The 11 biggest villains in Clemson football history
Every good hero has to have a villain to make everything come together.
Over the course of the Clemson football program’s history, we’ve seen all kinds of villains. We’ve seen players and coaches that Tiger fans just absolutely can’t stand. We’ve seen media members, referees and opposing fan bases that have become nothing more than antagonists to the Clemson football fan base.
Here’s a look at the 10 biggest villains in Clemson football history.
Biggest villains in Clemson football history: 11. Opposing Fans and Media
We’ve looped all of this into one so that we can focus on prominent figures on-the-field for the rest of the post.
From Paul Finebaum to Greg McElory to Colin Cowherd to Phil Kornblut to Gene Sapakoff and everyone in between, there have been plenty of media analysts to rub Clemson football fans over the course of the program’s history.
From media members doubting and criticizing the Tigers- even taking unsolicited shots for no reason- to opposing fan bases (like South Carolina and Georgia) who have grown to absolutely hate Clemson, there’s plenty of villains to choose from. Perhaps one of the biggest villains to add to this list is the Ohio State fan base, which is still living in the past and claiming the officials somehow gifted Clemson the win over the Buckeyes in the Playstation Fiesta Bowl back in December.
There are plenty of opposing fans and media that could be placed on this list, but now let’s take a look at some players and coaches who make up the biggest villains in Clemson football history.
Biggest villains in Clemson football history: 10. Jake Bentley
Now, there are two types of villains: There are the supervillains who get placed in blockbuster films- like Joker, Thanos, Green Goblin, Lex Luthor and Magneto- and then there are the ‘mid-carders’ or henchmen who may have a name, but they’re nothing more than a first-act for the super-hero.
Jake Bentley falls in that second category.
Bentley was never in any position to beat Clemson or even compete. He was the starting quarterback of the 2016 South Carolina Gamecocks team that was beaten 56-7 by the Tigers in Death Valley.
But his famous line put him on the map forever: “They weren’t that much better, if better at all,” Bentley said.
Bentley remained one of the most-hated players in Clemson history simply because of his lack-of-ability to just take a loss and move on.
Biggest villains in Clemson football history: 9. Deion Sanders
Nicknamed ‘Primetime,’ Deion Sanders was one of the top play-makers to ever put on a College Football uniform and he was especially troubling for the Tigers.
One of the most memorable moments for Sanders against Clemson came in the 1988 season.
Sanders called his shot and foretold that he would be returning the ensuing punt for a touchdown. He did just that. The Seminoles would go on to win that game 24-21.
Sanders was the first name Tiger fans quickly learned from Florida State and he would go on to have quite the storied professional career, as well.
Biggest villains in Clemson football history: 8. D.J. Swearinger
D.J. Swearinger is a name that will absolute bug you if you’re a Clemson football fan.
Swearinger was all over-the-field for South Carolina during those years that the Gamecocks dominated the rivalry. He’ll be specifically remembered for a moment- which you can see above- where he laid out Clemson RB Andre Ellington and then decided to parade over him and taunt him.
If that wasn’t enough, Swearinger showed all kinds of bad sportsmanship during his years with the Gamecocks.
Tiger fans only wish they could’ve seen Swearinger stick around a little longer so they could’ve exacted revenge with Deshaun Watson at quarterback.
Biggest villains in Clemson football history: 7. Vince Dooley
Now, one thing you’ve got to remember about this list is that there’s got to be context.
Here in the present, there’s not as much of a disdain for Vince Dooley among Clemson football circles simply because so much time has gone by.
But if you can place yourself back into the 1980s where the Clemson-Georgia series was one of the most-hated and tightly-contested rivalries in the country, you’ll find a much different story.
From 1964 to 1988, Dooley coached against the Tigers a total of 20 times and held a record of 15-6-1.
The rivalry between Clemson and Georgia was considered by many to be more important than the in-state series against South Carolina. The two programs hated one another and Dooley was the face of the Bulldogs program during that time.
Biggest villains in Clemson football history: 6. Bobby Bowden
Back with another Florida State figure, there may not have been a more hated coach in the ACC in Clemson football history than Bobby Bowden.
Just like with Dooley, hate has subsided quite a bit for Bowden now-a-days, but when things were hot in the 1990s and 2000s, Bowden was considered one of the biggest supervillains out there for the Tigers.
After losing in 1989 to a Danny Ford-led Clemson team, Bowden wouldn’t lose a game to the Tigers again until 2003.
Bowden led Florida State to nine-straight ACC Championships (co-champs in 1995 and 1998) and would continue to be nationally relevant until the mid-2000s.
With him and the Seminoles in the ACC, Clemson became a second-tier team.
The Tigers had controlled the conference for the better part of the 1980s, but they were forced to sit back and watch Bowden have all kinds of success and absolutely dominate for nearly two decades. Clemson eventually got the better of Bowden and Florida State, but it certainly took quite the amount of patience and several coaching changes.
