Looking back at Clemson's trip to Aggieland
Clemson survived a trip to College Station with a 28-26 win over the Aggies. Here are few important things that stood out from Saturday’s game:
Survival
Saturday’s game made history as the crowd in College Station became the largest that Clemson has ever played in front of with 104,794 in attendance. The crowd was loud throughout the game but at the start of the second half, A&M turned up the heat on and off the field.
Clemson came out of the locker room up 14-3 and with Trevor Lawrence at quarterback, quickly went 3-and-out twice. The Aggies knocked through a field goal to cut Clemson’s lead to 14-6 with 10:37 left in the third quarter.
The momentum shifted to the Aggies and more importantly, the 12th Man after that.
Following a Clemson touchdown, Kellen Mond threw a 69-yard strike and finished the drive with a 9-yard touchdown to Kendrick Rogers. Clemson answered Travis Etienne capped a drive in response, but A&M wouldn't go away as Mond hit on a 24-yard touchdown pass to Quartney Davis.
Trailing 28-20, the Aggies had two chance to tie the game inside 3:00 left and Clemson's K'Von Wallace would play a big part in both moments.
The first stop took place when Mond hit Davis on 3rd and 8 at the 25, Davis cut inside, put his hand on the ground and bounced outside towards the end zone and dove for the pylon. Wallace gave pursuit and punched the ball free and it was ruled a fumble that went through the end zone giving Clemson the ball back and stopping A&M just short.
A three-play defensive stand combined with a poor punt gave Mond and the Aggies one final chance.
On first and 10 at the 24 yard line, Mond threw the ball low and down the middle of the field towards the goal line, Clemson's Wallace dove to make an interception, but the ball hit off of Wallace and bounced up into the hands of wideout Kendrick Rogers giving the Aggies a shot at tying the game.
Clemson's defense denied the A&M 2-point conversion when Wallace stepped in front of Mond's pass leaving Clemson with a 28-26 lead and the ability to kneel out the remaining seconds of game time.
Saturday was critical for Clemson moving forward. If they were to get into tight ball games down the road, the Tigers can use this game as a learning experience.
Secondary concerns?
Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond put on a show in the second half. He picked apart Clemson’s secondary, throwing for three touchdowns, all in the second half. There were several examples of poor tackling and blown coverages, but on each touchdown pass, Clemson's defenders were in position and failed to make a play.
Clemson's defensive line got their hands on Mond several times, but never could quite pressure him enough to force an error late in the game. Defensive coordinator Brent Venables tried to bring blitzes to slow down Mond, but it was to no avail. Give Fisher and the Aggie offense credit for keeping Mond on his feet most of the night.
It's important to keep things in perspective. Saturday was one game and there’s plenty of room for improvement as Swinney noted during his Sunday teleconference. The depth in the secondary is concerning, especially the inexperience behind Trayvon Mullen, AJ Terrell, and Mark Fields, but we knew that coming into the season. The question is if Clemson's younger defensive backs can emerge and give quality snaps in the second half of the year.
Lawrence flashes, but Bryant makes a statement
If you were All-In with Trevor Lawrence taking over, about midway through the 3rd quarter, we bet you were thankful that Kelly Bryant was still around. After rotating the quarterbacks in the first half with moderate success, a slow start by Lawrence in the second half was followed by a burst of energy from Bryant.
After an A&M turnover, Bryant threw a 50-yard strike to Tee Higgins and threw a beautiful touchdown on a slant to Diondre Overton.
Bryant wasn’t done, later connecting with Hunter Renfrow on a big completion while rolling the pocket. Renfrow's catch eventually led to Travis Etienne's touchdown in the 3rd quarter that gave Clemson a 28-13 lead.
The Calhoun Falls native went into a hostile environment and put his talent on display for the national audience. Bryant went 12 of 17 for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns with 54 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Lawrence will have his time, but you can't deny that Bryant’s experience is an undoubtable advantage for the senior quarterback.