Second-ranked Clemson’s secondary was forced to play shorthanded in the team’s two biggest games thus far this season. However, the secondary didn’t miss a beat in top-15 wins over Auburn and Louisville the past two weeks.
Against Auburn, starting free safety Van Smith was unable to play due to a knee injury, while cornerback Marcus Edmond suffered a foot sprain on the first series of the game and didn’t return. Still, Clemson held Auburn quarterback Jarrett Stidham to just 79 passing yards and helped the front seven rack up 11 sacks by blanketing Auburn’s wide receivers in coverage.