Today's Tidbit... Clemson’s 1951 Dream Team Platoons

The colleges were only in the sixth season of two-platoon football in 1950. Some teams still played their boys for sixty minutes per game, and there were other ways in which football still had one foot in the old days and one in the modern game.

1951 Clemson yearbook

Take Clemson, for instance. Their 1950 team went 9-0-1, finishing the season ranked #10 after beating Miami in the 1951 Orange Bowl. The 1951 yearbook celebrated their accomplishments by identifying the members of the offensive and defensive platoons. Even better, the yearbook placed the offensive players in their Single Wing positions while aligning the defense in their 6-2-2-1 spots.

Still, the end was nigh. Clemson switched to the T formation for the 1953 season.

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