Stop the presses! Clemson breaks through for the ACC!
The story of the game: Auburn can't grab the splendid Tajh Boyd. (AP photo by Dave Martin)
For the ACC, the first leg of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic brought another cosmic flop. Tennessee, which finished below .500 last season, beat North Carolina State, which went 8-5 in 2011 and is expected to do better this year, by two touchdowns.That marked the fourth appearance by a team from the basketball league in this football event, and going 0-for-4 is how you get to be known as a basketball league.
At least the ACC’s first three Chick-fil-A losses came against SEC heavyweights — Alabama twice, LSU once. Tennessee had been slotted to finish fifth in the seven-team SEC East. (Behind Missouri, which hasn’t yet played a game in its new conference.) But the Vols beat State, and near the end a few Tennessee fans raised the chant, “SEC! SEC!”, but there was no oomph in it. Who crows over a point that has been proved a hundred times?
The SEC plays the nation’s finest football. That’s a cold fact. The ACC is the fifth-best of the Big Six conferences, and thank goodness for the defoliated Big East. But the weekend offered one last chance for the basketball league to hurl blows against the empire.
On Saturday, Clemson stood in against Auburn. This shouldn’t have been a matchup of peers — Clemson is the reigning ACC champ, Auburn comes off a fourth-place finish in the SEC West, and Clemson had beaten Auburn last season — but such is the disparity in the conferences that the ACC’’s orange Tigers were only a field-goal favorite over the SEC’s version of same.
Here we pause to note more similarities between the programs: Each campus sits roughly two hours from the Georgia Dome on I-85; each has won a national championship since last the Georgia Bulldogs claimed one, and each, in its orange Tiger-y way, is rather strange.
Auburn is coached by Gene Chizik, who was 14-0 with Cam Newton as his quarterback and is 21-30 without. Clemson is coached by Dabo Swinney, who is 1-4 against Paul Johnson and Georgia Tech. (Although one of those Tech victories has been vacated by NCAA sanctions.) Auburn is working with new offensive and defensive coordinators; Clemson, having yielded 70 points to West Virginia in the Orange Bowl, is also under new defensive management.
Through three quarters Saturday night, there wasn’t a dime’s worth of difference between these Tigers. The game was tied at 16. Auburn’s defense, as prepared by the former Georgia/Falcons coordinator Brian VanGorder, was bending against the excellence of Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd but not quite buckling; the Clemson D under Brent Venables, formerly of Oklahoma, was yielding rushing yards but bowing up on third down.
Boyd’s issue was that he couldn’t catch his own passes. Without the gifted receiver Sammy Watkins, who is suspended for the season’s first two games, Clemson kept dropping passes. Two flubs late in the third quarter forced Clemson to settle for yet another field goal, and on the first snap of the fourth quarter tight end Sam Cooper had both hands on a Boyd pass but couldn’t hold it. (To be fair, Boyd threw it a tad behind his man.) The resulting interception led to an Auburn field goal and a three-point lead.
Falling behind galvanized Clemson. Far from dropping the ball, DeAndre Hopkins rose above his defender and, despite being interfered with, snatched a touchdown pass on a fade route. Inside the final 10 minutes now, and the basketball league had a four-point lead.
Technically, it was the first day of September, but the game had taken on a midseason feel. The Dome was packed and loud, both sets of fans roaring, both teams playing as if this was more than a non-conference affair two nights before Labor Day. There was orange Tiger pride on the line both ways, and there was surely conference chest-thumping at work, too. Not that the basketball league has had much cause for that lately.
On this night, however, the basketball league broke through. Clemson and Boyd did the deed. (And let’s not forget running back Andre Ellington, who rushed for 231 yards.) “A big-time gutsy win,” Swinney called it, not exactly underselling the moment.
But why should he? On its fifth try, an ACC team beat an SEC opponent in the Kickoff Classic. Just this once, the almighty SEC wasn’t quite so mighty.
By Mark Bradley
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131 comments Add your comment
Buzzilla
September 2nd, 2012
10:08 am
Mark, I think this ACC/SEC argument is a bit slanted. FYI, the Chik-fila bowl since the game has been exclusively heads up ACC vs SEC (1993) is a dead heat at 10-10. Not taking anything away from the SEC, the top teams in the SEC have competed successfully at the highest level. Just keep in mind when you look outside of those top 1 or 2 teams in the conference on a given year, the rest of the SEC is just as pedestrian as any other conference.
