The Clemson Tigers probably couldn’t have made that game any closer if they had tried. Clemson won 19-13, but it could have easily been counted as a loss.
On a 4th-and-4 with 40 seconds left deep in Auburn territory, Dabo Swinney decided to let his offense try to convert for a first down instead of letting his kicker try for a field goal. The field goal, if made, would have put Clemson up by nine with just 40 seconds left, not enough time for Auburn to score twice. Instead, Wayne Gallman failed to convert and Auburn took over on their 15-yard line.
After the game Swinney remarked on his thought process, “I played the odds and I wanted to put it in the hands of our defense. If they march down the field with 40 seconds and no timeouts I’m going to go down and shake their hand and say great job.”
All in all, this was probably the worst choice Swinney made during the game. The field goal would have only been a 41-yard attempt, and for a kicker that is one of the best on attempts inside 45 yards, a no-brainer. Not to mention that handing the ball off to a rusher that averaged 3.4 yards per rush on the night when his team needed four yards was actually going against the odds anyway. Even allowing Watson to throw for a first-down might not have been the worst idea considering Clemson has one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. A short screen would have certainly done the trick.
Speaking of screens, Clemson had very few of those during the game. Most of the passing plays involved using traditional wide receiver sets. There were no quick throws to the outside. There were no sets where Gallman lined up as a wide receiver to block. Screens were the offense’s bread and butter last year. Maybe Coach Swinney decided they would be too risky against such a good Auburn defensive line or maybe the idea would be to stretch the secondary more by making throws downfield. Whatever the reason, Clemson’s offense did not look like itself.
The return of receiver Mike Williams, however, proved to be a major difference. Last year, Williams suffered a season-ending neck injury in the first game of the season. His football career could have ended, but Williams was fortunate enough to have another chance.
He did not receive a single target in the first quarter of the game as the offense stalled and failed to move into scoring range. It was almost as if Clemson forgot Williams was even there. On Clemson’s first play of the second quarter, Mike Williams caught the ball for an 11-yard gain. Clemson would go on to score a touchdown during that drive. Williams set a career-high in receiving yards with 174 on nine receptions. He also accounted for 70 percent of the entire wide receiver production.
On the other side of the ball, Clemson’s defense was outstanding. Venables is a magician when it comes to defenses and it certainly showed. Jadar Johnson highlighted all throughout the game, making fantastic plays all throughout the night. He had an interception and he was the one to bat down Auburn’s second Hail Mary throw at the end of the game. Ben Boulware had some good and bad as he too had an interception, but made the late hit out-of-bounds on a 3rd-and-10 that extended Auburn’s drive which would result in a touchdown.
As a whole, the defense only allowed 87 rushing yards and 175 passing yards, 2.1 and 5.8 yards per play respectively. Auburn’s quarterbacks rushed for -20 yards on 10 attempts which took any chance that Auburn had of having any dual-threat capabilities out of the offense early.
It was a dicey game from start to finish. Watson didn’t look as comfortable as he usually does. Mike Williams carried the offense. The defense yet again proved that, despite losing key playmakers every year, they can still be the same defense time and again.
This was the first win Clemson has had in Jordan-Hare Stadium since 1950 as well as extended Clemson’s streak of winning against unranked opponents to 38. Clemson’s next game will be in the friendly confines of Death Valley on September 10 against Troy.
