← The College Football Belt
Reign #294 · Game 1,514 of 1,634
September 9, 2017 Week 2 · Regular Season Belt defended

Clemson defends the belt, 14–6, at home over Auburn.

Home · Defending Holder
Clemson 14
AT
Away · Challenger
Auburn 6
AI-Written

Recap

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.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 ClemsonAuburn
Total yards281117
Rushing yards9638
Passing yards18579
First downs1813
3rd down conv.9/166/18
Turnovers20
Penalties–yards8–605–40
Time of possession27:3532:25

Full team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 7:13Auburn+24 ydDaniel Carlson 24 yd FG GOOD
Q1 13:40Auburn+23 ydJarrett Stidham pass complete to Nate Craig-Myers for 23 yds to the Aub 44 for a 1ST down
Q1 1:13Clemson+1 ydKelly Bryant pass complete to Ray-Ray McCloud for 1 yd Ray-Ray McCloud fumbled, forced by Jeff Holland, recovered by Aub Jeremiah Dinson
Q2 14:17Auburn+28 ydDaniel Carlson 28 yd FG GOOD
Q2 6:47Clemson+46 ydGreg Huegel 46 yd FG MISSED
Q2 3:16Clemson+20 ydKelly Bryant pass complete to Deon Cain for 20 yds to the Clem 40 for a 1ST down
Q2 0:48Clemson+3 ydKelly Bryant run for 3 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q2 1:20Clemson+29 ydKelly Bryant pass complete to Ray-Ray McCloud for 29 yds to the Aub 9 for a 1ST down
Q3 13:26Clemson+33 ydKelly Bryant pass complete to Ray-Ray McCloud for 33 yds to the Aub 34 for a 1ST down
Q3 15:00Auburn+21 ydDaniel Carlson kickoff for 65 yds , Cornell Powell return for 21 yds to the Clem 21
Q3 11:47Clemson+27 ydKelly Bryant run for 27 yds for a TD, (Greg Huegel KICK)
Q3 10:00Auburn-9 ydJarrett Stidham sacked by Clelin Ferrell for a loss of 9 yards to the Aub 26 Jarrett Stidham fumbled, forced by Clelin Ferrell, recovered by Aub Prince Tega Wanogho , return for 0 yards
Q3 7:54Clemson+13 ydC.J. Fuller run for a loss of 2 yards to the Aub 31 C.J. Fuller fumbled, forced by Marlon Davidson, recovered by Aub Tray Matthews, return for 13 yds to the Aub 44
Q4 6:05Clemson+25 ydWill Spiers punt for 43 yds , Stephen Roberts returns for 25 yds to the Aub 45

Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Kelly BryantClemson19/291816.20069.1
Zerrick CooperClemson1/242.0002.3
Jarrett StidhamAuburn13/24793.3009.2

Rushing

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Kelly BryantClemson19593.1227
Adam ChoiceClemson7172.406
Tavien FeasterClemson3155.009
C.J. FullerClemson492.306
Zerrick CooperClemson100.000
TeamClemson2-4-2.000
Kamryn PettwayAuburn22743.4015
Eli StoveAuburn166.006
Chandler CoxAuburn100.000
Jarrett StidhamAuburn18-42-2.309

Receiving

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Ray-Ray McCloudClemson68113.5033
Hunter RenfrowClemson9626.9013
Deon CainClemson22713.5020
Cornell PowellClemson166.006
Amari RodgersClemson155.005
Adam ChoiceClemson144.004
Ryan DavisAuburn8324.009
Nate Craig-MyersAuburn12323.0023
Will HastingsAuburn2126.0010
Kyle DavisAuburn177.007
Kam MartinAuburn155.005
Show more stats (6 more categories)

Defense

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Dorian O'DanielClemson14101.52010
Christian WilkinsClemson1031.52000
Kendall JosephClemson920.50.5000
Austin BryantClemson7344010
Tre LamarClemson6311010
Tanner MuseClemson6200000
Clelin FerrellClemson6111010
Ryan CarterClemson5500100
K'Von WallaceClemson3300000
Jalen WilliamsClemson3200000
Chad SmithClemson3101000
Dexter LawrenceClemson300.50.5000
J.D. DavisClemson2211000
Jabril RobinsonClemson2000000
Mark FieldsClemson1101100
Trayvon MullenClemson1100000
T.J. ChaseClemson1100000
A.J. TerrellClemson1100000
Albert HugginsClemson1000000
Nyles PinckneyClemson1000000
Carlton DavisAuburn111100200
Tre' WilliamsAuburn930.50.5000
Darrell WilliamsAuburn610.50.5000
Tray MatthewsAuburn5500000
Jamel DeanAuburn4401100
Javaris DavisAuburn4400000
Deshaun DavisAuburn4200000
Jeff HollandAuburn420.50.5110
Derrick BrownAuburn3312000
Stephen RobertsAuburn3301000
Marlon DavidsonAuburn3201000
Andrew WilliamsAuburn2100000
Jeremiah DinsonAuburn2100100
Nick CoeAuburn200.50.5000
Montavious AtkinsonAuburn1111000
Ike PowellAuburn1100000
Dontavius RussellAuburn1100000

Fumbles

PlayerFUMLOSTREC
C.J. FullerClemson110
Ray-Ray McCloudClemson110
Tray MatthewsAuburn001
Jeremiah DinsonAuburn001
Jarrett StidhamAuburn100

Kick Returns

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Cornell PowellClemson12121.0210
Kam MartinAuburn11919.0190
Noah IgbinogheneAuburn11616.0160

Kicking

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Greg HuegelClemson0/10.002/22
Daniel CarlsonAuburn2/2100.0280/06

Punt Returns

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Ray-Ray McCloudClemson4174.390
Stephen RobertsAuburn12525.0250

Punting

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Will SpiersClemson625642.70053
Ian ShannonAuburn832440.50049

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back.