2009 Clemson Tigers football team The 2009 Clemson Tigers football team represented Clemson University in the 2009 college football season . The Tigers were led by head coach Dabo Swinney , who was in his first full season as head coach . The Tigers played their home games in Memorial Stadium . The Tigers won the ACC Atlantic Division , but after securing the title lost to in – state rival South Carolina in the Palmetto Bowl 34 – 17 , before losing for the second time in the season to Georgia Tech in the ACC Championship Game . Clemson closed the season with a win over Kentucky in the Music City Bowl . Notable . In the Tiger ' s 40 – 24 victory over the Florida State Seminoles on November 7 , 2009 , running back C . J . Spiller and wide receiver Jacoby Ford became the leading all - purpose yardage duo in NCAA history ( a record previously held by Marshall Faulk and Darnay Scott of San Diego State ) . C . J . Spiller was named as one of the three finalists for the 2009 Doak Walker Award . Spiller , along with Mark Ingram of Alabama and Toby Gerhart of Stanford , was selected by a vote of the 130 – member Doak Walker Award National Selection Committee . On December 2 , 2009 , Spiller was voted the 2009 Atlantic Coast Conference Player of the Year . The all - purpose threat was named as the league ' s top player following a vote of 40 members of the Atlantic Coast Sports Media Association . Spiller received 29 votes to outdistance Georgia Tech quarterback Josh Nesbitt , who had eight . Virginia Tech running back Ryan Williams , the league ' s rookie of the year , had two votes and Yellow Jackets defensive end Derrick Morgan had one . Spiller was the nation ' s only player this season to account for touchdowns five different ways – rushing , passing , receiving , and on kick and punt returns – and had passing , rushing and receiving TDs in one game , a victory against North Carolina State . He returned four kickoffs and a punt for scores this year and has eight total returns for TDs during his career . He scored at least once in every game this season while leading Clemson to the Atlantic Division title and a spot in the league title game against Georgia Tech . Spiller led the ACC with an average of nearly 184 all - purpose yards and was the league ' s fourth - leading rusher , averaging 76 yards . Spiller is the seventh Tiger to be named player of the year and the first since Michael Dean Perry in 1987 . # 17 jersey . On July 25 , it was announced that sophomore linebacker Stanley Hunter was forced to quit playing football due to medical reasons . Hunter , who led the 2008 team in fewest plays per tackle , was suffering from an increase in seizures due to epilepsy . On August 18 , Coach Swinney announced that several players would alternate wearing # 17 during the season as a way to honor Stanley Hunter . List of Players wearing # 17 during the season : Three of the players who will wear # 17 ( Korn , Diehl , and Dye ) were also teammates with Hunter at James F . Byrnes High School in Spartanburg , SC . Stanley Hunter remains a member of the Clemson team , serving as a student - coach this season for the Tigers . # 6 jersey . Cornerback Chris Chancellor , whose normal number is # 38 , wore # 6 , the normal number of wide receiver Jacoby Ford , for the Miami game . ( Under college football rules , two or more players on a team can wear the same number as long as only one is on the field at a time . ) Chancellor , a native of Miami , made the change with the blessing of both Ford and Swinney in memory of his former high school teammate Jasper Howard , a cornerback who wore # 6 for Connecticut and was murdered in the early morning of October 18 following UConn ' s game against Louisville . # 28 jersey . At the end of the season , Head Coach Dabo Swinney announced that they would retire the # 28 jersey worn by C . J . Spiller at a ceremony when the Tigers play Maryland at home on Oct . 16 , 2010 . Schedule . ! colspan = 8 | Regular Season ! colspan = 8 | Post Season Depth chart . These are the starters , primary backups , and key reserves as of September 2009 .