2006 Clemson Tigers football team

2006 Clemson Tigers football
Music City Bowl, L 20–28 vs. Kentucky
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
DivisionAtlantic Division
Record8–5 (5–3 ACC)
Head coach
Offensive coordinatorRob Spence (2nd season)
Offensive schemeMultiple
Defensive coordinatorVic Koenning (2nd season)
Base defense4–3
Home stadiumMemorial Stadium
Seasons
← 2005
2007 →
2006 Atlantic Coast Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
Atlantic Division
No. 18 Wake Forest x$   6 2     11 3  
No. 20 Boston College   5 3     10 3  
Maryland   5 3     9 4  
Clemson   5 3     8 5  
Florida State   3 5     7 6  
NC State   2 6     3 9  
Coastal Division
Georgia Tech x   7 1     9 5  
No. 19 Virginia Tech   6 2     10 3  
Virginia   4 4     5 7  
Miami (FL)   3 5     7 6  
North Carolina   2 6     3 9  
Duke   0 8     0 12  
Championship: Wake Forest 9, Georgia Tech 6
  • $ – BCS representative as conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2006 Clemson Tigers football team represented Clemson University in the 2006 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Tommy Bowden and played their homes game in the Memorial Stadium.

Portions of the season, specifically the games against Florida Atlantic and Florida State, were featured in the 2020 film Safety, which is about sophomore safety Ray McElrathbey taking care of his little brother while their mother receives treatment for drug addiction.

Entering the season, the Tigers had high expectations, hoping to compete for a spot in the ACC Championship Game. After a defeat at Boston College in the second game of the season, Clemson achieved off six straight victories, during which they averaged nearly 42 points a game. But things soon fell apart, with Clemson losing four out of their last five, including a loss to Kentucky in the Music City Bowl, and a 31–28 loss to arch rival South Carolina. The team finished the season with a disappointing 8–5 record.

ESPN's College Gameday show made its first-ever appearance in Clemson for the game between the Tigers and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on October 21. Kirk Herbstreit mentioned both during and after the show, that he felt that Clemson hosted one of the best Gameday audiences he'd ever seen. The Gameday audience at Clemson also set a new noise record when measured in the latter half of the show.