GT
September 2nd, 2012
10:14 am
UNC football probably has had more good athletics wasted than any team in the conference if not the south. Watching Yates at Houston last year, in the pros, he never played like that in Chapel Hill. They are the Georgia of the ACC only maybe a little worse at wasting talent. I remember in all that trouble and with players suspended they gave LSU as much as they wanted in the Georgia Dorm two years ago. No football coach wants to be there because it is a basketball school, so you have Lawrence Taylors go to waste. Some day someone is going to wake them up, and they will play with anybody.
Dawgdad (The Original)
September 2nd, 2012
10:15 am
What is it with the bash Bradley nonsense. Good read Mark, not sure what they complainers want. Its Saturday in the South, college football is what is happening and what people want to read about. Not sure what Bradley is supposed to write about, the unused space in Fredi Gonzalez’s head, or a somber piece of how we are going to miss Chris Redmon, ugh!
Jacket Man
September 2nd, 2012
10:21 am
And yet, in their infinite “wisdom,” the founders of this game have shied away from including GA Tech from playing…while it may be argued they “tried” to get one matchup against USC West or UCLA, when they the game fell through, there was NO attempt to replace it (how about against Tennessee instead of NC State????). If I’m not mistaken, didn’t UGA grace the field last season, and aren’t they trying to place SEC versus ACC against each other now? I think the Yellow Jackets qualify.
With Syracuse and Pitt joining the ACC next season, and the Conference going to a nine game schedule, it will now be doubtful any ACC team will be interested in playing in the CFA Kickoff…thanks for “supporting” your “home” team…
Buzzilla
September 2nd, 2012
10:27 am
One more note..Georgia Tech has more SEC championships than half the current conference and they haven’t been in the SEC in nearly 40 years. There is no parity in the SEC. A handful of monsters on any given year and the rest are the sacrificial lambs. Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Mississippi, Mississippi State, South Carolina, Arkansas, and now Texas A&M and Missouri. None of those teams have won an SEC championship in over 30 + years. You want to talk about the mighty SEC, tell it like it is. It’s a top heavy conference with either Alabama, LSU or Auburn when the west is good or Tennessee or Florida when the East is good. And the East isn’t going to be good again for a long time. The rest are average to weak. All this conference talk is just hiding the fact that you have a handful of serious football factories and the rest ride the coat tails.
GT
September 2nd, 2012
10:29 am
Dawgdad you are right, but NC State does suck even in the ACC, they are one of those teams that you never think of like Kentucky, then someone tells you they are going to be good. What they do is catch teams like Kentucky does, coming off a big game, and upset them. Good enough to beat you if you are down that week and they are up. Dodd and Dooley always beat teams they should beat, it is the ultimate sign of good coaching, they also knew what teams to put on the part of the schedule they controlled, one which has more hype than good football. And they worried about every team like it was Alabama.
Steve
September 2nd, 2012
10:34 am
Buzzilla don’t waste your time trying to say the ACC is anywhere close to the SEC. The SEC is far from “pedestrian” you moron. Let me know if you would like a list of SEC schools who go to bowl games every year. Enjoy your loss tomorrow. VA Tech by 14 at least.
Steve
September 2nd, 2012
10:35 am
Buzzilla = living in the past!
Steve
September 2nd, 2012
10:39 am
“There is no parity in the SEC.” Really? Every team has gone to the SEC Championship except Vandy, Kentucky, and Ole Miss.
It's OK if an SEC struggles...
September 2nd, 2012
10:43 am
Mark,
why write this as a reply to someone…
Mark Bradley September 1st, 2012, 10:52 pm
Florida always struggles in its first game, does it not?
Who does not struggle in first game? Even #1 teams and #2 teams “struggle” by their own admission and leave plays on the field, make mistakes.
The sarcastic kudos to Clemson is silly.
The SEC East is no better than the the lowly ACC.
Did NC State win? No.
