Film Study: Clemson (First Half)

This feature is a product of me being between jobs and the wonderful benefits of having DVR. I will do my best to go play by play to identify who did well, who missed assignments and hopefully identify areas of opportunity for this team. Maybe if I do well enough Coach Chizik will hire me.

1st Quarter

15:00 - Craig Sanders was the first one down the field on the kickoff (again) and Chris Davis wasn't far behind him. Both guys blew up their man and clogged the running lane. Davis made the tackle. Sanders was taking some cheap shots after the whistle and the Clemson player had shoved him down so Craig, from his ass, grabbed the Clemson player and threw him to the ground with ease. Gotta love The Animal.

14:52 - Ellington run right, gain of 1. Great team effort by the defense in occupying the blockers and clogging the running lanes. Everyone played their assignment well.

14:23 - Ellington draw, gain of 9 for a first down. We rushed four here and our ends got really far up field. They had Fairley in one on one but ran the draw, wisely, to the other side. Clayton was double teamed. Our LB's were dropping into zone coverage and didn't react quick enough to the draw. Craig Stevens tried to run around the block by the tight end and ran himself out of the play and Josh Bynes was a step slow to get to him before he reached the marker.

13:46 - Toss sweep right to Ellington, gain of 11. They lined up in tight formation and motioned Ellington to the right. Darren Bates was in man coverage against Ellington and was assigned to follow him across the field. He was simply too slow to keep up. Also, Aairon Savage should have forced the play back inside and could have stopped it for a short gain but he took a horrible angle and allowed Ellington to turn the corner and took himself out of the play.

13:28 - Harper carried to the right for a loss of 4. Great play by Zach Clayton. Absolutely blew up his man and forced Harper to go further outside than he wanted. Carter had pushed his man up field giving Harper no where to go. Clayton made the tackle.

12:50 - Screen pass to Harper, gain of 15. Well executed play by Clemson. Clayton and Fairley both could have done a better job of recognising the screen earlier but I'm not sure either would have been fast enough to catch Harper either way. Stevens and Bynes were both a step slow getting to the edge and allowed Harper to get past them. Savage came up to make the tackle but it is concerning our safety had to come UP to make a tackle 18 yards from where the player caught the pass.

12:26 - Harper run right, gain of 1. Great effort by Nick Fairley. Fairley started out lined up over the left guard but got double teamed by the center. He immediately recognised the play going to the right and he tossed the center to the side, stunted into the gap and blew up the play. Good job by Antoine carter collapsing the right side as well not allowing Harper to bounce it outside.

11:48 - Zone read hand off to Ellington, gain of 6. Our D-Line got owned on this play. All of them had one on one match ups and the only one to beat their man was Nick Fairley who had a chance to blow the play up for a loss but was juked out of his shoes in the back field. Josh Bynes was way too slow in recognising who took the hand off and Darren Bates had an offensive guard on the second level blocking him. Good effort by Clayton to chase the play down from behind.

11:09 - Fake fullback dive, toss right to Ellington, gain of 3 for a first down. Very frustrating play. We had our second string D Line in on this play (probably because it has been a long drive to this point and Roof just saw the whole first team get owned) which included true freshman Corey Lemoneir at rush end. He had outside contain responsibility on this play and bit on the inside fake giving Ellington room to turn the corner. Despite that Aairon Savage had the play read and came up to make the hit at the line of scrimmage but was carried forward for 3 yards before Ellington went down.

10:45 - Dive left to Ellington, gain of 19. The right side of our D Line was absolutely demolished on this play giving Ellington a HUGE cutback lane. Clemson had an unbalanced line with an extra lineman outside the right tackle. Nosa Eguae was one on one with that lineman and was pushed three yards off the line of scrimmage and out of the play. Mike Blanc got double teamed by the right tackle and right guard and was also pushed out of the play. Demond Washington should have contained the outside cutback but overran the play to the inside and then made a very weak attempt at an arm tackle just grabbing at air as Ellington ran by. Savage overran the play as well and had to reverse field to force Ellington out of bounds after the huge gain.

