DTH Sport Saturday
Last Second Pass
The Right Man for the Job
Clemson coach Tommy Bowden has resurrected the Tigers’program after doing the same at Tulane.
Tommy Bowden’s name was
mentioned as a candidate. Not
a likely one, but an intriguing
one nonetheless.
Mack Brown had decided to flee
Chapel Hill, and the North Carolina
football team needed anew leader.
Georgia’s Jim Donnan was an oft
mentioned candidate because of his
ties to the state. And there were whis
pers that Bowden would be a good
choice. He had only one year of head
coaching experience, but his blood
lines were overflowing with it.
Bowden was beginning to resurrect
the Tulane program, just like Brown
had done more than a decade before.
In Bowden’s first season, the Green
Wave went 7-4.
But Bowden was a major gamble, a
coach with one winning season at a
mid-major university.
Of course, UNC’s players rallied
around their defensive coordinator,
Carl Torbush. They do that on occa
sion.
One year after UNC hired anew
coach, Clemson did the same -and
got Bowden.
The two programs are currendy
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Miami (Fla.) at Temple
Notre Dame at West Virginia
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Tulane at Army
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Rutgers at Navy
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Illinois at Penn State
12:30 p,m.
Georgia at Kentucky
Colorado at Kansas
1 p.m.
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Northern Illinois at W. Michigan
1:30 p.m.
Baylor at Nebraska
2 p.m.
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heading in different directions.
Clemson has risen to a level UNC
had reached when Brown left. And
North Carolina is showing signs that it
might suffer through the mediocrity
that has plagued the Tigers at times
during the last eight years.
Speculation is easy. Would the Tar
Heels still be at the level they were
when Brown left if they had hired
Bowden? Or could they be even bet
ter, with the last piece found for
national-tide contention?
That argument is not fair to
Torbush. Let’s just say Clemson is
awfully fortunate to have Bowden
leading the Tigers’ charge back to
In 3 Weeks
vCfeK Tailback LaMont Jordan and the
Maryland Terrapins venture south to
Chapel Hill on Nov. 11. It's home
coming and North Carolina's last
1 home game of the season. Pick up
a copy of DTH Sport Saturday for
\l \ the lowdown on the game.
Minnesota at Indiana
Louisiana Tech at Aubum
Central Michigan at Ohio
2:30 p.m.
Missouri at Texas
3 p.m.
San Diego State at Brigham Young
3:30 p.m.
Virginia at Florida State
Michigan State at Michigan
Texas A&M at lowa State
Kent State at Marshall
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Alabama at Tennessee
4 p.m.
Middle Tennessee State at UAB
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5 p.m.
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national prominence.
Bowden is in only his fourth season
as a head coach, but the results are
telling. He has improved teams -
quickly. No grace period, just instant
results.
The Tigers looked bad the last time
they visited Kenan Stadium.
Quarterback Woodrow Dantzler
made his first career start against
North Carolina in 1998. He played 50
snaps and completed two passes for
18 yards. He rushed 14 times for eight
yards.
But now, with Dantzler spearhead
ing the effort, Bowden is causing fits
for defensive coordinators trying to
Idaho at Utah State
5:30 pan.
Clemson at North Carolina
6:30 p.m.
California at Washington
Oregon State at UCLA
7:00 p.m.
Texas Tech at Kansas State
Virginia Tech at Syracuse
TCU at Tulsa
Connecticut at Akron
E. Michigan at Bowling Green
Wyoming at UNLV
Colorado State at Utah
8 p.m.
Houston at Memphis
9 p.m.
Mississippi State at LSU
Fresno State at Texas El Paso
10:15 p.m.
Arizona at Oregon
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Saturday, October 21, 2000
come up with a scheme to stop the
Tigers. And Dantzler’s backup, Willie
Simmons, might be even better down
the road.
I doubt Bowden’s going to be leav
ing Clemson any time soon. The
ACC better hope he stays. Bowden
might just save the league.
The conference has been looking
for a second school to solidify its
national standing since Florida State
joined the crowd in 1993.
The Tar Heels played that role for
a few years. Georgia Tech followed
them. But neither had staying power.
Maybe the same thing will be said
about Clemson a few years down the
road. But I doubt it.
Bowden has found a place where
football genuinely matters to the stu
ACC standings
Conference Overall
W L Pt* OP W L Pt* OP
Clemson 5 0 207 80 7 0 307 89
Florida State 4 0 209 56 6 1 295 86
Virginia 3 1 94 74 4 2 163 118
N.C. State 2 1 95 77 5 1 215 146
Georgia Tech 2 2 140 104 4 2 199 134
North Carolina 1 3 97 157 33 123 192
Maryland 0 3 44 125 2 4 123 192
Duke 0 3 46 141 0 6 58 243
Wake Forest 0 4 51 169 0 6 77 206
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15
By Bret Strelow
Assistant Sports Editor
dents and alumni. The Tigers are hav
ing no trouble filling the 81,473-seat
Memorial Stadium. And renovations
are in the works.
Even as Clemson struggled, it has
still been a football school relative to
the rest of the ACC. Clemson is once
again a football school on the nation
al level. It’s got Death Valley. It’s got
Howard’s Rock.
And it will likely have a place in
the Bowl Championship Series, which
will earn millions of dollars for the
ACC. It will also earn respect for the
league.
Even if Bowden’s not orchestrating
his magic in Chapel Hill.
Bret Strelow can be reached at
strelow@email.unc.edu.