Long Beach Loss, 59-0, Is Historical

George Allen knew he had no chance Saturday in a game he never wanted to play. But to ensure that his young Cal State Long Beach football team would be inspired, he had his former chaplain on the Washington Redskins give a pregame motivational talk.

“You have to say you’re going to make this the greatest day of your life,” Tom Skinner told the players. “If you do, you will write history.”

The 49ers tried hard to follow that advice, but they lost, 59-0. Allen was grateful for his team’s effort, not for the history that was written.

It was the worst defeat in Long Beach history and the worst in Allen’s 24-year career. It was the most lopsided Clemson victory in 33 years.

“This is a new experience for Coach Allen, to lose, 59-0,” Allen, 72, said after his first college game since coaching at Whittier in 1956.

There was an edge to Allen’s soft voice when he came out of the dressing room.

“I don’t want any more games like this,” he said. “It’s not fair to the kids. Anybody who knows football knows you couldn’t expect anything much more than this.”

The 49ers gained only 57 yards to 10th-ranked Clemson’s 418.

“These kids are trying,” Allen said. “They just aren’t big enough or fast enough, but they gave it all they had.”

Before 72,500 fans, who formed a sea of orange in a stadium known as Death Valley, the 49ers showed no sign of intimidation at the beginning, even though many were playing their first college game.

An 18-yard pass from Todd Studer to Mark Seay, who was playing his first game since losing a kidney in a drive-by shooting two years ago, sparked a 28-yard drive into Clemson territory midway through the first quarter.

But on third and one, Studder telegraphed a pass that was intercepted in the left flat by Arlington Nunn, who ran 55 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead. “I forced the ball,” Studder said. “It was my first game. I need to learn from my mistakes.”

Studder completed eight of 19 passes for 70 yards. Under constant pressure from one of the nation’s top defenses, he was sacked twice.

Clemson threw an array of runners at Long Beach, none of whom could be stopped. The Tigers gained 330 yards on the ground.

They scored their second touchdown late in the first quarter on a three-yard run by tailback Rodney Blunt and added two in the second quarter on another short rush by Blunt and an 11-yard run by quarterback DeChane Cameron.

A 98-yard kickoff return by Doug Thomas opened the second half, and from there all Allen could do was try to offer encouragement to his team while suffering in the sun. Clemson kept scoring at will.

Allen eventually replaced Studder with Bobby San Jose, but his first pass was intercepted and he had only one completion.

Long Beach, which lost three fumbles, didn’t get farther than the Clemson 42-yard line in the second half.

“We felt that on a hot day we could wear them down,” said Ken Hatfield, whose debut as Clemson’s coach seemed overshadowed by Allen’s presence.

Wherever Allen went, cameras clicked. Fans asked for his autograph. “George you’re a hell of a guy,” one said as the coach walked off the field.

One of Allen’s fears was that his players would be injured, and two important ones were. Linebacker Pepper Jenkins, who had six tackles and a sack, suffered what may be a dislocated elbow; and wide receiver Sean Foster missed most of the second half with possible cartilage damage in his knee.

After the game, Allen gathered his players and said, “We’re going to make somebody pay for this down the line.”

The 49ers paid Saturday, but only on the field. They took home $250,000.

“We played this game to get some money to keep the program going,” Allen told the largest national media gathering at Clemson since 1977.

But he added, “I don’t think these types of games help the winner or the loser. I don’t want to be involved in any more games where you’re so outmanned.”

He was then reminded that the 49ers have a game scheduled next season at Miami (Fla.).

“Ridiculous,” Allen said.