10:23 - Harper off left tackle, gain of 8. First team D Line back in there but not much better results. Clemson double teamed Nick Fairley with the right tackle and right guard but Michael Goggans got demolished by their tight end. A strong side d-end needs to be able to beat a tight end one on one to make the tackle. Bates ate up the fullback and Bynes caught the pulling guard. Ethridge came down to seal off the bounce outside to the left so Harper cut it back through the original hole. Savage came up to make the tackle but was again pushed back three yards from the point of contact.

9:46 - Hand off to Harper, loss of 4. This play was absolutely blown up by Nick Fairley. When I first saw it I thought it was miscommunication between Harper and Parker but this was a designed stretch play but by the time Harper and Parker met for the hand off Fairley was already three yards deep in the backfield. Try to leave him one on one and this is what happens. Carter and Bynes were there to combine for the tackle after Harper tried to reverse field.

9:07 - Shovel pass to Harper, gain of 8 for a touchdown. Well designed play by Clemson. Parker rolled to his left and they left Goggans unblocked to chase him up field. The left tackle crashed down on fairley and the left guard went directly to the second level (Stevens). The key block on this play was the center one on one with Mike Blanc (I assume we had both our pass rushing DT's in because 3rd and 7 is a passing down) and Blanc just couldn't get off the block. The right guard pulled around to seal off Josh Bynes who did a good job of forcing the play back to the right. Stevens did a great job of fighting off the block of the left guard but looked bad trying to make an arm tackle on Harper. The guard who Stevens fought off went on to knock Savage on his ass and the right corner, T'Sharvan Bell, had chased the receiver too far towards the middle of the field to get back to make the tackle.

8:59 - Extra point good.

This was a painful drive to watch but it is obvious this was a very well scripted drive and Clemson's running backs are very talented. Ellington's speed allowed him to make a few plays that few other running backs are capable of making and the cut back Harper made on his touchdown run was very nice. Clemson's staff did a great job neutralizing our best lineman (and paid dearly when they didn't) and exploited our weakest one on multiple occasions. They picked on Savage's side of the field quite a bit as well with obvious success.

8:59 - Demond Washington kickoff return fielded at the five, taken to the 32. Good return, great blocking.

--The game clock stopped working here so I won't have the time stamp until the 2nd quarter begins--

1st and 10: Newton held the ball for about 3 seconds in the pocket which is adequate time. The camera angle doesn't let me see what receivers may have been open but he took it down and ran for a gain of three yards.

2nd and 7: Great job running the HUNH, we were lined up ready to snap it with 26 seconds on the play clock. The refs stop the game with more clock issues (this is crippling to Malzahn's offense and our offense's rhythm). Once play is resumed we run Dyer up the middle for a gain of four. Their linebackers did a great job of holding their ground against pulling guards and fullbacks and not allowing the linemen to get to the second level.

3rd and 3: A little slower getting lined up here but still snapping the ball with 17 seconds left on the play clock. We line up with an unbalanced line with Ziemba outside Greene on the right side. Zone read hand off to Dyer is blown up in the backfield because A.J. Greene is tossed to the ground at the snap by the tackle lined up over him. I'm not sure how well the play would have worked either way, though. Isom pulled to the right and was going to lead Dyer around the edge but Clemson ran a zone defense which meant no one followed Kodi Burns on the fake reverse leaving no one to block the corner on that side. Isom would have had to choose between the safety (McDaniel) or the corner (Maxwell) leaving the other completely unblocked. Despite pulling both our guards to the right it looked as if Newton kept the ball he would have had more space to get the first down. That being said, Greene needs to make a block.

4th and 6: Shoemaker booms a 50 yard punt returned seven yards to the 22. Tackle made by T'Sharvan Bell and Craig Stevens.

1st and 10: Ellington dive to the right, gain of 1. Same as the first play of the game, everyone held their ground and occupied their blockers filling all the running gaps. Team effort on the tackle.

2nd and 9: Parker's first non-screen pass of the night falls incomplete. Great coverage by Bynes on the receiver. Somewhat of a lazy route on his part but Bynes did a great job not to get there early and deflect the ball away. If Bates wasn't so focused on knocking the Clemson player's head off he probably could have gotten a pick on the deflected pass.

