December 31

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December 31 in Clemson History

  • 1897: The Chronicle reports that a Christmas ball was given at the hotel. "It is true that we had a very small crowd as a great many of the young people were not on the campus, but those who were here enjoyed themselves to the fullest extent," said the January 1898 issue, (V.1, N.4, page 32).
  • 1979: Clemson loses Peach Bowl to Baylor, 24-18, in frigid Fulton County Stadium in Atlanta on New Years Eve for a season record of 8-4. It snows in Atlanta that night. Boogie band ZZ Top plays in the Omni that evening.
  • 1990: Long Beach State Coach George Allen dies, from ventricular fibrillation, in his home in Palos Verdes Estates, California, at the age of 72. Shortly before his death, Allen noted that he had not been completely healthy since some of his Long Beach State players dumped a Gatorade bucket filled with water on him following a season-ending victory over the University of Nevada, Las Vegas on November 17, 1990, when the air temperature was 50 degrees, with a biting wind. The Long Beach 49er's opened their season at Clemson on September 1. losing to the Tigers, 59-0.
  • 1993: Tommy West wins his first game as Clemson head coach when the Tigers defeat the Kentucky Wildcats in the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, 14-13. West took over the helm after the regular season when Ken Hatfield resigned after the South Carolina game. He is the first coach in college football history to win a post-season game with a team he did not coach during the regular season. Tigers finish season with 9-3 record, 5-3 in conference for third in the ACC. Final season polls place Clemson twenty-third (Associated Press) and twenty-second (USA Today).
  • 2001: The Tigers take on Louisiana Tech in the Crucial.com Humanitarian Bowl in Boise, Idaho, winning 49-24 in snowy environment, for a season record of 7-5, 4-4 in the ACC for fourth place in conference.
  • 2006: The Men's Basketball team hosts the Georgia State Panthers in Littlejohn Coliseum at 2 p.m., winning 67-57, to improve to 14-0. This is the second-longest winning streak in Clemson basketball records. The 1987-1988 team went 17-0.
  • 2015: In a play-off semi-final, number 1 ranked Clemson meets number 4 ranked Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida, with the Tigers winning, 37-17. Between kicker Greg Huegel scoring 13 points, including 3 of 4 field goal attempts, and Hunter Renfrow’s pass reception from Deshaun Watson in the third quarter, the Tigers score 19 points from walkons, more than the Sooners scored as a team for the entire game. This sets up the Tigers for the CFP Championship Game against Alabama on January 11 in Glendale, Arizona.
  • 2016: Number 3 ranked Clemson plays number 2 ranked Ohio State in the CFP Championship semi-final in the PlayStation Fiesta Bowl, Glendale, Arizona. The Tigers keep their perfect record against the Buckeyes intact, 3-0, all in bowl games, defeating them, 37-17. It is the worst margin of defeat in a bowl game in Ohio State history. It marks the first time an Urban Meyer coached team has been shutout in 194 games and the first time Ohio State has been shutout since 1993. The victory is Clemson’s first against the No. 2 ranked team in the AP poll, the highest ranked win in Clemson history at the time. This third shutout is the most in a season for the Tigers since 1991. This sets Clemson up for its second consecutive chance at the National Title when they face Alabama again on January 9 in Tampa, Florida.


December 30 December January 1