When: Saturday, 9 p.m. ET
Where: Jordan-Hare Stadium, Auburn, Ala. | Buy tickets
TV: ESPN
Clemson’s arrow still points upwards. It’s going for the national championship this season, and the smart money says they take it. Auburn, meanwhile, had a disastrous 2015 season and Gus Malzahn enters the season on the hot seat. They have quarterback questions and lost significant talent across the board. The Tigers recruit well enough to bounce back, but no team needs more from the first game and faces tougher competition than Auburn. It’s just about the worst-case scenario.
The Tigers need Lawson to have a big year — he was the linchpin of the team’s defensive line last year and they looked poor in the six early-season games he missed because of injury.
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The Tigers need to have a reliable running back (or two) to make the offense work, and with the quarterback questions heading into Week 1, Johnson’s role looms larger. He’s the only Auburn running back with collegiate carries.
3. Clemson S Van Smith
The Tigers’ new boundary safety, Smith saw action as a true freshman last season and played 38 snaps in the ACC title game. Smith is praised as a smart and instinctual player and against a quarterback trying to prove he was the right pick, he could feast on the insecurity.
Clemson (-7.5), O/U 62
Clemson enters the game as a seven-point favorite, but that could get to nine by kickoff. Whatever it is, take it — Auburn hasn’t shown that it’s solved its 2015 problems yet in 2016 while Clemson was absolutely no fluke.
Clemson needs a win to prove that they’re title contenders. A loss would still keep them in the ACC race, but the playoff would be an uphill climb. Auburn needs the win badly — it would give Malzahn some security and put the SEC on notice. A loss could be the first domino in a four-week span that could result in an 0-4 record and big changes on the Plains.
Clemson 51, Auburn 24
A total beat-down where the tone is set early. Clemson comes out with something to prove and puts Auburn on the back foot early in the contest — from there, Clemson preys.
— Dieter Kurtenbach