Does the record of last year mean a damn thing for this 2012 season? Again, NO.
TN is 1-0, NC State is 0-1. The two teams played. TN’s defense must be very good b/c the NC State QB was picked off 4 times. Right?
But the SEC as a whole does not play the best football or the toughest football or etc. They are a smart football conference that takes care of its football programs and a stellar record for NCAA championships.
But does this mean that Ole Miss, Miss St. Vandy and Kentucky are high level football powers because they play SEC Football with SEC speed?
UF and TN have stunk for the last few years. So does that mean SEC football has stunk too?
Auburn roller coasters their season from #1 to # what?
Is that indicative of SEC Football?
The SEC has Alabama and LSU. Consistently good football programs.
USC is seen as good b/c UF and TN are down. They have beaten Clemson 3 times in a row for the first time in 30 years. What else have they down? If beating a team three times in a row and that hails from a conference that you think of as lowly.. if that is your lone steallr accomplishment, then what does that say about your football program?
Does USC’s history and only recent success reflect the power and supreme authority of SEC Football? I heard a great comment recently “USC is Alabama ego with Vandy trophy case.”
Arkansas – what will they do this year? Does the coaching scandal of Arkansas represent SEC Football?
Let’s see how Texas A&M and Missouri do in the mighty, vaulted SEC Football Kingdom.
Has the SEC beaten the ACC in football? Sure, but it depends upon the game you are considering.
Using CFN preseason expectations for 2012 ranking, what happens if you pitted…
FSU vs KY Alabama vs Maryland
Clemson vs Miss UF vs UNC
VT vs. UT LSU vs UVA
BC vs Vandy Auburn vs Wake Forest
GT vs Arkansas UGA vs NC State
Miami vs Miss St USC vs Duke
After week three, let’s return to this bc College Football News predicts UF as the second best team in SEC. They see TN as the 3rd worst team.
Hype is hype. All media should wait until after the 4th week to even proclaim which team and which conference is best.
GT
September 2nd, 2012
10:46 am
Vandy is pretty good, Fla is weak, as is Auburn who lost to Clemson without Watson, I am not sure about Tenn. or Miss. State.
Buzzilla
September 2nd, 2012
10:50 am
Steve,
The truth hurts I guess but that’s no reason to stoop to childish insults. There have been 5 teams from the SEC in the last quarter century that have mattered on the national scene. Tennessee, Florida, Alabama, LSU and Auburn. The rest of the SEC is irrelevant nationally and canon fodder for the factories. That’s a fact. Deal with it.
Steve
September 2nd, 2012
10:53 am
HA HA HA. Georgia has not mattered in the last quarter century? Man you obviously don’t know college football. Auburn? They mattered for one season and that’s cause they cheated. Would you like to talk about the ACC? What do you losers have besides FSU, who has sucked lately?
Uganda
September 2nd, 2012
11:15 am
Enter your comments here
Georgia standing
September 2nd, 2012
11:20 am
Georgia has mattered by being just average over the last 25 years breaking the surface to excellence on a few occasions
Still most humorous is the annual hype about a national championship – creating a feeling of excellence – unfortunately that takes a junkyard dog attitude that has not been seen for quite a while
ormewood
September 2nd, 2012
11:26 am
GT,
In Lawrence Taylor’s senior season, they went 11-1. Look it up.
Steve
September 2nd, 2012
11:28 am
You can thank the media for the annual national championship talk. I am a realist. I say 10-2 this year with losses at SC and against FL. Not Tech though. We know that is an annual win : )
Flounder
September 2nd, 2012
11:36 am
Hey Steve … be quiet and play with your toys while the adults are talking. You’re a child and a putz.
it is what it is boring
September 2nd, 2012
11:36 am
for the SEC to beat their chest and brag what a powerhouse it is, then why do the gutless wonders UGA and FL play sisters of the Buffalo and Murray. I mean the ugag inbredville fans want the nation to look at them the way they look at Bama then play somebody week in and week out. It doesn’t have to be a top ten school but Buffalo, really? That AD is going to lead you losers down the wrong path setting you up to play nursery school teams just like he did at FL.
