Off The Dome: Clemson's History Playing in Domed Stadiums
Clemson will travel to play Syracuse on Friday night, in primetime, under the lights. Syracuse has a unique stadium, the Carrier Dome, in which they play their games. It turns out that Clemson has quite a history playing games in domes, and Clemson Historian Sam Blackman broke it down for us.
"Clemson is 2-0 in football at the Carrier Dome, 1-2 in basketball. Two years ago Clemson defeated Syracuse, and they went on to the FInal Four in basketball. But Clemson is 2-0 in football, and overall has a 9-6 record in dome stadiums over the years," says Blackman. "That includes a 4-5 record in the Georgia Dome."
The Georgia Dome brings back bad memories for a lot of Clemson fans. The Tigers lost an overtime thriller to Auburn 23-20 to close out the 2007 season and then were walloped 34-10 by Alabama in the Georgia Dome to start the 2008 season. This game, of course, was the beginning of the end for former head coach Tommy Bowden, and coach Dabo Swinney would take over midseason. However, the Georgia Dome isn't even close to the most interesting Dome the Tigers have played in, as Blackman explains.
"Clemson has also played in the Superdome (New Orleans) and Japan's Tokyo Dome. The first game Clemson played in a dome was in 1981. Dale Hatcher punted a ball, and it hit that decoration that hangs in the center, and I think Ray Guy hit it too," states Blackman. "But Clemson defeated Tulane there (in the Superdome) on its way to the 1981 national championship."
Clemson also played in the Tokyo Dome in 1982, a unique experience for the Tigers, who took on the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest.
"I think it was a way for Clemson to have kind of a bowl game experience...I think that year they could not go to a bowl game. It allowed Clemson to go overseas," explains Blackman. "Mr. Bradley, who was a long time SID at Clemson...his passport had expired, and he just realized it a few days before. He called everybody's buddy, Strom Thurmond...he had Mr. Bradley a passport by the week, waiting for him. So Senator Thurmond was a wonderful person who could get things done and cut through the red tape. Mr. Bradley had a streak, before he passed away, of about 502 consecutive football games, home and away. He wasn't going to let that streak break."
Stats:
Clemson has a 9-6 record in domed stadiums over the years. That includes a 4-5 record in the Georgia Dome. Clemson has also played in the Super Dome and in Japan’s Tokyo Dome. Clemson’s first game in a dome was in 1981, the year Clemson won the national championship, a 13-5 win over Tulane in the Super Dome in New Orleans.
Clemson won a game in a domed stadium in last year’s National Championship run as well, the 31-0 win over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Arizona.
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