Clemson Tigers football: Ranking the 5 best seasons in program history

2. 1981 Clemson football season

Record: 12-0 | Finish: National Champions, Defeated Nebraska 22-15 in Orange Bowl

Danny Ford’s Clemson Tigers entered the 1981 college football season with modest expectations, unranked in the preseason AP poll. That’s now how they ended the year, though. After two early-season wins against Wofford and at Tulane, the Tigers got onto the national radar as they toppled No. 4 Georgia, 13-3, cementing themselves as a contender with an elite defense.

The team continued to roll along, including a trouncing of Wake Forest to the tune of 82-24 and a narrow 10-8 victory over No. 9 North Carolina. Led by the triple-option attack of quarterback Homer Jordan, wide receiver Perry Tuttle and running back Cliff Austin, the Tigers’ calling card was undoubtedly their defense. They allowed fewer than 9.0 points per game with stars like linebacker Jeff Davis, cornerback Terry Kinard and a dominant freshman defensive tackle named William Perry, better known as “The Fridge”.

Clemson’s success on the year, climbing from unranked to No. 1, earned them a date in the Orange Bowl against the No. 4 ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers. The winner of the game would be crowned the National Champions thanks to losses by the No. 2 and 3 teams earlier in the day. And despite the Tigers’ success and 11-0 record at the time, they came into the game as underdogs.

While Nebraska took an early 7-3 lead, the Tigers continued to be dominant, They capitalized on turnovers to score 19 unanswered points and take a 22-7 lead. Though the Huskers tried to claw back, Clemson was able to hang on and capture their first National Championship in program history. There’s no question that the historical significance and, certainly, the quality makes this group a top-two team in program history.