Web posted January 2, 1998

The Associated Press

ATLANTA (AP) -- For three straight years, Clemson's story has been the same.

Each season, coach Tommy West's team has started 3-3, finished strong and qualified for a bowl.

But Clemson (7-4) has lost its last two bowl games and needs a victory Friday over No. 13 Auburn (9-3) in the Peach Bowl to avoid being labeled as a perennial bowl-game flop.

West acknowledges a win would be a nice steppingstone to reach the next level of the Atlantic Coast Conference, along with North Carolina and Florida State. But he's not turning it into a must-win situation for his team.

``I don't feel any more pressure because of those losses,'' he said. ``I'd be feeling more pressure if we weren't here. If the worst thing they can say about me is that Tommy West was not a very good bowl coach, but he made it every year, that would be OK.''

Two years ago, he coached like a guy who hadn't been there before, taking his team to Florida for two weeks and running through two-a-days before a 41-0 loss to Syracuse in the Gator Bowl.

Last season, West eased up and felt his team played better, even though it lost 10-7 to LSU.

Clemson has gone through almost the same routine during this, a season that narrowly missed becoming one of the best in school history.

The Tigers lost 17-10 to North Carolina and 35-28 to Florida State, a game that got Auburn coach Terry Bowden's attention for obvious reasons. Bowden's father, Bobby, coaches the Seminoles.

``I just remember him thinking he had a lot harder time in that game than he originally expected,'' Terry Bowden said. ``It left a lasting impression on him. He felt it was a team that could have won the conference with a few more breaks.''

Quarterback Nealon Greene fought through injuries all season to throw for a season-record 2,126 yards. Running back Raymond Priester overcame a severely sprained ankle and enters the Peach Bowl as Clemson's career leading rusher with 3,904 yards.

The defense is led by AP All-American linebacker Anthony Simmons, a junior who will soon decide whether to make himself eligible for the NFL draft.

Going against a one-dimensional offense, in which quarterback Dameyune Craig appears to be Auburn's only weapon, this might seem like the year for Clemson and West to break the bowl drought.

West, however, refuses to place undue pressure on his team, which is 2-3 in bowls since 1990, compared to Danny Ford's 6-2 bowl record in the glory days of the 1980s.

``We want to win, but if we don't, I don't think it will reflect poorly on the players,'' West said. ``The media and fans will blame me more than the players and I'm not going to worry about it. I'd rather be getting that kind of criticism than being a guy who couldn't even get here.''