Clemson @ Auburn preview
Jordan-Hare Stadium
Last Meeting ( Dec 31, 2007 ) Auburn 23, Clemson 20
While Auburn is focused on how much has changed in Gene Chizik's second year as head coach, its hopes the status quo takes hold Saturday night when the 15th-ranked Tigers host Clemson in a matchup of 2-0 teams at Jordan-Hare Stadium.
Auburn has won 13 straight against Clemson - including bowl victories in the 1998 Peach Bowl and the 2007 Chick-fil-A Bowl - and leads the series 31-11-2, but the teams haven't met in the regular season since 1971. Clemson's last win against Auburn came in 1951.
Quarterback Cameron Newton, a junior college transfer, has proven adept at guiding offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn's high-powered offense. In the season-opening 52-26 win against Arkansas State, Newton ran for 171 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries and passed for 186 yards and three more scores to earn SEC offensive player of the week honors.
Newton (6-foot-6, 250 pounds) is the Tigers' leading rusher and ranks second in the SEC in rushing (120.5 yards per game) and total offense (281.5 yards per game).
But it was Auburn's defense that dominated the second half of last week's 17-14 win at Mississippi State. Led by SEC defensive player of the week Nick Fairley's 1 1/2 sacks, interception and fumble recovery, the Tigers stopped the Bulldogs on their final five drives, including three consecutive three-and-outs, to preserve the victory.
Coming off a 58-21 win against overmatched Presbyterian College, Clemson is off to a 2-0 start for the first time since 2007 and the 12th time in the last 40 years. The Tigers' starters didn't get much work last week - sophomore quarterback Kyle Parker played only four series but threw for 114 yards and two touchdowns, and top running backs Andre Ellington and Jamie Harper played only 14 snaps between them.
Ellington and Harper, who are charged with replacing star C.J. Spiller, combined for 223 yards and three touchdowns in the season-opening 35-10 win against North Texas, in which the Tigers scored two touchdowns of 60 yards or longer.
With Newton at the helm, Auburn's offense has also shown major big-play potential. Auburn's 10 touchdowns this season have averaged 25.1 yards per play, including five that covered at least 35 yards.
Slowing down that offense will be a major key for Clemson - Auburn has won 57 consecutive games when scoring 30 or more points.
Auburn's All-SEC offensive tackle, Lee Ziemba, left last week's game with a knee injury, but he is expected to play Saturday. Ziemba has started 40 consecutive games. The Tigers also hope to have running back Mario Fannin, who suffered a shoulder injury against Mississippi State. If Fannin can't play, it probably will mean an expanded role for promising freshman Mike Dyer, who has rushed for 143 yards on 23 carries.
Clemson linebacker Brandon Maye and defensive tackle Jarvis Jenkins are probable with knee injuries. Maye missed the first two games and Jenkins didn't play against Presbyterian.