Through the years Clemson has had some prolific offensive football teams and stars, especially in the last 15 years when the no-huddle, fast-break offenses became the norm in college football.
The Clemson Insider went through the archives to find the best offensive football teams in Clemson history. What are the criteria for the 10 best offenses in Clemson history? Obviously, yards and points per game will stand out, as will offensive playmakers. How many All-ACC or All-Americans were on the team? Where did they rank in the ACC, nationally and much more?
Today, we continue our list with what TCI believes is the No. 8 offense in Clemson history.
2000
Expectations were high for Tommy Bowden’s second Clemson team and for good reason. The Tigers returned seven starters from an offense that averaged 402.6 yards and 26.8 points per game in 1999. The total yards were the most by a Clemson team since 1991.
What had fans even more excited was the fact quarterback Woodrow Dantlzer, though not a full-time starter, was back to run the offense. As a fill in for Brandon Streeter in 1999, Dantzler gave Clemson fans a glimpse of what the future was going to hold.
He broke a 52-year old record for total offense in Clemson’s 42-30 win at Maryland with 435 yards, including 183 on the ground. The rushing mark was a record for a Clemson quarterback as well. Dantzler later matched Georgia Tech quarterback Joe Hamilton yard for yard and touchdown for touchdown in Tech’s 45-42 win in Atlanta.
Dantzler later helped the Tigers beat South Carolina with a 29-yard touchdown pass to Rod Gardner.
Speaking of Gardner, he was back after a record-breaking year in which he caught a record 80 passes for a record 1,084 yards … the first Clemson wideout in history to go over 1,000 yards in a season. The Tigers also returned running back Travis Zachery and his 820 yards and 16 touchdowns, as well as four starters on the offensive line.
Clemson’s offense opened the year the way everyone expected … on a roll. The Tigers scored at least 34 points in the first eight games of the season, including 62 against Missouri, 55 against Wake Forest and 52 against Duke.
Dantzler rushed for an ACC quarterback record 220 yards against Virginia on September 23, 2000. He also passed for another 154 yards in Clemson’s 31-10 victory. Dantzler finished the season with 1,028 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns. He led the Tigers in rushing yards and tied Zachery for touchdowns.
Clemson opened the season at 8-0 before an injury to Dantlzer caused it to stumble against Georgia Tech at home and then to Florida State down in Tallahassee the following week.
The Tigers still finished the season 9-3 and was invited to Gator Bowl thanks in large part to Dantzler’s 50-yard pass to Gardner with 10 seconds left against rival South Carolina, setting up Aaron Hunt’s game-winning 25-yard field goal, in the regular-season finale.
The 2000 offense finished the season by setting a then record 436.8 yards of total offense per game, while averaging 34.7 points. Clemson led the ACC in rushing yards with 236.4 yards per game.
Zachery finished the season with a league-high 14 touchdowns to go with 1,027 rushing yards. Gardner had 58 receptions for 1,050 yards, while scoring seven touchdowns.
Zachery and All-American center Kyle Young were both First-Team All-ACC selections, while Gardner and right guard Will Merritt earned second-team honors. Gardner joined Young as First-Team All-Americans.
TCI’s Clemson preseason magazine is now available. Order your copy of Unfinished Business – An Insider Look at Clemson’s 2016 season today.
