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| TE Dwayne Allen makes an athletic catch for a TD |
A tough first few minutes had Clemson fans wondering just how long this season would turn out to be. Two hours later, everyone is reeling as Clemson responded to a 14-0 deficit with 624 yards of total offense and 5 touchdowns! QB Tajh Boyd went off for 386 yards on 30/42 attempts with 4 touchdowns. His targets included WR's Sammy Watkins (10 catches for 155 yards and 2 TDs) and Nuke Hopkins (7 catches for 83 yards and a TD). TE Dwayne Allen also turned in a stellar game with 7 catches for 80 yards including an athletic 6 yard TD.
Maybe the most underrated performance was by backup RB DJ Howard. Howard filled in for a gimped up Andre Ellington and didn't miss a beat. The Tigers have been searching for a reliable backup for Ellington and Howard filled that role beautifully. Howard finished with 86 yards on 9 carries and averaged a whopping 9.6 yards per carry.
The game started ugly as Clemson's defense gave up long touchdowns on back-to-back drives to the defending National Champions. Michael Dyer got it started on a 52 yard TD run. The Clemson offense was held to a three and out and Auburn responded again with a 36 yard TD pass from QB Barrett Trotter to WR Emory Blake on a 4th and 1. Tajh Boyd and the offense responded with a long drive that culminated with a 4 yard strike to Nuke Hopkins for a TD.
The second quarter began with a long, grinding drive that saw Michael Dyer bowl over the Clemson defense for a 1 yard TD run. This was the last touchdown that the Tigers without a lake would score. Clemson responded with touchdown drives that ended in a 6 yard scoring strike to All-ACC TE Dwayne Allen and a 2 yard TD run by RB Andre Ellington to tie the game heading into halftime.
The second half was all Clemson as the opening drive began with a 65 yard TD pass to Sammy Watkins from Tajh Boyd. Clemson's defense was stiff for the rest of the second half and only allowed a field goal the rest of the game. Clemson would go on to score again late in the third on a 19 yard TD pass to Sammy Watkins.
The fourth quarter saw Chandler Catanzaro complete a 38 yard field goal. CB Coty Sensabaugh intercepted a pass in the redzone that would end Auburn's last offensive drive of the game. The ridiculed offensive line of last week ground out a long, time-consuming drive that would end with a Tajh Boyd knee to end a 17 game winning streak by the SEC Tigers. Dabo Swinney was fired up and emotional at the end of the game interview and said he hopes it is an undefeated FSU team that comes into Death Valley next weekend.
Sammy Watkins set a Clemson record with 146 yards by a freshman. The former record was by Roscoe Crosby in 2001 with 139 yards. Watkins has tied a Clemson record with 9 catches as a freshman. Watkins leads the team with 21 catches for 292 yards and 4 touchdowns. Watkins finished with 199 total yards.
Tajh Boyd had a record day with 386 yards on 30/42 attempts with 4 touchdowns. Tajh is now 68/101 for 911 yards and 10 touchdowns. Boyd is on track to have a great year and possibly break some Clemson single season records.
Below are the stats from todays game.
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