QB# --- --- FA 1 Terry Kinard, FS 1 1 1 8 Kevin Mack, FB 2 --- 1 9 Jeff McCall, FB --- 1 7 1 Chuck McSwain, RB --- --- 5 3 Rod McSwain, DB --- --- 3 7 William Perry, MG --- 1 1 10 Reggie Pleasant, DB* --- --- 6 2 Johnny Rembert, OLB 1 --- 4 10 Perry Tuttle, WR^ --- --- 1 3 # - played three years in the CFL; * - played 10 years in the CFL; ^ - played seven years in the CFL
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DANNY FORD WAS INDUCTED INTO THE ORANGE BOWL HALL OF FAME IN 2012 AFTER LEADING THE TIGERS TO THE 1981 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP.
touchdown play against Clemson was 25 yards, on a halfback option pass from Mike Rozier to Anthony Steels of Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. • During offseason conditioning in the summer of 1981, Strength Coach George Dostal constructed a simple sign for his strength training facility...”1982 Orange Bowl, Clemson vs. Nebraska.” • The Clemson senior student who was in charge of pep rallies for the 1981 season was former CBS This Morning anchor Jane Robelot. • The day after Clemson defeated North Carolina in Chapel Hill, NC, placekicker Donald Igwebuike flew to Maryland, where Clemson’s third-ranked soccer team defeated Maryland 4-0 to clinch the ACC title. Igwebuike played on two ACC Championship teams during that fall, both of which finished ranked in the top 10 in the nation.
Records Set in 1981 That Stand Today • Points vs. ACC opponent (82 vs. Wake Forest, 10/31) • Rushing yards in the modern era (536 vs. Wake Forest, 10/31) • Third-down conversion percentage in a game (100.0 (12-12) vs. Wake Forest, 10/31) • Turnovers forced in a game (9 vs. Georgia, 9/19) • Wins in a season (12) • Wins over top-10 teams in a season (3) • Turnovers forced in a season (41)
Team Honors & Awards • AP National Champion • UPI National Champion • Sporting News National Champion • Sports Illustrated National Champion • Football Writers Association National Champion • Football Coaches Association National Champion • Washington Touchdown Club National Champion • Chicago Tribune Fans National Champion • Orange Bowl Champion • ACC Champion • Nation’s most improved team (+5.5 games) • Second in the nation in scoring defense • Seventh in the nation in rushing defense • Seventh in the nation in turnover margin • Eighth in the nation in total defense
Head Coach Danny Ford • Football Writers Association National Coach-of-the-Year • UPI National Coach-of-the-Year • American Football Coaches Association National Coach-of-the-Year • WTBS National Coach-of-the-Year • Washington Touchdown Club National Coach-of-the-Year • ACC Coach-of-the-Year
All-Americans • Jeff Bryant - Football News (2) • Jeff Davis - Kodak (1), UPI (1), Football Writers (1), Football News (1), AP (2) • Terry Kinard - AP (1), NEA (1), Football Writers Association (1), WTBS (1) • Lee Nanney - UPI (2) • Perry Tuttle - Sporting News (1), NEA (1), Football News (2)
FINAL 1981 AP POLL Rk 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.
Team Clemson Texas Penn State Pittsburgh Southern Methodist Georgia Alabama Miami (FL) North Carolina Washington Nebraska Michigan Brigham Young Southern California Ohio State Arizona State West Virginia Iowa Missouri Oklahoma
Head Coach Danny Ford Fred Akers Joe Paterno Jackie Sherrill Ron Meyer Vince Dooley Bear Bryant Howard Schnellenberger Dick Crum Don James Tom Osborne Bo Schembechler LaVell Edwards John Robinson Earle Bruce Darryl Rogers Don Nehlen Hayden Fry Warren Powers Barry Switzer
W-L 12-0 10-1-1 10-2 11-1 10-1 10-2 9-2-1 9-2 10-2 10-2 9-3 9-3 11-2 9-3 9-3 9-2 9-3 8-4 8-4 7-4-1
2013 FOOTBALL MEDIA GUIDE
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