Clemson, SC- In front of a sold-out home crowd at Death Valley, the defending CFP National Champion Clemson Tigers dominate the 12th ranked Texas A&M Fighting Aggies 24-10.
It was a great performance by the number one team in the country, as the Tigers controlled the game on both sides of the ball, not allowing the Aggies to get anything going.
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney on the win, “Huge win. A huge win for us early in the season against a really good team. This is just the second step, 2-0, but an ACC team and an SEC team back to back weeks and we’re one of the youngest teams we’ve had since I’ve been the head coach, we showed up ready and responded.”
Leading the way for Clemson on offense was star quarterback Trevor Lawrence, who completed 24 of his 35 passes for 268-yards adding both a rushing and a touchdown to cap his performance.
That passing touchdown was one of the biggest plays of the game, as Trevor Lawrence executed a great fake keeper that forced the defense to take a step forward, allowing star receiver Justyn Ross to get wide-open and catch a beautifully thrown 30-yard pass from Lawrence and gave the Tigers an early 7-3 advantage over Texas A&M.
Swinney on Lawrence’s’ performance, “Trevor Lawrence played quarterback. He really played quarterback. It was awesome to see. There were so many things that were going on that a normal person in the stands don’t know. You just think it’s a called pass or whatever, but there’s a lot going on at that quarterback position and man e played the position extremely well today.”
The talented receiving duo of Ross and Tee Higgins both had great games, as Ross totaled 94-yards on seven catches, including his 30-yard touchdown. Higgins, a 6-4 Junior, reeled in just four catches but totaled 70-yards thanks to a 29-yard grab at the one-yard line that set up Lawrence’s rushing score. The Tiger’s feature one of the most talented receiver duo’s in the country, and definitely showed why today against a tough Aggie defense.
The big story of the game, however, was how the Clemson defense completely shut down the Texas A&M offense.
Allowing just 289-yards of total offense, the Tigers suffocated the Aggies, allowing just an early field goal in the second quarter. Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond could never get in a rhythm, completing 24 of his 42 passes for 236-yards and a big interception deep in Clemson territory.
Mond was constantly under pressure, as the Tiger defense sacked the junior quarterback twice while creating four hurries. The Brent Venable led squad was extremely disciplined in their performance and looked like one of the premier defensive units in the country.
Swinney on the defense’s performance, “They’re having fun playing defense. We kind of have strength in numbers right now, they’re kind of a bunch of guys right now but they’re having a lot of fun playing and a lot of fun practicing and just showing that they have a lot to prove every single week.”
This was a big early-season test for the defending national champions and they passed with flying colors. The Tigers look every bit like they will compete to defend their crown, as they try and become the first team to win back-to-back championships since Alabama won in both 2011 and 2012.
Clemson will next travel up to Syracuse to take on the Orange in the Carrier Dome Saturday, September 14th at 7:30 p.m.
Written by Brian Pohl
