Auburn Stunned in Death Valley

UPDATED 7:30 P.M.

Much to the delight of Bama fans everywhere, Auburn’s 17-game winning streak ended today as the defending BCS national champions fell to Clemson in Death Valley.

Clemson trailed by 14 at the end of the first quarter, but turned on the heat to outscore Auburn in the next three for the 38-24 win. The Clemson Tigers had 624 yards of total offense compared to Auburn’s 435.

Auburn had narrowly escaped two losses coming into Saturday’s game. The Tigers almost lost to Utah State in their season opener and barely survived Mississippi State last week.  Next week, Auburn will try to put the pieces back together at home against Florida Atlantic.

Clemson, now 3-0, faces a bigger challenge as Florida State comes to town for a Sept. 24 ACC matchup. After Saturday’s win over Auburn, a clearly fired-up Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said he hoped the No. 5 ranked Seminoles come to Death Valley undefeated (see video). The Seminoles face top-ranked Oklahoma tonight at 8 p.m.

In other SEC action:

• Georgia . The Bulldogs ran for 188 yards while holding the Chanticleers (which is a fancy name for a rooster) to just 60. Passing yardage was even more one-sided with the Dawgs gaining 276 yards in the air to Coastal Carolina’s 49. Next week, the Bulldogs travel to Oxford to take on Ole Miss.
• Vanderbilt came close to earning its first shut out of an SEC team in who knows when with Saturday’s 30-7 victory over the University of Mississippi. The Commodores held Ole Miss scoreless until the Rebel’s Zack Stoudt connected with Donte Moncrief on a 47-yard pass with 2:15 left in the game. Bryson Rose’s extra point was good, allowing Ole Miss to leave Nashville with at least a shred of dignity intact. Vandy, off to a rare 3-0 start, will face Steve Spurrier’s Gamecocks next week in Columbia.
• Florida also improved to 3-0 after defeating Tennessee in The Swamp. After trailing 30-7 in the third quarter, the Vols tried to make a game of it drawing to within 10 of Florida with just under five minutes remaining in the game. But even Derek Dooley’s lucky orange pants and a series of costly penalties by the Gators were not enough to keep Florida from winning 33-23. Next week, the Gators travel to Kentucky while Tennessee will take the week off to lick its collective wounds. The Volunteers return to action on Oct. 1 at home against Buffalo.