One Last Rewind: Texas A&M

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The hype of a top-15 matchup in Death Valley, combined with the hottest opening kickoff temperature in Death Valley (96 degrees), still came down to the final drive thanks to Vegas. The Tigers led 24-3, covering the highest spread we saw during the week. Instead a late touchdown moved a lot of money and gave Clemson a dominant 24-10 win.

Things didn’t go as planned in the eyes of many, including mine. My prediction was a 45-27 Clemson win, thinking the Tigers would pull away in the second half. Instead, it was Clemson’s defense that made a statement after Dabo Swinney said his team ‘left some doubt’ last year in College Station.

Redemption

Outside of the final drive, the best two trips for Texas A&M’s offense were a 16-play, 48-yard drive, taking up 7 minutes in the second quarter, yielding just a field goal. The essential play was Nolan Turner’s missed tackle on a third and long. The other lengthy A&M drive went 10-plays, 69-yards and ended with a Tanner Muse interception.

Turner made up for the missed tackle later in the game forcing a Kellen Mond fumble midway through the second quarter. The defensive line, who is still growing, had to deal with adversity once again as Xavier Thomas was sidelined briefly with an injury.

Thomas was able to come back and sacked Mond after a timely blitz call from defensive coordinator Brent Venables.

Mond never seemed like he could get into a rhythm as many of his throws were high and off-target. His performance was a far cry from the player we saw last season that threw for a career-high 430 yards against the Tigers last year in College Station.

Give it up for Derion Kendrick, who played well. He had three solo tackles and was tested against A&M’s receivers, Saturday was a big step for his own confidence and the confidence of the entire group that has had a lot of question marks coming into the season.

“We were able to watch some good tape on them (Texas A&M) because last year, (they) had a new coach, new offensive coordinator. We really weren’t able to prepare that much and we didn’t know what they were going to do. This week they had come off a full season and we had played them so we knew he (Kellen Mond) was a good player and he can hurt us on some stuff. We tried to contain him very well, press the pocket, and just make it difficult on him,” Thomas said.

“Swinging” the momentum

Travis Etienne wasn’t able to get much going early, and part of that was because of Texas A&M defensive coordinator Mike Elko’s plan to bring a safety down into the box to take away the inside running game.

The adjustment from co-offensive coordinators Tony Elliott and Jeff Scott involved swing passes and screens that have become a staple in Clemson’s offense the last several seasons. Etienne looked explosive breaking tackles and displayed his growth in becoming a complete back early in 2019.

It was also good to see Trevor Lawrence’s legs helping out this week as well. After the breakdown upfront, Lawrence scrambled to his left and found Justyn Ross for a 30-yard touchdown in the second quarter. That play was a prime example of how this offense can score even when you think you have them in trouble.

Another thing that was interesting to watch in Saturday’s contest was the battle with the lengthy Aggie secondary and Clemson’s tall receivers. There were competitive plays won by Clemson’s receivers, most notably the 29-yard completion to Tee Higgins, which set up Clemson’s touchdown right before the half. What was most impressive about that play was how Higgins shielded the ball away from two Aggie defenders.

“They were playing with one safety where they kind of spun late, so I had a little window for Tee right there. He made a great catch. I was trying to keep it away from the safety coming back, but he made a great catch,” Lawrence said after the game.

Clemson only scored 24 points against a solid A&M defense and Lawrence made a good point during postgame interviews noting that you don’t play your best early on in the season, and he’s right. You can’t take too much stock into the first few weeks of the season because teams will improve as the season moves forward, and that’s what we think you can expect to see moving forward.

Looking Ahead

Syracuse is next up on the schedule for the Tigers and when the 2019 schedule was released, the second and third games of the season were considered the marquee games on the schedule.

The Orange got blown out by Maryland, 63-20 and struggled to slow down a Terrapin offense that put up 650 yards. The opportunity is there for the Tigers to go on the road, put a complete game together on offense and defense, and distance themselves from the team that has given them the most issues over the last two seasons.