Hurricane Irma forced my evacuation from my home in Fort Myers, Fla.so I watched the Auburn at Clemson game from Orlando.
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Up to the end of the first half, Auburn appeared to be favored with a defense prowess that paralleled the Georgia Southern victory.
“It was definitely our first test”.
A defensive battle for all game resulted in Auburn only managing 117 yards of total offense.
On two separate drives, Auburn had first down from Clemson’s 2- and 11 -yard lines, all within the first 16 minutes of the game, and came away with just six points. Ryan Davis had eight receptions for 32 yards while Will Hastings had two receptions for 12 yards. It’s not a playoff-breaker for the loser, but it’s a chance for No. 3 Clemson to state its case as why it will be a player in the race to the national championship game and for Auburn to prove it is a threat to Alabama in the SEC West.
The majority of Auburn’s effectiveness was confined to the first half, where it managed two field goals on its first three possessions. “We were up to the challenge”.
The start was Stidham’s second for Auburn and fifth of his career. He also had 132 rushing yards and three more scores.
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn confirmed in his “Tiger Talk” weekly radio call-in show that Johnson hadn’t practiced during the week.
“It was happening real fast”, Carter recalled. But I was surprised by just how out of place he looked.
“We really just couldn’t get in a rhythm in the first half”, Swinney said.
“They’re defending national champs and their defense is one of the best ones in college football”, Malzahn said. Running back Kamryn Pettway rushed 22 times for 74 yards, but Auburn finished with only 38 yards rushing because Stidham lost 42 yards on his 18 carries.
But that was the last time Clemson’s corners didn’t play by the rules.
“I feel like I’m back at Alabama in 1988 after that one”, said Swinney, a former player and assistant coach at Alabama. “It’s all about the “next play” mentality, and that’s what I did after that”. Clemson Covers -4.5 Spread.
The ACC Network released the following highlight montage of Clemson’s physical contest with the Auburn Tigers. The Auburn Tigers’ defense stepped up at every turn, forcing two fumbles in the game but the offense couldn’t take advantage of Clemson’s mistake.
The Tigers had 11 sacks with Austin Bryant leading the way with four. We’re a big family and nothing will ever divide us. “Having them is a game changer – it was evident tonight”. “No matter what adversity they’re going through, they’re going to get through it”, he said.
“We had too many negative plays”. We’ll get better. We’ve got to be able to run the football. That’s the question that Urban Meyer and his offensive coaching staff will need to look deep into in the next couple of weeks and figure out before OSU’s title hopes evaporate in a sea of incompletions and defenses daring the Buckeyes to beat them with the pass. He initiated a lot more collisions than usual Saturday night.
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And, at least for another week, it silenced skeptics who believed this unit would take a step back this season. “Clemson had a lot to do with that, but we have to find ways to get it done”. “After that, we didn’t move the ball very well”, Stidham said.