Biggest villains in Clemson football history: 5. Steve Taneyhill
Steve Taneyhill may have only finished 2-2 all-time against Clemson, but he sure knew how to get underneath the skin of Tiger fans.
Taneyhill, a freshman in 1992, took the field as the starting quarterback for the Gamecocks in the midst of a four game losing streak to the Tigers. With all the cockiness in the world, Taneyhill had one of the games of his life and led South Carolina to a 24-13 victory.
The mullet-headed QB decided to mock sign his name on the Tiger paw at the 50-yad line and he threw his hands up in the air right afterward.
From that moment on, Tanneyhill would always be considered one of the ‘most hated’ figures for Clemson football.
Biggest villains in Clemson football history: 4. Todd Ellis
Now, some may argue that Todd Ellis should be anywhere as high as No. 1 on this list. But, the reason he’s not as high is because he simply hasn’t done much- besides make laughable comments- to warrant being on this list.
Ellis had just one win (1987) and one tie (1986) against the Tigers. During his junior and senior seasons, though, Ellis was a part of South Carolina teams that lost to Clemson by a combined score of 74-10. Though he is considered by many to be one of the greatest Gamecock QBs of all-time, he finished his career completing just 55.3 percent of his passes for 49 touchdowns and 73 interceptions.
Clemson fans probably wouldn’t even remember Ellis had it not been for him taking over the position as play-by-play announcer for Gamecock football. And, of course, he produced this little gem as a result:
"“Clemson is scared to death of Will Muschamp’s progress,” Ellis said. “We are the up and coming team. They are cycling out. We’re cycling in. That’s a big part of the fear from the Tigers right now.”"
That simple quote put Ellis on this board, but he certainly falls more in the ‘Jake Bentley’ variety of villains than the next few on this list.
Biggest villains in Clemson football history: 3. Woody Hayes
How can you have a list of absolute supervillains pertaining to Clemson football and not include Woody Hayes?
Hayes led the No. 20-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes into the 1978 Gator Bowl against Danny Ford’s No. 7-ranked Clemson team.
The Buckeyes had the ball near midfield trailing 17-15 with a little over two minutes left in the game. What happened next will has Hayes near the top of the enemies list forever for Clemson football fans.
Clemson nose-guard Charlie Bauman intercepted Art Schlichter’s pass and was shoved out of bounds on the Ohio State sideline.
After Bauman got up, Hayes grabbed his jersey, punched him in the throat and had to be restrained from hitting him again. The incident sparked a short bench-clearing fight between the two teams and Hayes was penalized just a couple of plays later after he stormed onto the field and pulled on an official’s shirt. The legendary OSU coach was fired the next day, ending his 28-season career with the Buckeyes.
Biggest villains in Clemson football history: 2. Nick Saban
Though the hatred may have cooled off a little bit simply because Alabama didn’t make the CFB Playoff during the 2019 season, there’s no doubt that Nick Saban is one of the ultimate villains of the Clemson football program.
Saban is like the ‘ultimate mastermind’ who hides behind a curtain while the superhero continues to attempt to approach him.
The Tigers wanted to knock supervillain Saban off in 2015, but they simply couldn’t get the job done. That’s similar to how a superhero movie works, anyway. What we all wondered after that 2015 season, though, was if Dabo Swinney could somehow rebound and find a way to best Saban in a rematch.
He- and a team led by Deshaun Watson- did exactly that in 2016, knocking off the Crimson Tide 35-31 with a storybook ending. Though Alabama would go on to win the next year’s match-up, Clemson would come back with a vengeance and knock off the Crimson Tide 44-16 in the 2019 National Championship, perhaps delivering a knockout blow.
Biggest villains in Clemson football history: 1. Steve Spurrier
Atop our list is no one other than the ‘Ole Ball Coach.’
Steve Spurrier caused an absolute infuriating amount of pain during his time as the Head Coach of the South Carolina football program and there are still small remnants even to this day.
Under Spurrier’s leadership, the Gamecock fan base was cockier than ever. South Carolina reeled off five-straight wins over Clemson and things seemed almost unbearable for Tiger fans.
Spurrier rubbed his victories over Clemson in every opportunity that he had and it almost seemed that it was never going to end.
Fortunately for Clemson, though, Spurrier- like many comic villains- didn’t think his plan out all the way. While the Tigers were building the program and developing at a high level, Spurrier had grown lackadaisical on the recruiting trail.
Clemson, led by a freshman Deshaun Watson, finally put an end to the streak in Death Valley and took the rivalry back. That was the official exclamation point needed to signify the downfall of the Spurrier era, but there’s no doubt that Spurrier still remains one of the top villains of all-time in Clemson football history books.