Tim Peeler: 35 years ago, Clemson gave NC State some bulletin board material

On the printed page of a newspaper, what Clemson quarterback Rodney Williams said was probably correct, that NC State’s 1988 football team tried to keep its defensive schemes pretty basic, much like a high school team would.

To motivators like late head coach Dick Sheridan and former defensive coordinator Joe Pate, what the Tiger offensive leader said was pure bulletin board material.

“They said we had a high school defense,” said Fernandus “Snake” Vinson, immediately after the Wolfpack upset No. 9 Clemson 10-3 on Oct. 22, 1988.

However you might interpret it, the inspiration was definitely there 35 years ago for the Wolfpack to record their second home win over Danny Ford’s Tigers, holding them without a touchdown in either game. (State beat the Tigers 27-3 at Carter-Finley in Sheridan’s inaugural season of 1986.)

“The week of that game, one of the local papers did a comparison of our two secondaries, trying to say which one was better and deeper and all of that,” Vinson said Thursday. “It didn’t show us a lot of respect.

“We were going to go out and prove to them how good they were.”

And the entire defense, which was ranked No. 1 in the nation in yards and points allowed going into the game, had in their heads that Clemson’s offense didn’t respect them, because of what Sheridan told them was in a South Carolina newspaper.

“I might have had a little hand in that,” said Pate, the retired former assistant and director of football operations. “I might have found that newspaper clipping and gave it to Coach Sheridan. 

“And it might have had an impact on the game.”

Mind you, Williams was a pretty good college quarterback, on an offense that entered the game ranked No. 1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. He still owns the Tiger record for the most games won by a starting quarterback. He entered that game without having an interception in his first six games. He set school records for passes completed, passing yardage, games started, most consecutive games with a completed pass.

He was the only Clemson quarterback to ever take his team to four consecutive bowl games. And he’s now a color commentator for the Clemson Sports Network.

On that day, however, Williams met his match against Vinson and a Wolfpack secondary that included freshman strong safety Jesse Campbell, senior free safety Nelson Jones and sophomore cornerback Joe Johnson. Williams completed 7 passes that day: 4 to his receivers and 3 to NC State’s defensive backs.

Vinson — the talented cornerback from Montgomery, Alabama, who played four years for the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals — had two of them, including the one that ended Williams’ school-record 122 pass attempts without an interception.

“That ranks up there as one of the best games ever,” said Vinson, who now lives in Fayetteville and runs his own youth counseling service. “I think we earned their respect.”

It happened this way: Clemson took an early 3-0 lead on Chris Gardocki’s 35-yard field goal. State’s offense, which poured 43 points on North Carolina the week before behind surprise starter Shane Montgomery, could not move on Clemson’s defense, though it finally tied the game just before halftime on a 36-yarder by Damon Hartman.

Neither team would likely have scored again. Twice in the second quarter, Gardocki missed field goals trying to kick into a stiff wind.

In the third quarter, Clemson drove to State’s 31-yard-line, but on fourth down Ford elected to try to get four yards instead of attempt another field goal from a longer distance. Ford was never particularly successful at State’s home field, owning a 3-3 all-time record during a span when the Wolfpack was 8-4 in home games (1964-88).

Williams was hit by State linebacker Fred Stone as he pitched to All-ACC running back Terry Allen, and the ball sailed into the backfield, where State’s defense recovered it.

Not until the early fourth quarter was the game decided, not by either team’s offense or defense, but by the stiff wind on a special teams play. Clemson tried to punt from the NC State 44, and the center snap sailed over Gardocki’s head and Vinson recovered it for a 35-yard loss.

Five plays later State’s Chris Williams swept into the end zone for the game’s only touchdown.

State’s defense was dominant, allowing Clemson just 215 yards in total offense and just 55 through the air. The Tiger offensive line gave up its first sack of the season.

Ford could have kicked himself for the way the Tigers played, but the way things were going for the Tigers that day, he probably would have missed.

It was a costly game for the Wolfpack defense, however. Stone suffered ligament damage to his right knee and was lost for the rest of the season. The Pack lost its next two contests, to South Carolina and Virginia, then came back to record a 43-43 tie against Duke and a 14-3 victory over Pittsburgh to salvage the season, which ended with a rainy New Year’s Eve victory over Iowa at the Peach Bowl in Atlanta.

The 10-3 setback was Clemson’s only league loss that year, and it went on to win the ACC championship. State finished third, half a game behind Virginia.

State’s defense finished the season ranked in the Top 10 in every major NCAA category: eighth in total yards allowed, fifth in points allowed and sixth in rushing defense. Not until 2004, when NC State’s defense was ranked No. 1 in the nation, did a Wolfpack team finish higher.

“Back then, Clemson was a bully,” Vinson said. “They lined up in an I-offense and ran sweeps and dives and came right at you. You knew they were going to hit you in the mouth. We were comfortable with that style of play.

“We knew we had to buckle up, pump a little more air into our helmets and go play hard. That’s what we did.”

Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reached at [email protected].