3rd and 9: Parker's pass falls incomplete. Gutsy call by Roof to go into a Dime look the way Clemson had been running the ball. Jessel Curry lined up as our dime 'backer with Chris Davis being the dime corner. We only rushed four with a delayed blitz by Curry when Ellington stayed in to block. He needs to be careful there though, because after Ellington chipped on Goggans he went up field and would have been wide open if Parker had one more second in the pocket. Luckily Carter and Fairley whooped their men (not sure why they double teamed Blanc instead of Fairley) and Parker's pass was ugly as he tried to avoid the rush.

4th and 9: Punt of 38 yards fair caught by Carr at the 39 yard line.

1st and 10: Jet sweep to McCalebb, loss of 6. Another blown up play falls on A.J. Greene. Note to A.J.: I'm not sure who you thought you were supposed to block but when there is an all-conference defensive end lined up over you and the play is coming to your side, I suggest you at least make an effort to slow him down. Bowers came in completely unblocked while A.J. wonders into the second level looking around for a linebacker to block with none in sight. Had Greene made that block McCalebb would have turned the corner with three blockers for three defenders.

2nd and 16: Newton pass to Adams incomplete. Great pass blocking by the offensive line as Newton had all day to throw. Adams ran an out and up but Newton slightly overthrew him and also could have made the pass a little sooner with less loft which would have allowed Adams to make the catch before the safety came over. Later in the game we run this play to Zachery for a TD and the difference is Newton also makes a better pump fake. Would have liked to see Darvin lay out for this ball too since its just off his finger tips. Also, I know Gus is gutsy and this is who he is but after our first series goes 3 and out, is this time and down and distance really the best time to call this play?

3rd and 16: Newton scrambled for a gain of 20 and a first down but there is a holding penalty called negating the run. Everyone on the OLine did well except Isom who got worked to the inside. He should have let go since Pugh was there to help him out but instead he grabbed onto the Clemson player's shoulder pad and pulled him down.

3rd and 26: Reach around draw to McCalebb, gain of 10. It is what it is.

4th and 16: Shoemaker punt for 38 yards, fair caught at the 29.

1st and 10: Parker rolls right, pass complete for a gain of 1. Clemson's receiver goes in motion but is blown up by Darren Bates right after he made the catch. Can't tell if anything was open down field but it looked like we called the perfect defense for that play.

2nd and 9: Parker throws a bubble screen complete for a gain of 3. Clemson motioned Harper out as a receiver making a trips left set against one corner and Eltoro Freeman spaced wide. Harper went up field to block the corner while the wide receiver was supposed to crash in on Freeman. Freeman, despite being held, beat his man and made the tackle with Ethridge and Bynes coming in at the same time. Well defended play. The holding penalty put them back 10 yards.

2nd and 19: Parker pass complete to Dwayne Allen for a gain of 16. Fairley and Carter got good pressure but allowed Parker to break contain and scramble to his right. It looked like we were in a zone defense and just lost Allen as he was wide open in the middle of the field. There was also a receiver open along the right sideline that Parker missed that would have also been close to a first down. It is hard to say whose zone he was in but Bynes was originally was covering him but was no where to be seen when the pass was thrown.

3rd and 3: Parker pass complete to Jones for a gain of 4 and a first down. We decide to bring pressure here and we have moderate success with it but Clemson had the right play call. Jones was lined up in the slot one on one with Savage in man coverage. He ran a quick out route just beyond the marker and Savage was a couple steps behind him. A better pass and he could have cut it up field. Not sure if this was by design but I'd imagine that when we are bringing a blitz and there is only 3 yards to the first down we shouldn't be giving the receiver a nine yard cushion.

1st and 10: Ellington run up the middle for a gain of 2. Second string DLine in there again and did a great job. Jeff Whitaker held his ground at the line of scrimmage and then shed the block in time to make the tackle on Ellington. No real hole to run through.

2nd and 8: Play action pass to Allen for a gain of 14. We bit hard on the play action here. Zac Ethridge was in man coverage on the tight end and followed him across the formation when he went in motion to the left side. Allen ran a great route taking two steps forward like he was going to lead block for Ellington on the hand off then cutting hard right against the flow of the play. Bynes AND Stevens bit on the run fake and blocked Ethridge's path to follow Allen across the play. Good play design and execution by Clemson. Mike McNeil was the deep safety who came up to make the tackle and perhaps he could have recognised the play a little sooner.

