Auburn quarterback Dameyune Craig (16) is brought down by Clemson's Rahim Abdullah (53) during the first half of the Peach Bowl Friday, Jan. 2, 1998 in Atlanta. Auburn won 21-17. AP Photo/Alan Mothner

Clemson defense toils too long, can't stop Dameyune Craig's Peach of a fourth-quarter rally

Web posted January 3, 1998

 Mike Berardino
 Peach Notes

By Rob Mueller
Staff Writer

ATLANTA - Against a player as dangerous as Auburn's Dameyune Craig, Clemson knew there were only so many times defense and special teams could come to the rescue.

A day that looked as if it would be one of the low points of Craig's career took a dramatic turn in the fourth quarter, as the Auburn quarterback rallied the Tigers to 15 unanswered points and a 21-17 victory in Friday's Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome.

Three blocked punts for Clemson and inspired defensive play put the Tigers (7-5) in position to score an elusive bowl victory against Auburn (10-3).

But in the end, one of the most anemic offensive showings in school history brought the inevitable to fruition.

``The defense played 48 plays in the first half and that was a fear, that we left our defense on the field for so long,'' said Clemson coach Tommy West, after his senior class ended their careers with an 0-3 bowl record. ``The thing is that (Craig) is a great player and he created some plays.''

In the first three quarters, Craig seemed out of sync, completing just nine of 37 passes for 142 yards. But against a Clemson defense afforded little time to catch its breath, a revitalized Craig led Auburn to its first 10-win season since an 11-0 finish in 1993.

``When it looked like it was time for us to give up and quit, our team came through and won the ballgame,'' Auburn coach Terry Bowden said. ``You have to be happy when you have two blocked punts that led to touchdowns and still win the game.''

Auburn first hit the comeback trail when Craig scored the Tigers' first touchdown - a 22-yard scramble in the opening two minutes of the fourth quarter. The senior second-team All-SEC quarterback completed six of eight passes for 116 yards in the final quarter to give Auburn (10-3) its biggest comeback win this season.

Clemson was sparked early when redshirt freshman Rod Garnder blocked an Auburn punt midway through the second quarter. Freshman Chad Speck took the ball on a bounce and ran it in from 18 yards, giving Clemson a 7-3 lead.

In the third quarter, Rahim Abdullah blocked his second punt of the game, which was recovered by Mal Lawyer at the Auburn 2. Sophomore Terry Witherspoon scored on the next play to give the Tigers a 14-6 lead.

But eventually, Clemson's offensive failures took its toll.

``We had (Craig) contained for most of the game, it was `sack him for a loss, sack him for a loss, incomplete pass, incomplete pass,''' Clemson freshman safety Robert Carswell said. ``Then all of a sudden he makes a big play. He's a creator. He's just a great quarterback that made things happen.''

Clemson, whose new-look offense under first-year coordinator Steve Ensminger was averaging 362 yards a game, managed just 146 yards of total offense - the lowest total in a bowl game since 1938 when Auburn held Michigan to 65 total yards in a 6-0 win.

The Tigers ran just 52 offensive plays and made four first downs, both season lows, and were 1-for-14 on third down plays.

``We had to generate something for our defense,'' said senior quarterback Nealon Greene, Clemson's all-time passing leader whose final game proved to be one of his worst. He finished 11-for-25 for 86 yards and threw one interception. ``It's very disappointing from an offensive standpoint to not show up and to not help put our team in a situation to win it.''

Raymond Priester, Clemson's all-time leading rusher, was equally devastated after rushing for just 62 yards on 19 carries in his last game.

``Any senior wants to go out with a win, but execution is the one way I know how to be successful,'' the Allendale, S.C., native said. ``That's something we didn't do today.''

Senior offensive tackle Jim Bundren said it was a combination of Auburn's defense and Clemson's breakdowns that sealed the Tigers' fate.

Unfortunately for Clemson's seniors, postseason breakdowns are nothing new. In four bowl games under West, Clemson has scored just four offensive touchdowns, including the one-play, two-yard drive in the third quarter.

``It took a while to settle down and it was hard to get a hat on everybody,'' Bundren said. ``Eventually we figured out what they were doing, but we just didn't have any consistency. It seemed like one person would always miss a block and (Auburn) would have the right stunt on at the right time. You can't do that against a team as good as Auburn or it will be a long day.''