I mean, you are suppose to be so dominant, then play SOMEBODY GEEZ
Gene
September 2nd, 2012
11:39 am
Clemson has a very good football team. Auburn won’t be great, but will likely win seven or eight games after the new coaches and systems settle.
bamaguy
September 2nd, 2012
11:42 am
If Clemson were truly a top fifteen team, they should have blown unranked Auburn out of the Dome. Instead they barely tweaked out a win. This would be like Ohio State beating Kentucky and claiming a victory over the SEC.
Steve
September 2nd, 2012
11:47 am
I am a child and a putz because I speak the truth? Interesting, little boy Flounder.
ormewood
September 2nd, 2012
11:49 am
Clemson beat a quality opponent in the first game of the season, something most teams avoid. They did so without their best, most explosive player.
bamaguy
September 2nd, 2012
12:08 pm
I agree about the quality opponent. It can make you or break you (See Michigan).
Gone Fishin'
September 2nd, 2012
12:19 pm
The techsters are truly lame……Want to compare conference records in BCS games? Your league is the laughing stock along with the Little 10!
Georgia standing
September 2nd, 2012
12:29 pm
Steve, what is the downside for Georgia if things don’t pan out 9-3? 8-4?
Keep fishing because conference records don’t mean squat if you are Not one of the top 2 or 3
Just look at the record
September 2nd, 2012
12:35 pm
It amuses me at how often ACC fans try to cleverly dismiss the SEC dominance of the ACC. It was only a few years ago that a mediocre UGA and SC team both killed GT and Clemson in a year they were playing for their division championship. Vandy destroyed Wake Forrest last year. SEC dominates the Chic fil A opener, plays and wins more bowl games( when did Tek actually win a bowl game) and has won the last 6 national championships with 4 different teams. The gap is so wide this is a silly argument. Just look at the head to head meetings and there is no argument. By the way UGA has smacked Tek 10 of the last 11 years. That reflects the dominance better than any example since Tek is elite in the ACC and UGA is secon tier in SEC
Birmingham Jacket
September 2nd, 2012
12:36 pm
I admire Auburn, kind of.
They’re the step child of the great state of Alabama, like Georgia Tech is in Georgia.
Bunch of total cheaters, but I wish Georgia Tech had a little more of that. Would make for better Saturday afternoons in the fall.
Mad Dog One
September 2nd, 2012
12:43 pm
Has any of you checked on the games the trade school will play this season????? GO DOGS & GATA
Mike Bell 790
September 2nd, 2012
12:49 pm
FIRST!!!
GTBob
September 2nd, 2012
1:16 pm
If Clemson were truly a top fifteen team, they should have blown unranked Auburn out of the Dome.
Clemson didn’t have their best player and they played pretty horrible overall. You are right, they should have handled a poor Auburn team more than that but it was a good game for them to get their first game jitters out of the way.
Paul in NH
September 2nd, 2012
1:21 pm
Steve
September 2nd, 2012
10:53 am
HA HA HA. Georgia has not mattered in the last quarter century? Man you obviously don’t know college football. Auburn? They mattered for one season and that’s cause they cheated.
———-
Auburn has played in (4) and won (2) EXACTLY the same number of SEC CG’s as UGA. They also have had 2 undefeated seasons in the last 10 years.
James
September 2nd, 2012
1:23 pm
Love how Bradley says the ACC’s Champion “should be way above the SEC’s fourth best” after a loss by Auburn. I thought the SEC mantra was that their fouth and fift best teams could beat other league’s best teams. I mean that’s what they always say. Let’s be real, Auburn would probably finish behind Clemson, FSU, Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and Georgia Tech in the ACC, and maybe behind Miami as well. I think GT beat Auburn their last two meatings. They’d robably be the sixth best team in the ACC. As for the game being close, Auburn on a neutral site, with exactly half the stadium their crowd would not be an easy out for most teams.
Auburn should have scheduled somebody easier than Clemsons for their non-connference early season game. Last year in Clemson was a beat down and the year before in Auburn the overtime nearly cost AU the national championship.
If Clemson had Sammy Watkins, that were be a ugly game last night in the Dome. Sammy Watkins took over that game last year. Auburn need to thank the lord Sammy watching the game from his dorm in Clemsons, South Carolina..
