College Football

DEATH VALLEY DAYS

After Clemson lost for the second consecutive year to Wake Forest—this time 20-16 at home—a bunch of angry Tiger fans began chanting, " Hatfield must go" as the team left the field. "We've been in tough situations before," said the target of their demand, Clemson coach Ken Hatfield. "When the season's over, if they want to do something with me then, my hat's off to them. But now's not the time or the place."

Only three years ago, when Florida State joined the ACC Clemson was considered the only program in the league that could consistently challenge the Seminoles'. During Danny Ford's 11 seasons at Clemson, from 1979 through '89, the Tigers claimed one national title and five conference crowns en route to winning 76% of their games. But Hatfield, who arrived after stints at Air Force and Arkansas, has not been able to follow that tough act.

Hatfield hasn't recruited nearly as successfully as Ford did, which goes a long way toward explaining why Clemson fell to 5-6 last year, the school's first losing season since 1976. Under Ford the Tigers dominated recruiting in much of the Carolinas, but Hatfield has repeatedly lost prized players to North Carolina's Mack Brown.

Even Hatfield seems to realize that those birds circling over Death Valley are buzzards and that the carcass they're eyeing is his. Already the rumor mill has it that Hatfield's replacement will be Dick Sheridan, who resigned from N.C. State in June. Close friends say Sheridan, a native of South Carolina, has always coveted the job at Clemson.

SQUIBS
John Gagliardi became the fifth coach to win 300 games when St. John's of Minnesota, a Division III team, defeated Bethel College 77-12. Now in his 45th season at St. John's, Gagliardi joined a club whose only members are Eddie Robinson (385 victories), Paul Bryant (323), Amos Alonzo Stagg (314) and Pop Warner (313).... Almost half the population of Maria Stein, Ohio—453 fans—made the 62-mile trip to Dayton to watch hometown hero Dan Thobe help the Flyers defeat Butler 28-6. "Weird," said Thobe, a co-captain and starting free safety, "but I guess I'm kind of popular around there." ...Southern Cal wide receiver Johnnie Morton's seven catches in a 34-9 win over Oregon State gave him a school-record 167 for his career. His 157 receiving yards in the game pushed his career total to 2,560, a Pac-10 record.... Like tall Fish tales? In Evansville's 27-21 win over San Diego, Eric Fish caught a nine-yard touchdown pass, threw for two more TDs and ran one yard, with 14 seconds remaining, for the game-winning score.