SEC SPORTS REPORT

SEC SPORTS REPORT

by Jay Holgate

ATLANTA, Ga-- I was a guest on an Upstate South Carolina radio station last night and the host asked me about the Auburn-Clemson game.  I told him I hate to be the bearer of bad news but Auburn would beat Clemson and leave town with another upset win on their record.  He said it would never happen.  I told him all Auburn does is win and this week would be no different.

The Clemson rationale for beating Auburn is that Clemson played Auburn dead even last year and this year Clemson is better and Auburn is not as good as they were last year.  That may all be true but it has nothing to do with the outcome of this game.

Clemson is coming off a 6-7 season and last week had to fight hard to beat Wofford 35-27.  Clemson played Auburn well last year but a lot has transpired since then.  

Auburn just wins.  I continue to be amazed at how Auburn always finds a way to win the game.  For a second season, I keep watching games believing Auburn is done and the Tigers always come up with a big play when they need it.  Every week when the clock is at zero, Auburn has more points than their opponent.

Only Auburn scores fourteen points in the final 2:30 minutes to beat Utah State.  I’m not sure any other team in the SEC could have pulled it off with such little time.  The news media had me completely convinced that Miss State was giving payback to Auburn for last year for a number of different events.  End of the game, big play, Auburn wins.  Same story every week.

Not really sure how Vegas keeps getting it wrong.  Vegas has Clemson favored by 3.5 points this week.  Just one more tool to motivate a young team to go win on the road.

I’ve heard some great coaches say once you’ve got a team used to winning, its hard to change the mindset.  This young Auburn team experienced unbelievable wins in 2010.  Chizik’s team believes they will win every game.  And every comeback builds confidence that no mountain is too high to climb.

I hear talk that Auburn has played average and that they can’t continue to win playing poorly.  What I see is improvement every week, players playing hard and coaches continually pushing.  Seems like a formula for success.

So once again, Vegas picks Auburn’s opponent, Chizik uses it to his advantage and Clemson gets beat once again by an SEC school.

Until next time, I will see you on the ball field.

Jay Holgate is an SEC football analyst with SEC Football News APP available on Iphone and Android phones.  Holgate is a motivational speaker with Football Speakers.com