As for Tennessee to beat NC State, they was due on the ACC. Tennessee last ACC games were losses to Clemson 27-14, Maryland 31-3, North Carolina in a bowl
ANd being an Atlanta resident and a fan of the UGA bulldogs, I think they should put Clemson in the SEC and let Clemsons and Auburn play every year in Atlanta, like the Outdoor Cocktail party game in Jax.. Since this is the halfway point between the two call in the Midway Bash. That crowd last night lookeded like the OU-Texas game in the Cotton Bowl, You could see the fans split right down the middle and both fanbases jacked.
Think what that would do for the economy of Atlanta once a year. Also those two don’t need to visit each other campus they are similar campus with bg university in small college town. They know each other campus already. And that’s what I;m saying..
alphamale
September 2nd, 2012
1:49 pm
Shocked that some Auburn fans (were they REALLY Auburn fans?) thought that Frazier played well. And the tech fan says Auburn played very well?? Hate to break it to yall but Auburn is a bad team this year. Their QB is awful. their 0-line is way too young. Their secondary is soft and suspect and their d-line is vastly overrated. If they lose next weekend in Starkvegas, and I expect they will, they are staring straight into a 4 and 8 season.
Let's Go
September 2nd, 2012
2:10 pm
Last night was a perfect example why most teams schedule cupcakes like Buffalo, Bowling Green, Savanah St, and Wyoming for their first game. Beating Auburn on a neutral field by 7 is a heck of a lot more impressive then beating some cupcake at home by 22. Actually I give Paul Johnson a lot of credit for playing VATech to open the season. Not just a good team but a conference game on national TV.
cmac
September 2nd, 2012
2:40 pm
Hilarious!! Clemsux ..a team picked by many to win its conference vs AUful … a team picked by many to finish 6th in their division of the SEC … and Clemsux barely won. At least the organizers matched the talent correctly …. the top of the ACC vs the bottom of the SEC & the ACC squeaks out a win. FANTASTIC WIN ACC!!!
mark
September 2nd, 2012
2:49 pm
Mark,
How come this game consistently features Alabama (3 times including next year) and Clemson (twice in 4 yrs) but no FSU from the ACC? I thought the point of the game was a matchup that would draw fans in from elsewhere that would travel,fill hotels, stay for the long weekend. FSU would be bring high ratings and a team that can compete with the SEC over the past years (3-2 vs SEC over past 3 yrs) plus lots of long term travel. Most Clemson, AUB or AL fans can drive over in 2 hrs and drive back, if needed, that night. Quite honestly, it seems like the games are set up to favor the SEC team – this year being the sole exception (and it was a fair match up). UNC (2yrs ago vs LSU) is never going to bring a bunch of fans to any football game. I think CFA prefers to keep their fat southern baptist chicken eating fans happy and that’s why we’ll NEVER see FSU square off against AL/LSU/AUB. THe biggest mistake we ever made was beating So Carolina in the CFA Bowl 2 yrs ago – the Old South Mafia (SEC, CFA, SBC) doesn’t like to see their boys matched up against teams that aren’t afraid of them Clemson is a “football” team, I suppose, but they hardly have teh same TV draw as FSU nor will they draw in revenue for Atlanta. In short, until I see a legit ACC team other than Clemson and VT (questionable early in the season, i might add), I see this game is a farce set up by the Old South Mafia to prop up an SEC team early on National TV. I went to the game last night and those poor Clemson fans could hardly muster an ACC ACC ACC chant afterwards – how sad.
mark
September 2nd, 2012
3:01 pm
the game is a set up for the SEC team that is poised for a strong year – usually Alabama. The complete oversight by CFA of ever inviting FSU to play is a sham. IT’s billed as a game to encourage tourism, hotels and spending in ATL by CFA but both teams last night could have left at 3 pm made teh game and been back home in bed by 2 – assuming that they even have to travel at all. As an FSU alum, I would love to see us be the ACC team that plays AL one year – we could beat them like we did 5 yrs in Jacksonville. Also, TONS of fans would take a long vacation, stay in hotels and turn out for the game. It’s a farce really – unless you’re team is part of the Old South or have a traditionally conservative fan base (VT), you’re not invited. Let’s be real, guys, does CFA want a bunch of South FL FSU fans coming here and taunting AL / LSU / AUB fans while FSU goes toe to toe with them? No, they want good southern folk that will come take their beating and go home quietly so the SEC can stay proud.
