Day-after Dissection: Clemson

Auburn’s season-opening loss to No. 2 Clemson was a mystifying one. One one hand, the Tigers corralled Deshaun Watson and the visitors for the most part, but still gave up a significant chunk of yardage despite surrendering just 19 points to a team that averaged 38.5 per game in 2015.

On the other hand, Auburn’s offense was downright putrid. The three-quarterback system didn’t engender much confidence, as Sean White, Jeremy Johnson and John Franklin III were never able to get in much of a rhythm. Despite all that, Auburn was one Hail Mary catch away from upending Clemson and starting off the season with a resounding upset victory over last year’s national runner-up.

So, how’d the position groups do?

Coaching: C

• Whatever Gus Malzahn’s genius plan was (and still is), it eludes everyone else. The quarterback rotation made little to no sense, the window-dressing on pre-snap movement was fruitless, and the trick plays were quickly snuffed out for the most part. It’s like Malzahn is trying to outsmart everyone, but the only one he’s outsmarting is himself. The offense couldn’t ever get in a rhythm, and it took nearly three and three-fourths of the game to lead a touchdown-scoring drive. On defense though, Kevin Steele either drew up a fantastic gameplan or let the talent on his side of the ball take the reins. The defense held Deshaun Watson in check as best they could, and although Clemson was able to rack up 399 total yards, Auburn held them to just 19 points, which is far fewer than anyone could’ve expected coming in.

Quarterbacks: C-

•  White fared decently in his time taking snaps, outside of that one interception he threw on 4th down inside the 10 with a couple minutes to go in the fourth where he stared down Ryan Davis, which allowed Ben Boulware to zero in on White’s eyes and pick it off. Johnson had a few nice passes that were reminiscent of his time in 2014-15 as a backup, where he carved up weaker opponents. However, he did have a pick that honestly wasn’t horrible; he just needed to aim a little higher. And Franklin was hardly in at all, but it was clear that when he ran the read option with Kerryon Johnson, Clemson had to respect his running ability, and running lanes that weren’t there earlier opened up. So this grade is more an indictment of Gus Malzahn, and his “plan,” which didn’t allow the QBs to settle in at all.

Running Backs: C

• The only thing you really need to know is that Auburn had a whopping 1 rushing yard at halftime, accounting for the negative yards the quarterbacks accrued by getting sacked. Kerryon Johnson is the starter, but he didn’t even touch the ball until the first quarter was almost through. After that, though, he started to get some more touches. There wasn’t a ton of running room early on, but as the game started to trudge on, Johnson found more space, especially when he paired with Franklin on read options. Kerryon finally found the end zone for Auburn’s first touchdown of 2016 late in the fourth quarter, and he finished with 94 yards on 23 carries for 4.1 yards per carry. Kamryn Pettway only saw game action because Johnson lost his helmet for a play, and that was apparently according to plan.

Wide Receivers: B

• Not much to say here. Marcus Davis led the team in receiving with 56 yards on five catches, and the next closest was freshman Kyle Davis, who had all of one catch for 43 yards. The receivers just didn’t have many opportunities against Clemson, largely due to the push Clemson was getting in the interior, which hurried the quarterbacks into making rushed throws.

Offensive Line: D

• Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence, Clelin Farrell and the rest of the Clemson defensive line got whatever they wanted inside for pretty much the whole game, Auburn couldn’t figure out how to slow them down inside. With the running game clogged, Clemson could pin its ears back and zone in, and it resulted in a staggering 13 tackles for loss. Robert Leff and Austin Golson had issues holding the edges, which allowed the Clemson defensive ends to get upfield quickly and corral White and Johnson.

Defensive Line: A-

• Auburn’s defensive line was essentially the inverse of their offensive counterparts. One of the most talent-laden defensive interiors Auburn has ever seen more than held their own against Clemson’s front five. It frequently got to Deshaun Watson, and although they didn’t register a sack, they hurried Watson on more than a couple of occasions, forcing him to make as many errors as a Heisman frontrunner could. The only real negative came from allowing running back Wayne Gallman to pick up 123 yards on the ground, but it could’ve been much worse.

Linebackers: A

• By far the most impressive unit for Auburn on Saturday night. Deshaun Davis, Darrell Williams and Tre’ Williams were consistently filling the holes they needed to, they swarmed ballcarriers, and they obstructed Watson’s passing lanes more than a handful of times.

Defensive Backs: C+

• The DBs were probably the worst individual defensive unit on Saturday, but that’s only because the other two were so stellar. Carlton Davis did his best on Williams, but the Watson-to-Williams back-shoulder throw was executed to absolute perfection most of the time, and when it’s thrown correctly it is as close to uncoverable as you can get.
• Rudy Ford nearly had a pick-six early in the first quarter, but Watson hit him so directly that Ford wasn’t really ready for it. Tray Matthews and Josh Holsey also performed well — especially Holsey, who pulled down an impressive interception in his first game back since tearing his ACL last year.

Special Teams: B

• Daniel Carlson is one of, if not the best kicker in the country, so his perfect accuracy wasn’t surprising. He connected on kicks of 53 and 32 yards to go with a PAT, and they looked easy. Kevin Phillips had to punt more than he would’ve probably liked, but he did fine when he did punt. A 68-yarder that rolled for 20 of them kicked his yards-per-punt average up, though.
• Auburn didn’t have a ton of of opportunities to break a long run in the return game.The longest return of the night went to Rudy Ford, but it got called back thanks to a block in the back flag.