1st and 10: Ellington dive off right guard, gain of 2. Good push by Mike Blanc and the rest of the 2nd string DLine allowing Stevens and Bynes to come up and make the tackle. No where to run.

2nd and 8: Parker sacked for a loss of 1. First string D Line back in there and you can tell. Guess who? Nick Fairley blasts through the line right at the snap and actually tackles the running back (who Parker faked the hand off to) and was athletic enough to dive back at Parker who had scrambled forward and tackle him. In contrast Goggans came in unblocked and hesitated when he saw Parker fake the hand off then was juked when Parker cut it up field.

2nd Quarter - Clemson 7 Auburn 0

At this point in the game when I was watching it live I was ready to pull my hair out but looking back it wasn't nearly as bad as it appeared. We only had two possessions on offense and on both occasions one player missed a block which put us in difficult down and distances. The defense was on their heels on the first drive but forced a great three and out on Clemson's second possession and has a 3rd and 9 here to get the ball back again.

15:00 - Parker pass complete to McNeal for a gain of 8. Creative blitz call by Roof. We rush three lineman (Carter, Blanc and Fairley) while Goggans drops back into coverage. Curry who is in as the dime 'backer again shows blitz to occupy the center but drops back into a middle zone. Ethridge comes up on a delayed safety blitz and has an open lane to Parker but he unloads it just before Ethridge arrives. Bell had the coverage and tackled him just short of the marker.

14:20 - Harper carries to the right for no gain. Great stand by the defense as even when we have stuffed them before it seemed like the pile moved for a yard or two. It looked as if Fairley knew the snap count because he got a perfect jump on the ball stonewalling the gap Harper was looking for. Darren Bates did a great job blowing up the full back which blocked the pulling guard from getting into the hole to clear out Bynes. With Bynes filling the only hole available he stepped up and made a form tackle stuffing Harper at the point of contact.

14:15 - Trovon Reed carries up the middle for a gain of 6. Again running with the unbalanced line to the right, this time the QB (wildcat in this instance) kept it. Again Bowers was left practically unblocked which must be by design but he nearly made the tackle in the backfield again before Reed shook him. Good push by the rest of the line to move the pile for a solid gain.

13:49 - Dyer takes the zone read hand off for a gain of 2. The line didn't do a very good job of making a hole for Dyer to run through. Clemson's OLB did a good job on staying at home forcing Newton to hand it off. The line did get a decent push moving the LOS back two yards but all the gaps were filled with orange helmets.

13:17 - Newton pass falls incomplete. We rolled Newton to the right and he had two receivers open. Emory Blake had about a two yard cushion on a deep out for a gain of 12 and Eric Smith had the same space for a quick out right along the first down marker. Newton waited a little bit too long to throw it to Smith but decided to anyways and overthrew the pass. If Smith was going to be his choice he needed to release the ball a second earlier. He stared down Smith allowing the linebacker to close on him which would have made even an accurate pass difficult for Smith to hold on to. If Newton looked down field he would have seen Blake was open for the easy completion as well. However Ziemba got flagged for illegal receiver down field and I'm not sure what he was doing. He was 8 yards past the line of scrimmage blocking linebackers before the pass had even been released. Penalty was declined.

13:12 - Shoemaker's punt travels 42 yards, returned 6 yards to the 23. Tackle made by Emory Blake and T'Sharvan Bell.

13:03 - Parker pass complete to Ellington for 7 yards. Clemson faked the hand off to Ellington and our interior line bit hard. Carter couldn't beat his man one on one and Parker had all day to throw. Stevens got off a block from the full back to track Ellington but an accurate pass and good catch gave them a solid gain.

12:56 - Parker screen pass to Ellington complete for a gain of 21. Another well executed screen pass by Clemson. Carter did his best to recognise it quickly but Ellington was a step too quick and stepped out of his shoe string tackle at the line of scrimmage. Stevens was occupied on a block by their right tackle and tried to arm tackle Ellington as he passed to no avail. Bynes had dropped into a deep zone and was out of the play while the corner on that side, Washington, was being blocked by his wide receiver 18 yards down field. We've seen it three straight weeks, our corners can't get off blocks.

