Clemson football beat the Auburn Tigers. Things looked grim early for Clemson, but they bounced back to get the 14-6 victory. They are now 2-0 on the season.
The Clemson Tigers had just six total yards on six plays in the first quarter and trailed the Auburn Tigers 6-0 entering the second quarter. Late in the second quarter, quarterback Kelly Bryant went down with an injury and Memorial Stadium went to a hush.
Bryant returned to the game for Clemson football and led the offense to their first points with 48 seconds left in the first half. He ran for a three-yard touchdown to put his team up 7-6. It was a 12-play, 88-yard drive that sparked the Clemson Tigers football team and it awoke a beast. Bryant appeared to be just fine.
In the second half, it was an eight-play, 79-yard drive, capped off by a Kelly Bryant rushing touchdown for his second of the game.
The Clemson Tigers football team then saw their defense wake up as well. They scored back-to-back sacks on the following drive, setting a new tone in the second half. 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.
In the end, Clemson would go on to cruise to victory. Here are three takeaways from Clemson football’s 14-6 victory over Auburn.
3. The Auburn Tigers offense is still ineffective
It looked like the Auburn Tigers had turned a corner on offense last week in their 41-7 victory over Georgia Southern. However, it took a few steps back against the third-ranked Clemson Tigers.
Auburn quarterback Jarret Stidham was 13-of-24 with 79 passing yards in the game. In his defense, he was sacked eight times in the game. He still went without a touchdown pass. Stidham looked relatively uncomfortable in the pocket in the second half and with good reason.
Auburn produced just 13 first downs, 117 total yards of offense and went 6-of-17 on third down conversions. The Auburn Tigers looked to capitalize on an early turnover by Clemson, but a stop by the defense stalled their drive inside the 10-yard line. They only got three points off that drive.
They went on to go scoreless in the second half and were not up to par with Clemson all game.
Next week, they’ll face the Mercer Bears, so there’s room to improve and develop the offense before SEC play starts. The running game could be fine after all, Clemson’s defense is no slouch. There’s time for now to work out the kinks for Auburn, so we’ll see.
2. Clemson Tigers defense has reloaded with a lot of talent
The Clemson Tigers football team were stifling this week as new stars emerged on their defense. Their reloading of talent on defense could prove to be a problem in 2017. Linebacker Dorian O’Daniel led the way for the Clemson defense with nine tackles while also registering half a sack in the game.
Clemson’s defense finished the game with 11 sacks, nine tackles for loss, and a forced fumble. The more the game wore on, the more the Clemson Tigers turned up the heat on Auburn. They held them to just six points in the game, bringing their total points allowed total up to nine so far this year. Defensive end Austin Bryant led the way for the defensive line with 4.0 sacks.
The Clemson football program looks to have a renewed focus since going up a few notches in the AP Top 25 this week. It sets the Clemson Tigers football team and their defense up for a great road matchup with the Louisville Cardinals next week.
The Cardinals have a much more poised quarterback in Lamar Jackson under center. He scored six touchdowns in Louisville’s 47-35 win over North Carolina. It’s a good way for Louisville to start their schedule. They’ll have their hands full next week with Clemson.
1. Kelly Bryant is going to be a problem in ACC play
Clemson Tigers quarterback Kelly Bryant had a big game against the Auburn Tigers. He’s going to be a problem this season in ACC play, so Louisville better watch out. Bryant passed for 181 passing yards on 19-for-29 but that wasn’t the story of the day.
It was an injury late in the second quarter that seemed to wake up Bryant’s playmaking abilities. He returned after going out briefly to lead an impressive scoring drive and put Clemson football up 7-6 just before the half. Bryant wasn’t done there, either.
He came out slinging in the second half and led the Clemson Tigers on another scoring drive, which culminated in an impressive 27-yard touchdown run where he spun off the defense to run into the endzone.
Are we sure that's not Deshaun Watson? Kelly Bryant with the spectacular 27-yard TD run! pic.twitter.com/LZhJIvjur0
— Chat Sports (@ChatSports) September 10, 2017
Kelly Bryant was impressive in Clemson’s 14-6 victory over the 14th-ranked Auburn. Their defense kept the pressure on him but he was able to make enough big plays to create some breathing room for his team.
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Clemson went relatively conservative on offense after taking a 14-6 lead early in the third quarter. Bryant will have his work cut out for him next week against the Louisville Cardinals but it should be another exciting game nonetheless.