Clemson's defense dominated this defensive struggle, holding Auburn to just 117 total yards and 6 points to retain the belt with a 14-6 victory. Auburn struck first with Daniel Carlson's 24-yard field goal in the first quarter, then added another with a 28-yarder in the second quarter to take a 6-0 lead, but the Tigers' offense found the end zone twice to pull away. Kelly Bryant orchestrated two touchdown drives for Clemson, first punching in a 3-yard TD run with 48 seconds left in the half, then adding a 27-yard scoring run in the third quarter to seal the outcome. While Auburn controlled time of possession at 32:25, they could not move the ball effectively, converting just 6 of 18 third downs and gaining only 79 passing yards against Clemson's stingy secondary.
Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.