Furman at No. 5 Clemson: What to Watch For

Saturday’s contest against Furman will represent the 1,290th game in Clemson history but will be a rematch of the program’s very first. Clemson played its first game in program history on Oct. 31, 1896, with Coach Walter Riggs’ Clemson squad collecting a 14-6 road victory against Furman in Greenville, S.C. Clemson is 43-10-4 all-time against Furman including an active streak of 31 consecutive wins, Clemson’s longest winning streak.

Who: No. 5 Clemson (1-0) vs. Furman (1-0)

When: Saturday, Sept. 10 at 3:30 PM

TV: ACC Network (ACC Network (Wes Durham, Roddy Jones, Taylor Davis)

Radio: Clemson Athletic Network (Don Munson, Tim Bourret, Reggie Merriweather)

Line: Clemson by 44.5 (Over/under 51.5) 

Series History

OVERALL: Clemson leads series, 43-10-4

HOME: Clemson leads series, 25-2

ROAD: Clemson leads series, 18-8-4

NEUTRAL: N/A

LAST MEETING: Sept. 1, 2018 (48-7, W)

STREAK: Clemson, Won 31

-While eyes will be on the action on the field, don’t be surprised when heads turn east between plays, as Saturday’s contest will represent the debut of Clemson’s new videoboard with nearly five times the surface area of the previous board, which was last updated before the 2012 season.

The new video system, affectionately and unofficially nicknamed “DaboTron,” measures 127 feet wide by 57 feet tall (more than 7,000 square feet in total) and sits 20 feet off the ground, giving fans a 365-day open view into the stadium.

Ribbon boards on the north, south, and west, along with new corner video boards in the west, have also been upgraded to be higher quality, easier to read, and more immersive.

-Saturday’s contest will bring Clemson back to its very beginnings when the Tigers host Furman, the school against which Clemson played its first game in program history.

The teams met in Clemson’s football debut on Oct. 31, 1896, with Coach Walter Riggs’ Clemson squad collecting a 14-6 road victory in Greenville, S.C. The two teams did not meet again until 1902, a 28-0 Tiger victory. Clemson won the first seven games of the series between 1896 and 1918 before Furman broke the string with a 7-7 tie in 1919.

Furman earned its first win in the series in Greenville in 1920 by a 14-0 score. The first game in the series at Clemson took place at Riggs Field in 1916, a 7-6 Tiger win and Clemson’s first win at Riggs Field.

-Entering this week’s contest, Clemson is a perfect 36-0 against Football Championship Subdivision teams since the NCAA formed the division prior to the 1978 season (Southern Conference schools became I-AA in 1982.)

Clemson has outscored FCS teams by a 1,520-242 margin all-time, an average victory margin of 35.5 points. Clemson has won 35 of the 36 games by double digits, including each of the last 10 by at least 34 points.

Only one FCS squad has stayed within double digits of Clemson. Clemson defeated Wofford, 35-27, in 2011, with Wofford’s 27 points standing as the most by an FCS school against Clemson.

-Clemson has been right at home in non-conference contests at Memorial Stadium in recent years, compiling victories in 24 straight non-conference home games. Clemson’s active 24-game non-conference winning streak at home is the longest such winning streak in program history.

Previously, Clemson’s longest unbeaten streak (including ties) in non-conference home games was a 20-game unbeaten streak from 1978-84 that saw ties against Boston College and Georgia interrupt winning streaks of 12 games, four games and two games.

-Since joining the ACC as a charter member in 1953, Clemson is 126-32-4 at home against opponents from other conferences. That includes a 34-3 mark in non- conference games at Death Valley under Head Coach Dabo Swinney.

Even though 2022 represents the 127th season of Clemson football, Clemson has had just 121 home openers in its history as a function of the five seasons in which Clemson did not play a game at home. In 121 home openers, Clemson has a 96-17-8 record against 38 different opponents.

Clemson is 33-2 in home openers since 1987, with its only losses in Death Valley debuts in that span coming in 1999 and 2003. Clemson has won 18 straight home openers with the last loss coming in Dabo Swinney’s first year as an assistant coach, a 30-0 loss to Georgia in 2003.

-Under Dabo Swinney, Clemson has typically adhered to a non-conference scheduling philosophy that features two Power Five opponents (rival South Carolina and one additional Power Five squad — typically either Notre Dame or a team from the SEC), one Group of Five opponent, as well as one FCS opponent from the state of South Carolina.

The commitment to football in the state of South Carolina at all levels has resulted in the Tigers hosting a Palmetto State FCS team every year since 2007, with Clemson welcoming Furman, The Citadel, South Carolina State, Presbyterian, Wofford and Coastal Carolina (which has since made the transition to FBS) to Memorial Stadium in that span.

**Courtesy of Clemson Athletics