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(08/30/12 2:19pm)
For this year’s Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game on Sept. 1, Andrew Yawn, sports editor for The Auburn Plainsman, and Clemson student Robbie Tinsley, sports editor for The Tiger News, answered one another’s questions and offered predictions for the teams’ first game of the season.PLAYERS TO WATCHAY:Auburn: RB Tre Mason – Starter Onterio McCalebb is the obvious backfield threat, but Mason is expected to spell the senior speedster off the bench. Loeffler has mentioned the addition of multiple-back sets which will allow more opportunities for the sophomore ‘back. Mason also led the SEC in kickoff return yards/attempt last year among players with at least one attempt per game. If given the touches, Mason has the ability to create for the Auburn offense in a variety of ways.Clemson: QB Tajh Boyd – Gutsy pick, I know. However, when you face a player that torched your defense for four touchdowns and almost 400 yards last season, not watching him would be an egregious error. The Auburn secondary, while talented, is still somewhat inexperienced. The safeties will have to make the right calls from the back in VanGorder’s system, and Clemson still has the arsenal to replace Watkins.RT:Auburn: DE Corey Lemonier – The last time Clemson came to Atlanta for a season opener, the Alabama defensive line neutralized a fairly potent offense by having their way with a young offensive line. 4 years later, Chad Morris’s offense has a little more firepower, but the same weakness. If Lemonier continues his strong play and puts pressure on Boyd time after time, it could be another long night for Clemson in Atlanta.Clemson: TE Brandon Ford – Ford replaces an integral part of Morris’s offense last year in Dwayne Allen. A converted wide receiver, Ford has drawn rave reviews from camp and possesses much better ball skills than last year’s Mackie Award winner. If Ford can continue Allen’s work, that’s one more body that the Auburn defense will have to worry about and gives more room for Ellington, Hopkins, Brown and Peake.PREDICTIONSAY: Sports pundits often base their suppositions for upcoming games on what thay’ve seen in the past, myself included. In the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, it seems Auburn does not even know what to expect from its team. Will the team benefit from the leadership of the veterans or fall by the inexperience of the youth? Will the new systems create problems for the opposition or the players trying to execute them? The answers will be revealed Saturday, but, this team seems to have a drive that could only be seen across the line of scrimmage last year. Clemson still has a big-play offense, but VanGorder’s stress on turnovers will create points for Auburn and steal them from Clemson.Auburn 27 – Clemson 17RT: Those who have compared this game to that Clemson-Alabama game have done so a little bit lazily. This Clemson team has a better quarterback, better receivers and a much better coaching staff than the team that walked into the Dome four years ago. Not having Sammy Watkins is a big loss and the offensive line is a worry, but Chad Morris has had a long time to plan for both issues. Venables’s new defense will take some time to gel, so Auburn will be able to put some points on the board, but in the end, Clemson is able to move the ball on Auburn enough to offset the defense.Clemson 31 – Auburn 27
(08/30/12 1:08pm)
For this year’s Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game on Sept. 1, Andrew Yawn, sports editor for The Auburn Plainsman, and Clemson student Robbie Tinsley, sports editor for The Tiger News, answered one another’s questions and offered predictions for the teams’ first game of the season.RT: After Gus Malzahn bolted for Arkansas State, what is everyone’s general feeling on new offensive coordinator Scot Loeffler and his new more traditional-style offense?AY: So far, Auburn fans seem optimistic about Loeffler’s offensive system. It’s more pro-style and is based more on reading defenses than tricking or outrunning them. Plus, the list of quarterbacks he has trained is impressive. The guy helped make Tim Tebow the nation’s most efficient passer in 2009. That’s got to give anybody optimism considering Auburn’s quarterback quandary since Cam Newton left.RT: With power teams like LSU, Alabama, Arkansas and maybe even Texas A&M, how big of a worry is it for Auburn that they could start to lag behind those teams, and how much pressure is on Gene Chizik to make sure that doesn’t happen?AY: There’s always pressure in the SEC. Falling behind any divisional opponent is always a concern, but Gene Chizik doesn’t think that way. In his mind, his team has the ability to win every time it steps on the field. Obviously LSU and Alabama are the favorites, but Auburn sees the team as a sort of dark horse this season.RT: New coordinator on the defensive side as well, but Brian VanGorder at least has some toys to play with that Loeffler might not. Is it safe to say that Auburn will to lean on its defense early in the season?AY: The defense and offense are in the same place as far as learning all new systems from extremely detailed-oriented coaches. The defense has more veteran leadership in senior linebacker Darren Bates, junior linebacker Jake Holland and junior defensive end Corey Lemonier, a Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Ted Hendricks Award watch list pick.AY: With Sammy Watkins out of the lineup against Auburn, who will Clemson lean on to catch the ball in the clutch for Tajh Boyd?RT: You’ll definitely see Tajh Boyd look DeAndre Hopkins’s way more often as he did in the North Carolina game last year when Sammy was dinged up. Hopkins might have the best hands on the team, and I think a lot of Clemson fans think that he’s overlooked in the media spotlight. Outside of Hopkins, look for sophomores Martavis Bryant and Charone Peake to have an increased role with the absence of Watkins. Bryant is more of deep threat, while Peake has a little more bulk and is more of a possession receiver.AY: With last season’s 70–33 loss to West Virginia, is Clemson using that as motivation to prove that was a fluke or has this team put it behind them?RT: I think it’s a little bit of both. I think the defense is definitely using it as motivation and it’s given them a little bit of a chip on their shoulder, but at the same time, they won’t want to dwell on that defeat. I think it’s probably more motivation than anything and not just for the defense, but for the entire team, because all they have heard in the offseason is questions about that game.AY: What can fans expect from Clemson’s defense this season, after losing Andre Branch and hiring Brent Venables as the new defensive coordinator?RT: The best thing we’ve heard is that the defense is a lot simpler than it was last year. With Venables, you will hopefully see a lot less missed assignments, but it’s still a young defense, mostly in the front seven.