Call it like it is , Truett and Dan, or give us a matchup. Trust me, Clemson winning last night means they just lost their place at the table for this game. We’ll be seeing a lot of VT for years to come. Oh, like next year against…..Alabama. How unusual.
olbird
September 2nd, 2012
3:05 pm
UH GT grad, until recently, Georgia was very aggressive at scheduling tough OOC games. Boise St. last year, two games with Oklahoma State, Two games with Arizona State, and I know they sucked when we played them, although they beat us once, Colorado. Considering these games are scheduled well in advance, no one knew that Colorado would be that bad when we played. We have ACC champ Clemson on the schedule next year I believe. Who, other than UGA, does tech play out of conference?
Let's Go
September 2nd, 2012
3:05 pm
Beating Auburn by 7 on a netural site is more impressive than beating some cupcake at home by 22.
It’s funny reading the comments here about Auburn. They lose so they suck and probably the worst team in the SEC but had they won the same morons would being talking about how dominating they are. The thing about the SEC is it’s Alabama and LSU and a whole bunch of hacks playing for 3rd place.
Brian
September 2nd, 2012
3:08 pm
Yes, I am glad to see Clemson win a “big” game they were supposed to win. But this was not South Carolina, Georgia or even Arkansas. Auburn probably is a an 8-4 team at best. Georgia smacked them around last season and while they probably are better than last season, I don’t buy Auburn as a relevant team… I think they are pretty much average without better play by their defense. So I would not consider this an impressive win.
Brian
September 2nd, 2012
3:10 pm
I am glad that Clemson started off with a win and actually could beat an SEC team. But I just don’t think Auburn is a good team right now. They haven’t accomplished anything without Cam Newton and Fairley and their defense is still horrid.
mark
September 2nd, 2012
3:22 pm
Are my comments about this game being a farce set up by the old south mafia being censored? Why is alabama disproprtionately invited to an event that was supposedly created to generate tourism $ for atlanta? 75% of the fans last night were from atl. The rest could have left at 3:00 and been home by 1:30 am. Invite FSU, chick fil a.
Whatever
September 2nd, 2012
3:29 pm
please choose new teams to play this game. it’s already predictable that 75% of the time AL will play some team below them but somewhat known to boost their image.
Whatever not
September 2nd, 2012
3:32 pm
yeah, i know. I just dropped a note about how the Old South Mafia sets it up that way. They don’t want teams like FSU coming up to spend money over a long weekend and beat an SEC team in a Nationally televised game. We did that in the Peach Bowl agains South Carolina and we’ll be black balled because of it
Whatever not
September 2nd, 2012
3:34 pm
how come UF, FSU, UM haven’t been invited? They’re national brand names more so than UNC, WVU, CLemson, Auburn or NC State. Oh, that’s right, we’re not “Southern Enough”.
Bring Back Ted Roof
September 2nd, 2012
3:34 pm
I felt sorry for White, the Auburn DB. He was picked on all night. Tough road trip next weekend, Auburn may be 0-2.
olbird
September 2nd, 2012
3:37 pm
@ GT grad, you are talking about OOC schedules when tech has the Presbyterian Blue Hose scheduled next week? Really?
charles
September 2nd, 2012
4:06 pm
One noticeable difference in Clemson’s team this year is how much quicker Taj Boyd looks compared to last year-many of his runs on third down kept the chains moving and were a real key to Clemson winning the game!
Wet Willie...keep on smiling
September 2nd, 2012
4:14 pm
Fraizer will never amount to much at Auburn but no surprise. He played at a YMCA league HS and put up big numbers against 145 # players. He’s not the sharpest knife in the drawer as well. VanGorder gave up 578 yards of offensive to Clemson without Sammy playing a down so I guess he’s better than Ted Roof?
Hope your favorite team did well and nobody lost any players due to injury. In the SEC you better have you sheet wired tight each week or you will get beat and that includes Alabama. As Nick said winning isn’t enough.