Clemson vs. Auburn: Score and Twitter Reaction

The Clemson Tigers' quest to return to the College Football Playoff got off to a roaring start as they knocked off the Auburn Tigers 19-13 on Saturday night.

This game was a defensive battle for most of the way, with Clemson taking advantage of a couple of openings and one big penalty to begin its 2016 campaign with a victory. 

Auburn's much-maligned defense showed a lot of poise against a high-powered Clemson offense that includes Heisman Trophy favorite Deshaun Watson and star running back Wayne Gallman. 

Auburn briefly held a 3-0 lead in the second quarter before Watson finally went to work. He helped orchestrate a 13-play, 84-yard drive that was capped off by Gallman's one-yard score on fourth down after three terrific defensive stands by Auburn.

Clemson caught a break earlier in the drive, when Johnathan Ford was flagged for a holding penalty on 3rd-and-11, giving Clemson an automatic first down at Auburn's 7-yard line. 

While Watson receives most of the hype, Bonnie Bernstein of Campus Insiders thinks Gallman can get in the Heisman conversation:

Watson was trying to shake off the offseason rust Saturday. He finished 19-of-34 with 248 passing yards, 21 rushing yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Watson had just one game last season in which he accounted for only one touchdown. 

This game won't go on Watson's highlight reel, though it did show he can battle in a hostile environment.

With Clemson clinging to a 13-6 lead early in the fourth quarter, Watson was sacked at Auburn's 16-yard line, setting up 3rd-and-goal. 

On the ensuing play, Auburn again called for a blitz, but Watson created enough time in the pocket and threw a perfect pass to Hunter Renfrow for a touchdown, increasing Clemson's lead to 13 points with less than 10 minutes remaining in regulation.

Steve Palazzolo of Pro Football Focus was enamored with Watson's effort:

It's important not to ignore Clemson's defense, which took charge as the offense struggled to build any momentum.

On the key drive of the game, with Clemson holding a 13-3 lead, Auburn had 4th-and-1 at the Clemson 4-yard line. Auburn had converted two 4th-and-1 opportunities earlier on the drive, but Clemson stuffed Jeremy Johnson up the middle.

The turnover on downs gave Clemson the ball back with less than three minutes to play in the third quarter.

Johnson struggled Saturday. The senior quarterback went 4-of-6 for 38 yards with one interception and minus-18 rushing yards, prompting some criticism from the likes of Dr. Saturday:

Sean White earned the start for Auburn, but head coach Gus Malzahn used Johnson and John Franklin III throughout the contest. White eventually settled in as the primary quarterback with 21 pass attempts, but he completed only 10 and had one interception.

Joseph Flynn of Posting and Toasting came up with a couple of possible reasons for Malzahn's constant shuffling of quarterbacks:

Whatever Malzahn's rationale may have been, it did not serve his team well, leading to some jokes on Twitter, including this one from Bleacher Report's Barrett Sallee:

Auburn failed to capitalize on numerous opportunities. For instance, prior to one of those fourth-down conversions on the drive that eventually stalled deep in Clemson territory, Marcus Davis caught a pass on 3rd-and-17 but wound up falling down after 16 yards. 

ESPN's Mike Golic Jr. summed up the play:

Auburn converted the ensuing fourth down, but it was an odd move, considering he wasn't dragged down by a defender.

Another instance of Auburn hurting itself came midway through the fourth quarter, when White tried to force a pass on 4th-and-goal that wound up being intercepted by Ben Boulware. 

It was Auburn's second turnover inside the red zone in the second half.

From that moment, Clemson went into run-the-clock mode.

Auburn finally got the ball into the end zone on its next possession, when Kerryon Johnson scored a nine-yard touchdown out of the Wildcat, helping Auburn cut the deficit to 19-13 with 3:22 remaining.

Clemson's offense again went back to killing the clock. The key play on the drive was a terrific back-shoulder throw from Watson to Mike Williams on 3rd-and-8 for 20 yards, which gave Clemson a fresh set of downs with 1:45 left in regulation.

Per Clemson Football, Williams' catch gave him a career-high 174 receiving yards. Not a bad return for the star receiver after his 2015 season ended when he suffered a broken neck in the opener.

Clemson turned the ball over on downs at the Auburn 15-yard line with 35 seconds remaining. Auburn had no timeouts remaining, so it was in hurry-up mode for its final drive. White got a couple of long completions to set up a manageable Hail Mary attempt, but Clemson batted it down to end the game. 

After Auburn's loss, Timothy Burke of Deadspin noted how low the SEC sank on the opening Saturday of the season:

Auburn has a lot of kinks to work out on offense, but the defensive improvements it showed against a loaded Clemson offense was an encouraging sign for the program. 

Going on the road, especially against an SEC program that had nothing to lose, forced Clemson to play out of its comfort zone to start the season. This wasn't the type of performance Clemson wanted to see, but the win was all that mattered.

Postgame Reaction

The hot topic of conversation on Auburn's side after the loss was Malzahn's handling of the quarterbacks. 

Per Josh Vitale of the Opelika-Auburn News, Malzahn told reporters that Auburn devised three different packages for each quarterback, which led to the constant rotating three of them in and out. 

Malzahn did add that he expects all three quarterbacks could continue to play in games, per Vitale. 

Looking at other areas of the game, per Vitale, Malzahn called Auburn's rushing attack its biggest disappointment after finishing with 87 net yards on the ground. 

On the winning side, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney connected this game with his team's trip to Georgia in 2014, per Aaron Brenner of the Post & Courier:

Clemson won that game against Georgia, 38-35, in the matchup that helped launch the Tigers into the national consciousness. 

Swinney did have a chance to kick a field goal that would have put Clemson up 22-13 late in the fourth quarter. 

Per Brenner, though, Swinney said he didn't attempt to kick the field goal because of the confidence he had in his defense to keep Auburn from driving down the field.

It almost backfired on Swinney, but right now he at least looks smart.