Clemson Tigers @ Auburn Tigers Football Recap

Auburn 27, Clemson 24 (OT)

The Clemson Tigers still can't stand prosperity.

The team that won the ACC Atlantic Division title in 2009 has apparently not retained an ability to win at a higher level and nudge itself upward in the college football pecking order.

It was all so right for Coach Dabo Swinney's team. It rolled to a 17-0 lead Saturday night at Jordan-Hare Stadium, smothering the Auburn Tigers with a physical style of play and a run-first approach on both sides of the ball.

Then, as has been known to happen in Clemson seasons past, the boys from the Palmetto State couldn't finish the job.

Opening the second half with a 17-3 lead, a short kick and a penalty by Clemson gave Auburn a short field and a drive starting at the 45. Auburn quarterback Cam Newton threw an interception after a first down, however, and the boys from the ACC seemed to be in control once again. They weren't.

Clemson's offense was stuck in neutral for one and a half quarters after halftime. Auburn’s offense got rolling.  Newton got positive rushing yards in the second half, and he tossed a huge pass to Darvin Adams for 34 yards, which set up a 12-yard touchdown rush by Onterio McCalebb to make the score 17-10.  

The tsunami of building Auburn momentum just continued to grow. Clemson's offense produced three-and-outs while Newton sustained his elevated level of play following his brutal first half. Auburn defensive coordinator Ted Roof made quality halftime adjustments and got his guys to fly to the ball.  Auburn eventually drove 72 yards for the game-tying score. Auburn relentlessly pounded the ball on the ground but got Newton some easy passing attempts precisely when Clemson was expecting the run.

With the teams tied at 17-all, Auburn then caught lightning in a bottle, connecting on a 78-yard touchdown pass from Newton to receiver Terrell Zachery, who got lost on the right sideline behind the Clemson secondary.  Auburn went up 24-17, and it looked like the home team was going to run away with the game after being down 17-0. It was a tale of two halves if there ever was one.

Just then, Clemson made one final flurry and almost stole a win on the road. Almost.

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The ACC Tigers (not the SEC ones) managed to tie things up on a two-yard Andre Ellington touchdown rush. At 24-all early in the fourth, there was renewed hope that this snake-bitten program could come good in the clutch. It came close, but couldn't quite cross the threshold.

In overtime, Clemson stopped Auburn on third down. Wes Byrum nailed a field goal to put Auburn up by three, but Clemson had a shot to win with a touchdown.  With Clemson facing a third-and-five at the Auburn 8, quarterback Kyle Parker had a receiver wide open on a misdirection pass play, but he threw the ball about a foot ahead of where the receiver would have been able to comfortably catch it.  There was nobody within five yards of the receiver. Parker felt sick as he walked to the Clemson bench.

He had to feel even worse after the next - and last - event of this pulse-pounder on the Alabama Plains. Clemson kicker Chandler Catanzaro made a game-tying field goal, but it was wiped out on a false start as the Clemson center moved the ball before snapping it.  The second effort failed and Auburn won.

This was a tough game for Clemson and the ACC.  Clemson actually had a significant advantage on first downs, 27-19, but that doesn't translate to points. Andre Ellington had 140 yards rushing on 22 carries and a touchdown, which is more impressive when you consider that big plays didn’t skew his 6.4 yards-per-carry average.  His longest rush was 21 yards. Clemson's other running back, Jamie Harper, added 44 yards rushing.  Both backs had 48 receiving yards, and Harper had two receiving touchdowns.  Parker was 21 of 35 for 227 yards and two touchdown passes with no interceptions.

For Auburn, receiver Darvin Adams had 118 receiving yards and a TD.  Auburn had 221 rushing yards, but no individual had 100 yards.  McCalebb had 81 yards and a TD on 10 rushes.  Freshman Mike Dyer had 69 yards on 16 carries, and Newton had 68 yards on 17 carries, some of which were sacks.

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Senior Staff Writer