How has Clemson football fared against the Big 10?

The past few months have seen talk turn into legal action as both Clemson and Florida State attempt to leave the Atlantic Coast Conference for a more lucrative conference, that being either the Southeast Conference or the Big 10 Conference.

Financially, the tv money would be better in either conference than the ACC. Historically though, how has Clemson fared against the schools in the Big 10 in football? 

Obviously, games long ago carry far less meaning and bearing on modern contests so we’ll also look at how current Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney has done against Big 10 teams as well as what Clemson fans may expect when they make some of those marquis Big 10 road trips. 

ILLINOIS – Clemson has faced the Fighting Illini only once in that being the 1991 Hall of Fame Bowl and the Tigers came away with a 30-0 win.

INDIANA – Clemson has never faced the Hoosiers in football.

IOWA – The Tigers have never faced the Iowa Hawkeyes and have yet to experience the newest and warmest of college football traditions in The Hawkeye Wave tradition, started in 2017. At the end of the first quarter, where everybody stands, and in unison wave to the pediatric patients watching the game at the University of Iowa’s Stead Family Children’s Hospital.

MARYLAND – Clemson had a long history against the Terrapins when they first met in 1952, a 28-0 win for the Terrapins. The Terps won the first four meetings between the two schools but Clemson would go on to hold a 34-26-2 record against their former ACC foe with the last meeting taking place in 2013, a 40-27 Clemson win. Clemson would win the last four meetings between the two schools, and in 2014, Maryland began Big 10 play. Swinney is 4-1 against the Terrapins.

MICHIGAN – Clemson has never faced the Michigan Wolverines in football. When you think of the Wolverines, one can’t help but think about Ann Arbor’s Michigan Stadium known as The Big House, the largest stadium in college football. 

MICHIGAN STATE – Clemson has never faced the Michigan State Spartans.

MINNESOTA – Clemson has only faced the Golden Gophers once, losing in their only meeting back in the 1985 Independence Bowl 20-13.

NEBRASKA – Older Clemson fans remember the Tigers first meeting with the Cornhuskers vividly. The 22-15 win over Nebraska in the 1982 Orange Bowl gave Clemson its first football national championship. 

Clemson’s only other meeting with Nebraska was in the 2009 Gator Bowl in Dabo Swinney’s first bowl game as head coach that resulted in a 26-21 loss to the Cornhuskers.

Clemson has never experienced the Sea of Red in Lincoln, Nebraska and one of the friendliest and welcoming fan bases in all of college football.

NORTHWESTERN – A match-up between the Northwestern Wildcats and the Clemson Tigers has not taken place. 

OHIO STATE – Clemson has a lifetime 4-1 record against the Ohio State Buckeyes with all five games having been bowl and/or playoff games. The first meeting is infamously known for Ohio State’s head coach Woody Hayes punching Clemson tight end Charlie Bauman in the 1978 Gator Bowl that Clemson won 17-15.

Swinney continued Clemson’s dominance over Ohio State winning the next three games and has a 3-1 record against the Buckeyes. The Buckeyes won the last meeting in the 2021 Sugar Bowl 49-28.

Clemson has never played in Ohio Stadium often referred to as the “Shoe” or Horseshoe due to its shape and as one might imagine it’s a very difficult place for opposing teams to play and come away with a victory. Best-selling author and Michigan alum John Bacon has described Ohio State fans as “being raised by wolves.” 

OREGON – Clemson has never faced the Oregon Ducks. Autzen Stadium is considered one of the best venues to watch a game in college football. Where else can you see a person dressed like a duck riding a motorcycle on to the field?

PENN STATE – Clemson has a lifetime 1-0 record against the Nittany Lions defeating Penn State 35-10 in the 1988 Citrus Bowl. One of the greatest scenes and atmospheres in college football is Penn State’s legendary White Out.

If you think a trip to Florida State’s Doak Campbell Stadium is tough, former Ohio State Coach Urban Meyer, who visited for four White Out games, has said that the atmosphere is worth a 10-point advantage for the Nittany Lions. A Whiteout game should be on every college football fan’s bucket list.

PURDUE – Clemson has never faced the Purdue Boilermakers. Purdue University is called the cradle of astronauts and their band has a 10-foot tall, 565-pound drum. 

RUTGERS – Clemson has never faced the Scarlet Knights of Rutgers. Unless you really want to visit New Jersey, you’re not missing anything.

UCLA – Clemson has never played the UCLA Bruins on the gridiron but a road trip to Pasadena and the historic Rose Bowl Stadium is one of the more photogenic stadiums and great settings in all of college football.

USC – There’s only one stadium that hosted the first Super Bowl and that was the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum home to the USC Trojans.

It’s been nearly 60 years since Clemson faced the USC Trojans. In the only meeting between the two schools, in 1966, Clemson traveled west to face the fifth-ranked Trojans and were soundly defeated 30-0.

It certainly would provide with a week’s worth of Garrett facing Lincoln Riley stories.

WASHINGTON – Clemson has never faced the Huskies and Clemson nation hasn’t experienced the views in and around Husky Stadium. If the Seattle Seahawks are home the next day, that’s a football bonus, but you might want to take ear plugs.

WISCONSIN – Clemson has never faced the Wisconsin Badgers on the gridiron and if you enjoy beer, sausages and cheese curds, Madison, Wisconsin is the place for you.

If you think about Camp Randall Stadium, everyone thinks about the Jump Around that takes place at the end of the third quarter. Even the visiting team players jump around. Cardiovascular exercise is good.

Overall, Clemson has a record of 41-30-2 against the schools in the Big 10 with Coach Swinney having a 7-3 record. If you exclude Maryland, since Clemson hasn’t faced them as a Big 10 team, the Tigers are 5-4 against Big 10 schools. If you take out Nebraska when they were in the Big 8 and Penn State as an independent, well then Clemson hasn’t faced many true Big 10 opponents.

Other than a road trip to Champaign, Illinois, Clemson fans would stand out in every Big 10 venue as only Illinois uses orange as one of their team colors. Many Big 10 college football fans haven’t experienced the most exciting 25 seconds in college football and would certainly look forward to leaving the cold midwestern plains to take a warm-weather trip to the Palmetto State in November.

Clemson would certainly be in the upper tier of Big 10 football but don’t let Clemson’s record against Ohio State fool you, the Tigers would find being in the Big 10 more difficult than facing their current ACC opponents with some chilly road trips.

John Baranowski is a sports historian and contributor to newspapers, sports publications, and sports websites. This and other articles written by him can be found on his blog: https://johnbaranowski.wordpress.com/

Clemson/Maryland Program Photo Credit: Clemson Digital Library on Visualhunt

Ohio Stadium Photo Credit: fensterbme on VisualHunt.com

UCLA Rose Bowl Stadium Photo Credit: Neilwill on Visualhunt

USC Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Photo Credit: Ken Lund on Visualhunt.com

Camp Randall Stadium Photo Credit:  Jim Bauer on VisualHunt.com

Clemson Memorial Stadium Photo Credit: SaGaR PuRo on Visualhunt.com

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