Though a special teams gaffe cost them a game at NC State a few weeks before, No. 16 Clemson found itself in a familiar position when it traveled to College Park, Md., on November 12, 1988. The Tigers were once again in line for an ACC Championship.
To complete their third conference championship in three years, they needed to get past Maryland, a team who was on a roll and was 4-1 in their five ACC games to that point. Clemson was 5-1 in the conference and 7-2 overall.
Dating back to 1978, the Clemson-Maryland winner won the ACC nine times, including every year from 1981-’87 at that point.