12:28 - Ellington sweep left for a gain of 9. The center and left tackle pull as lead blockers infront of Ellington. Goggans again is neutralized by a tight end one on one. Fairley gets a good push on their left guard but it isn't enough to make the play in the backfield. Darren Bates, who is the LB on the side of the run, takes a horrible first two steps towards the middle of the field despite the back and the entire line pulling to his side. However he makes an extremely athletic move hurdling the pulling tackle but it is too late as Ellington is already past him. The slot receiver crashed down and blocked Bynes while the outside receiver locked up Thorpe 8 yards down field. Thorpe did get off that block in time to force Ellington out of bounds but our defense got owned on that play.

12:01 - Playaction pass falls incomplete. Good play by Clayton to keep contain on Parker as he rolled to his right and Fairley and Carter showed good backside pursuit forcing the quick decision by Parker (and getting in a good lick right after he released it). Stevens ran stride for stride with the back and the pass was over thrown.

11:52 - Harper carries to the left for a gain of 3 and a first down. The play was designed to go the and the defensive line did a great job of freeing up the linebackers to make a play here. Clayton and Bynes blew up the play side and forced Harper to cut it back. Fairley was fighting through a double team and Bates came up to fill the hole but didn't wrap up and allowed Harper to spin left out of the tackle. Once again Goggans couldn't beat the tight end and missed an arm tackle that would have ended the drive. Thorpe and Ethridge combine to make the tackle.

11:25 - Parker play action pass falls incomplete. Good job by Eguae to not bite too hard on the run fake and force Parker to throw the pass before his receiver is wide open. The pass was almost perfectly placed over an outreached Bynes but he barely deflects it enough to cause the wide receiver to drop the pass.

11:18 - Parker pass complete to Hopkins for a gain of 12. Where on the last play Eguae contained the Parker rollout and didn't give him much time, on this play Lemonier is neutralized by Clemson's right tackle. He put his head down to bull rush inside but needs to be more aware of where the quarterback is going. It looked like good coverage by Bell but a good pass was tough to defend. There was a 5 yard penalty on the play against Clemson which negated the play but I couldn't tell what the penalty was for (possibly ineligable receiver down field).

10:46 - Pass complete to Allen for a gain of 14. Clemson lined up their tight end Allen out wide as a receiver covered by Thorpe. The line got a good push and put pressure on Parker but a quick, acurate pass was nearly impossible to defend with that size mismatch on the outside. Really a terrific pass by Parker.

10:02 - Harper carries up the middle for a gain of 2. The play was well defended but he fought for the first down. Fairley was flagged for a questionable off sides penalty which made the play's results moot. It appeared to me as if Fairley, once again, timed his jump perfectly.

9:38 - Parkers pass falls incomplete. Clemson was trying to set up a wide receiver screen that likely would have gone for huge yardage if Carter doesn't bat this ball down. When they are setting up a screen it is hard to give too much credit to the line for breaking through as they were likely let through but good job on getting his hands up to stop the play. After he batted the ball it seemed like it hung in the air forever and if Carter could have kept his balance it could have been intercepted.

9:33 - Quick screen to Allen complete for a gain of 6. Allen back lined up as a tight end once again man handled Goggans than tossed him asside to turn around to make the reception behind a lead blocker. Bates was the victim of the lead lineman but did a avoiding the block but couldn't bring the big guy down. The play was run to Thorpe's side who had to fight off a block by Harper, who had motioned out as a receiver, to make the tackle.

9:07 - Harper sweeps left for a loss of 7. Josh Bynes blitzed right through the middle of the line on this play and blew it up in the backfield. Good job by Clayton to hurdle the cut blocker and provide backup as Harper tried to shake loose of Bynes. Big defensive play to force the field goal attempt.

8:25 - 42 yard field goal is good.

8:19 - Kickoff returned from the goal line for 17 yards.

