By Will Vandervort.
By Will Vandervort
ATLANTA, GA — When his team needed a play the most in Saturday’s 26-19 victory over Auburn, Tajh Boyd came through. However, unlike last year when he threw for 386 yards against the SEC’s Tigers, Boyd did not use his rifling arm to carry 14th-ranked Clemson to victory. No instead, he used his legs.
Facing a third down-and-five at his own 25-yard line with just under four minutes to play, Boyd looked down field and when he did not see an open receiver, he tucked the ball, avoided a chasing defensive lineman and ran seven yards for a first down. The play allowed Clemson to keep the drive alive, eventually leading to running back Andre Ellington’s 45-yard run a few moments later.
Clemson ran out four minutes and 35 seconds on the drive, leaving Auburn with only 1:24 and 75 yards to play with after Chandler Catanzaro made an 18-yard field goal for the game’s final points.
“He was phenomenal,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “We have talked to him about not taking sacks and making plays with his legs. We know that was the difference tonight. He had a career-high rushing.”
Boyd did throw for 208 yards, while completing 24 of 34 passes, including the eventual game-winner to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins with 9:17 to play. But it was Boyd’s legs that proved to be the difference as several times he scrambled for positive yards or kept a play alive long enough for his receivers to get open.
He finished the night with 58 yards on 19 carries, including a 27-yard run on the drive in which he hit Hopkins for the touchdown.
“From a running standpoint, it is all about vision,” he said. “It’s about seeing where you have to go before you end up going. It is still a growing process for me, but I feel very comfortable running the football.
“There are pretty good lanes out there. The offensive line did a good job.”
Undefeated. Clemson wore orange jersey and white tops tonight in the win over Auburn. Clemson is now 14-0 in that uniform combination since Swinney took over as head coach in 2008.
Finally! Clemson had lost six straight games in the city of Atlanta prior to Saturday night. The last win was a 27-14 win over Tennessee in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl at the end of the 2003 season. Clemson is now 3-5 all-time in the Georgia Dome.
Hard day’s work. Clemson ran 87 plays against Auburn. The most plays Clemson had in a game last year was 92 against Auburn.
“We found our groove after a slow start,” Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris said. “I was pleased with the way we played as the game wore on.”
Purple Heart. Clemson freshman Daniel Rodriguez played on the kickoff coverage teams for the Tigers in the first half. Rodriguez had received national attention as a US Army vet who desired to play college football after he returned from serving his country. He earned a Purple Heart in the war in Afghanistan. This was the first career action for the 24-year old since the 2005 football high school season.
More records. Andre Ellington’s 231 yards rushing rank as the fifth most in a single game in Clemson history and is the most since C.J. Spiller had 233 in the ACC Championship game of 2009 against Georgia Tech. They are the most by a Clemson player in a season opener. The previous mark was 204 by Buck George against Presbyterian in 1952. Ellington’s performance tonight was the most by a Clemson running back against an SEC team.
Catman stays perfect. Chandler Catanzaro was a perfect 4-4 on field goals this evening. He made each of his last eight field goals last year, so he is now a perfect 12-12 over a span of six games. The Clemson record for consecutive made field goals is 14 in a row by Obed Ariri in 1980.