5 things every Auburn fan must know about Clemson
There are things every Auburn fan knows about Clemson, such as the fact that head coach Dabo Swinney played at Alabama and coached there for eight seasons.
But there are also things that every AU backer doesn’t know about last season’s ACC champion, which comes to Auburn for both teams’ season opener on Saturday night.
Here are five of them:
Milestone man
In 2015, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson became the first FBS quarterback to throw for at least 4,000 yards and run for at least 1,000 yards in a single season. In fact, there have only been two other FBS quarterbacks to throw for at least 3,500 yards and run for at least 1,000, and those are Johnny Manziel in 2012 and Central Michigan’s Dan LeFevour in 2007.
Linebacker you
Wayne Gallman, who set the Clemson record for rushing yards in a season with 1,527 in 2015, played running back and linebacker at Grayson High School in Loganville, Ga. And according to 247Sports.com, he was the 21st-ranked outside linebacker prospect in the country in 2013.
Dominant dozen years
Since 1902, Clemson has had 12 seasons with at least 10 victories. It won 12 games in its national title-winning season in 1981, 11 in 1948 and 1978, 10 in four straight seasons from 1987-90 and is currently on a five-season streak with at least 10 wins per season.
Super stretch
Before it lost to Alabama in last season’s College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Clemson had won 17 straight games and was the eighth FBS team to win 14 games in a season. It also tied school records with four wins over top 25 teams and three over top 10 squads.
How did Clemson get its color scheme?
The orange and purple began when Walter Merritt Riggs formed Clemson’s first football team in 1896. Riggs had come from Alabama Polytechnic Institute (later renamed Auburn), and he borrowed ideas from its team colors, orange and purple, and its mascot, the Tiger.