The Clemson Insider went back and ranked Clemson’s 25 best teams of all-time.

What classifies a certain team as one of the best? Of course winning a championship—national or conference—will be the first qualification. The other qualifications are overall record, national ranking and where they fell in the conference standings.

We continue our rankings with the No. 16 team on our list:

The 1987 Tigers (10-2, 6-1 ACC, ACC Champions, Final ranking No. 12)

If there was ever a year for Clemson to win a national championship, it was in 1987. The Tigers returned just about everyone from the 1986 ACC Championship team. They had one of the best defenses in the country, an offensive line that was as big and nasty as anyone’s in the country and a scheduled that included eight home games.

All the pieces were in place for a great season, and maybe even a special one.

The season started as if it was going to be a magical one. The Tigers won their first six games to open the season, including a dramatic 21-20 come-from-behind victory over No. 18 Georgia.

Clemson, ranked eighth at the time, trailed the Bulldogs, 20-16, after Georgia running back Rodney Hampton carried the ball into the end zone from eight yards out with 8:59 to play. It was the first rushing touchdown the Tigers had given up all year.

After Hampton’s touchdown, Clemson’s next drive bogged down inside Georgia territory, that’s when Rusty Seyle’s punt hit at the nine-yard line, and bounced to the one, where it took a long bounce in the air. Clemson’s Chinedu Ohan was chasing the ball and before it crossed the plain of the goal line, he used his left foot to kick the ball backwards to John Johnson, who caught the ball at the one-inch line. Johnson was able to keep his momentum from crossing the plain, thanks to a couple of teammates who grabbed him and yanked him back.

“The crowd just went nuts after that,” former wide receiver Keith Jennings remembers. “It was so loud you could not hear a thing. We knew then we were going to get the ball back with a chance to win the game because we knew our defense was going to make a play for us.”

With 6:23 to play in the game and still clinging to that four-point advantage, Georgia tried to move the ball out from its goal line. The Bulldogs didn’t care if they picked up a first down or not, they just could not afford to give up a safety.

But that’s exactly what happened. Jackson first tried a quarterback sneak that went for no gain as nose guard Tony Stephens nearly broke through and caught him in the end zone. On the next play, Georgia head coach Vince Dooley called for an option to the left on second down.

The Clemson defense was not fooled as Johnson and defensive tackle Michael Dean Perry got penetration, forcing Jackson to bounce the play outside. Cornerback James Lott was able to fight off the block of running back Lawrence Tate to grab a hold of Jackson. He hung on just enough as safety Gene Beasley brought Jackson down in the end zone for a safety.

Now needing a field goal to win, Donnell Woolford returned the free kick 17 yards to the Clemson 42, and then tailback Wesley McFadden ran off two runs for 14 yards and Terry Allen darted off the left side for 11 yards to move the ball to the Georgia 33.

After fullback Chris Lancaster got only three yards on first and second down, Clemson head coach Danny Ford called for an option play to the short side of the field instead of throwing the ball. Williams faked the fullback dive and pitched the ball to Allen, who appeared pinned up along the left sideline.

Allen made the first guy miss and then broke the tackle of a second would-be-tackler as he cut inside and bounced it to the right sideline. That’s when he made a third Georgia player miss before finally going down 17 yards later at the Georgia 13.

“That was a huge play,” Treadwell recalls. “If he doesn’t make that play, we would have had to kick a longer field goal and it would have left some time on the clock.

“TA always had the capability to break off a run like that. The guy had the most amazing balance. He was an unbelievable running back. I remember the stadium erupting with this enormous roar when he made that play so I immediately ran to the nets knowing I was going to get another opportunity. I got a couple of warm up kicks in the net and I was ready to go.”

With the clock running under a minute, McFadden teamed up with fullback Tracy Johnson and moved the football to the four-yard line where Treadwell and company rushed onto the field. With no timeouts, the guy known as “Mr. Clutch,” calmly drilled the 21-yard field goal to win the game.

“That was something we practiced all the time – the hurry up field goal,” Treadwell said. “You occasionally run into those situations where you have no timeouts and no stoppage of play. The clock is running so you have to get on the field and make the field goal, thankfully, we did it enough that I felt comfortable going out there. I did my routine real quick. It was a shorter field goal and we punched it on through.”

Treadwell’s field goal marked the first time Clemson had beaten Georgia in back-to-back years since the 1905 and 1906 seasons. And in both instances, Treadwell’s foot carried the Tigers to victory.

Six times in his career, Treadwell won or tied a game in the final three minutes. He made another game-winning kick in the final seconds at North Carolina later that year that moved the Tigers closer to a second straight ACC Championship.

Following the win over Georgia, the Tigers steamrolled Georgia Tech and Virginia before holding on to beat Duke, 17-10. At 6-0, the Tigers moved up to No. 7 in the polls and were in prime position to make a run at a national championship.

However, Clemson fell behind 30-0 at halftime to NC State the following, and despite a great second half rally, the Tigers fell short, 30-28, ending their national championship aspirations.

Now focused on winning a second straight ACC Championship, the Tigers beat Wake Forest 31-17 and then used Treadwell’s last-second kick to get past North Carolina in Chapel Hill. They clinched their second straight ACC Championship the following week against Maryland as Clemson routed the Terrapins, 46-16, in Death Valley.

In the regular-season finale, the Tigers stumbled in Columbia to rival South Carolina in a battle of nationally ranked teams. But, like he did after the loss to NC State, head coach Danny Ford got his team focused at what was in front of them.

Clemson concluded the season, and stunned the college football world, with a 35-10 rout over No. 20 Penn State in the Citrus Bowl on January 1, 1988. It was the largest margin of victory against a Joe Paterno squad in a bowl game.

Instead of depending on the running game, the Tigers took to the air and dominated the Nittany Lions. Clemson gained 499 yards overall. Williams was named the Player of the Game as he threw for 214 yards. Allen rushed for 105 yards and Jennings caught seven passes for 110 yards, giving Clemson a 200-yard passer, 100-yard rusher and 100-yard receiver in the same game for the first time since 1969.

Clemson finished the year 10-2 and ranked No. 12 in the final Associated Press poll. In all, four players earned All-American status, including three on the first team, while seven players were First-Team All-ACC selections.

Perry, a First-Team All-American, was named the ACC Player of the Year, while Allen, a first-team selection on the All-ACC Team, was the ACC Rookie of the Year. Woolford was also a First-Team All-American, while Treadwell was a Consensus All-American. Right guard John Phillips was a Second-Team All-American.

Right tackle Jeff Nunamacher joined the others as an All-ACC selection, along with Stephens.

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