Clemson vs. Auburn Football Game Notes

Clemson vs. Auburn SeriesAuburn has a 34-12-2 lead in the series with Clemson. Auburn had won 14 straight in the series prior to last year’s Clemson victory at Death Valley. Clemson had not won since 1951 prior to that.Two of the last three meetings between the two teams have gone to overtime, and Auburn has won both, 23-20 in the 2007 season Chick-fil-A Bowl and 27-24 at Auburn in 2010.

Clemson beat Auburn five times in six meetings under Head Coach Frank Howard from 1946-51. Included in that stretch was a 34-18 Clemson win in 1947 as Bobby Gage threw four touchdown passes and gained 374 yards of total offense, both single game records at the time.

Auburn and Clemson first met in 1899 and Auburn came away with a 34-0 win at Auburn. That was just the 14th game in Clemson history. John Heisman coached Auburn in that game. Clemson won three of the next four, including a 16-0 win at Auburn in 1902. Clemson’s coach in that game was John Heisman. So Heisman gained wins for both teams in this series and both games were played at Auburn.

The two schools have met just four times since 1971, and two of those meetings took place in Atlanta at the Georgia Dome for the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Auburn won both of those close games, 21-17 at the 1998 Chick-fil-A bowl (1997 season), and Auburn won on New Year’s Eve of 2007 by a 23-20 score in overtime. That is Clemson’s only overtime game in a bowl contest.

In that 21-17 Auburn victory in the 1998 Chick-fil-A Bowl, Clemson gained just 146 yards of total offense, 60 rushing and 86 passing. Despite the offensive problems, Clemson had a 17-6 lead entering the fourth period. But, Auburn scored 15 points in the fourth period to gain the victory. Raymond Priester led Clemson with 19-62 rushing, but Nealon Greene completed just 11-26 passes for 86 yards. Clemson had just four first downs in the game, fewest in history for the Tigers in a bowl game.

Terry Bowden was the head coach for Auburn in that game. Two years later his brother came to Clemson as the head coach and coached against Auburn for Clemson in the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl, a game won by Auburn in overtime 23-20

Last year was Auburn’s first game at Clemson since 1970. That year Auburn beat Clemson 44-0 on Clemson’s Homecoming. After the game first-year head coach Hootie Ingram started his postgame press conference by asking, “Who is on the Homecoming Committee.”

Comeback Victories for Clemson and AuburnThis will be the rubber match so to speak of the recent history of the Clemson vs. Auburn series. Auburn won the 2010 meeting at Auburn 27-24 in overtime. Clemson won last year at Clemson, 38-24. The game in the Georgia Dome will decide the trilogy.

Getting off to a good start has not been the key to victory in the previous two meetings. In the 2010 game at Auburn, Clemson jumped out to a 17-0 lead in the second period. Auburn did not get on the scoreboard until the final play of the first half on a field goal. Auburn then won in overtime, 27-24.

Last year, Auburn got off to a 21-7 lead in the second period before Clemson scored two touchdowns in the final five minutes of the first half to tie the score at halftime. Clemson actually scored 38 of the last 41 points of the game to win 38-24.