#12 Texas A&M at #1 Clemson
When: Saturday, September 7 at 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Memorial Stadium in Clemson, SC
TV: ABC
We get to start our weekend with an incredible matchup. Texas A&M travels to Clemson in a rematch of last year’s game.
In 2018, Clemson hung on to a 28-26 victory over the Aggies in College Station. Saturday’s meeting should be just as thrilling.
The Aggies come in after a dominant win over Texas State and Clemson sits atop the poll despite looking sloppy at times against Georgia Tech last week. Both squads have playoff hopes this year and an early-season test between two of the strongest rosters in the country has all the fixings to be a fun game.
Texas A&M
The Aggies are riding high after last week’s blowout. Clemson will pose a much greater threat than Texas State, but A&M has a ton of talent across the board.
Quarterback Kellen Mond did all he could to keep them in the game last year. He passed for 430 yards and three touchdowns and no interceptions. He brings back his top receiving threat in that game in Kendrick Rogers. Rogers hauled in seven passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns against the Tigers last season.
The Aggies’ offense has the talent to put up points, even against a stingy defense like Clemson’s. The Texas A&M defense is highlighted by defensive tackle Justin Madubuike. He will be asked to limit the dangerous rushing attack of Clemson. A&M has stars, but maybe not enough to hang with the Tigers this time around.
Clemson
The Tigers are not the top-ranked team in the country by accident. Despite losing basically half of their defense to the NFL, Clemson retained a ton of talent for the 2019 season.
Sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence is not eligible for 2020’s NFL Draft, but his name is already atop the list for 2021. Travis Etienne joins him in the backfield as one of the premier running backs in all of college football. Etienne can turn any run into a long one and he is a Heisman candidate to watch for.
The offense also features two dynamic wide receivers. Sophomore Justyn Ross will have to put his NFL dreams on hold until 2021, but Tee Higgins will be eligible come the end of this season. Most draft experts and followers agree that Higgins is among the best at the position for next spring’s draft.
The defense is replacing a ton of stars, including an entire front four. Still, the Tigers have enough star power on hand to limit the A&M offense.
Isaiah Simmons is one of the freakiest linebackers in college football, and that was on full display last week against Georgia Tech. He was everywhere for Clemson, finishing with 10 tackles.
Cornerback A.J. Terrell is worth keeping an eye on as well. Clemson has sent countless defensive backs to the NFL, including Mackensie Alexander, Jayron Kearse, and new Vikings corner Mark Fields. Terrell has the tools to be a top-flight cornerback if he puts it all together this season.
This will be a fun battle on Saturday afternoon. With a relatively weak early-afternoon slate, this is the game to watch.