8:12 - Dyer takes the hand off and carries for a loss of 2. On this play Isom and Greene pulled leaving Bowers unblocked again. This meant Newton had to hand off on this zone read. Greene did a good job pulling through the hole but Isom hesitated before initiating his block which clogged up Dyer's running lane forcing him to hesitate. If Isom blows his man up Dyer may have shot through the hole but there was still a little traffic to navigate.

7:37 - Dyer carries up the middle for a gain of 3. Once again there was no hole for Dyer to run through. The line got a decent push but all the gaps were filled. It looked like Dyer possibly could have bounced it outside and tried to beat the linebacker to the corner but we need our line to open up the hole where the play is designed.

7:03 - Newton pass complete to Adams for a gain of 23. Great protection from the offensive line and a good job by Newton to go through his reads, look at the check down, than come back to Adams who broke open down field. The pass was on a rope right between the 8 and 9 on Adams' chest.

6:45 - McCalebb carries around left tackle for a gain of 17. Malzahn reaches into the bag of tricks and has Auburn huddle close to the spot of the ball then when they break huddle McCalebb is ducked down behind the right guard. A quick snap and Newton hands off to McCalebb who carries it for a big gain.

6:22 - Play action pass falls incomplete. Newton once again rolling right has Eric Smith open in the flats and over throws him. Would have been a gain of at least four or five yards.

6:14 - Dyer takes the option pitch off the right side for a gain of 8. Newton could have attacked Bowers a little more before pitching it and it would have been nice if Zachary held his block a bit longer on the outside but overall good execution for a solid gain. Lutzenkirchen had a great cut block on a linebacker as well.

5:47 - Newton keeps it up the middle for a gain of 16. Great run by Newton through the first bit of daylight this line has created but A.J. Greene is flagged for holding. It is unclear if Newton would have made it through the gap without the hold but Greene definitely could have let go sooner and we still would have gotten the first down. This is an absolutely killer penalty on our first successful drive of the night.

5:27 - Newton pass falls incomplete. It looked like Newton looked at Adams a second too long before releasing the pass giving McDaniel time to come over to make the play. It was a perfect pass that Adams would have caught but McDaniel was able to get there and knock it out of Adams' hands. It also looked as if he had Carr open along the left seem for a first down.

5:19 - Shoemaker's punt travels 47 yards for a touchback.

5:10 - Harper takes a toss sweep around left end for a gain of 4. This play run by Ellington earlier in the game for a gain of 11 but this time Thorpe was out there in zone coverage and held his own against a pulling guard forcing Harper out of bounds after a moderate gain.

4:48 - Brown carries around left end for a gain of 7 yards and a first down. Parker faked the hand off up the middle and handed it to the receiver on an end around. Freeman, Thorpe and Carter all crashed inside taking them out of possission to make the tackle. Bynes fought off a block and chased down the receiver but was a step slow in getting him before the first down marker.

4:22 - Play action pass to Allen for a gain of 16. Allen started on the left side of the formation and streaked against the grain behind a slanting line. This is another play they ran earlier except last time Ethridge got caught in traffic and couldn't make the play. This time Bynes has this responsibility and gets caught leaning to his right and can't keep up with Allen after he makes the catch. Washington makes the tackle.

4:04 - Ellington carries right for a gain of 2. The play was designed to go left but all the gaps were filled there. Blanc did a terrific job of fighting off his block and filling the cutback lane.

3:28 - Parker pass falls incomplete. Roof brings five guys on this play blitzing two linebackers and dropping Carter back into coverage. Parker reads this and delivers a quick pass but the receiver wasn't ready. Good coverage by Washington.

3:23 - Parker pass falls incomplete. Roof once again dialed up a blitz bringing Stevens in addition to the four down linemen but Clemson's line protects well. The had two hitch routes right at the first down marker. Allen was the inside receiver covered tight by Ethridge while he had an outside receiver with a big cushion from Bell. The pass appeared to go between both but Allen reached out for it and couldn't haul it in.

3:18 - Clemson's punt travels 52 yards for a touchback.

3:08 - Newton carries up middle for a gain of 8. Good read by Newton. He faked the hand off to McCalebb which froze the end long enough to open a gap just off the right guard. A.J. Greene did a great job getting to the second level and finding a linebacker to block.

