Clemson Football: Scouting report vs. Auburn
With week one in the rear view mirror, the Clemson football program can focus their efforts on Jarrett Stidham and Auburn. Here’s what to expect from the Tigers’ week two opponent.
When? September 9, 2017, 7:00 pm ET.
Where? Memorial Stadium (Death Valley)
2016 Record: 8-5 (5-3 SEC)
Head Coach: Gus Malzahn (5th year)
Betting Line: -8 Clemson
Returning Starters: 15 total, eight on offense, seven on defense.
Clemson just barely made it out of Jordan-Hare Stadium alive in 2016. The Tigers were able to venture on the plains and pull out a 19-13 victory over Auburn. Gus Malzahn and his Tigers are looking to get their revenge this season.
Strengths:
The one thing you can count on under Malzahn is a strong running game. From the moment he arrived on the plains, Auburn has placed an emphasis on running the football. The Tigers entered the 2017 season with a trio of talented backs in Kamryn Pettway, Kerryon Johnson and Kam Martin.
Despite not having Pettway in week one, the Tigers were still able to rush for 351 total yards vs. Georgia Southern, with Johnson and Martin chewing off 136 yards and one touchdown a piece.
After watching Auburn in week one, I came away thoroughly impressed with their front seven. Jeff Holland and Marlon Davidson were wreaking havoc in Georgia Southern’s backfield. The Tigers finished the day with five sacks and 12 tackles for loss.
This Tigers’ defense was also outstanding on third down. Georgia Southern wasn’t able to convert a single third down, going 0 for 15 on the night.
Weaknesses:
Speaking of third down, Auburn struggled to convert against the Eagles defense. Jarrett Stidham and company only converted on 37 percent of their third down attempts. With Clemson’s exotic blitz packages this will only get tougher for Auburn in week two.
With it being early in the season, Stidham and his receivers have yet to completely gel. Clemson can take advantage of this by getting pressure on Stidham and pressing Auburn’s wide receivers at the line of scrimmage; all in an attempt to disrupt timing.
While we didn’t see any issues against Georgia Southern – mainly because they don’t throw the ball – Auburn’s secondary struggled some in 2016, ranking 67th in the country in passing defense. Clemson’s high-tempo offense will surely test Auburn’s work-in-progress secondary in their week two showdown.
Next: Clemson vs. Auburn: 5 Storylines to watch
It’ll be interesting to see how Clemson’s offensive line holds up against Auburn’s talented front seven. If Kelly Bryant has time to survey the field and distribute the ball from a clean pocket, it will be difficult for Auburn to defeat Clemson at home.