2:43 - McCalebb carris around left end for a gain of 3 and a first down. Lutzenkirchen didn't get a good push on his block on this play and Clemson's defensive end showed impressive speed forcing the play far outside. McCalebb made an impressive cut back to avoid being tackled for a loss and picked up the first down.

2:31 - Zachery carries around left end for a gain of 2. It is hard to say whose responsibility it was to pick up McDaniel but he came flying in from his safety spot and forced Zachary to cut it further outside than the play was designed. It looked like Ziemba would have had the best shot at him but he didn't see him coming, while Adams saw him but was screened by Ziemba and couldn't get there. As a result niether player blocked him and the play was stopped for a short gain.

2:03 - Newton pass intercepted by McDaniel. Burns was the intended receiver on a wheel route which was wide open. But, Newton rolled right into the pressure and was forced to throw it off his back foot which lofted the pass way too much giving McDaniel time to come over to make the play. It was a bad throw but McDaniel made an awesome play on that ball being 10-15 yards away when it was released and timing his jump absolutely perfectly to catch the ball just above Burns' hands and come down with it.

1:54 - Pass complete to Jones for a gain of 10. Slip screen to the receiver out of a trips set to the right side. The linebackers are in soft zone coverage but good effort by Blanc to chase the play down from behind. Auburn got robbed on the spot as it should have been about half a yard short of the marker but they give them the first.

1:42 - Pass complete to Dye for a gain of 15. Auburn brings Stevens on a blitz giving Auburn five pass rushers but Clemson leaves seven in to block. No one gets a great push but Parker released the pass quickly on a five yard hitch. Bell had the coverage and both he and McNeil overpursue the play to the outside allowing Dye to cut it back inside for the big run after the catch. Bell recovers to make the tackle with Bynes.

1:34 - Parker pass incomplete. They were trying to set up another screen to Harper here but we did a great job of getting quick pressure and forcing Parker to throw it into the dirt. Blanc and Bates on a blitz had the pressure while Bynes and Stevens were converging on Harper.

1:29 - Parker pass complete to Dye for a gain of 12. Another quick wide receiver screen. Bell was neutralized by his receiver and Stevens was a step slow getting around the lead blocker. Savage forced the play out of bounds.

1:21 - Parker pass complete to Harper for a gain of 24 and a touchdown. Perhaps the catch of the night in college football by Jamie Harper. Perfect pass by Parker and an amazing catch by Harper in the end zone. Only Fairley was able to break through Clemson's line to provide pressure but it wasn't in time. Parker's initial pump fake to the screen gave Harper just enough space behind the safeties to make the play. Its hard to fault Ethridge who had the coverage after we have been burned all night on the screen pass. They had been setting this up.

1:14 - Extra point good.

1:14 - Kickoff fielded by Washington at the 6 and returned for 24 yards to the 30.

1:05 - Newton tackled for a loss of 1. It is hard to tell what happened on this play since they were showing the 17th replay of Harper's touch down catch but it didn't look pretty.

0:43 - Another play that was disrupted by ESPN's broadcast team. It flashed back to the game in time to see Newton throw a dart to Burns who was being molested by the Clemson defender. Pass interference called.

0:38 - Newton sacked for a loss of 4. Again the line got demolished and Pugh was called for holding. The penalty was declined.

0:27 - McCalebb tackes the reach around draw for a gain of 15 yards. Great blocks by Ziemba and Berry on this play setting up a huge hole for McCalebb to run through. McCalebb then used his speed to simply burn the Clemson linebacker and cut the ball upfield. He then makes a good juke move to freeze the corner and pick up another 5-6 yards and get out of bounds.

0:19 - Newton scrambles for a gain of 14. This is a play that makes Newton so valuable. He looked down field for a few seconds and when nothing was there he was able to use his speed to pick up big yardage.

0:09 - Newton draw for 16 yards. A designed draw play once again gets good blocks from Ziemba and Berry while Isom slips to the second level and picks up a linebacker. It is amazing how easy he made those two carries look and he just covered nearly a third of the field. Good awareness to dive down at the end of the run and not get caught fighting for extra yardage and running out the clock.

0:02 - Wes Byrum's 35 yard field goal is good.