Aggies gonna Aggie. Apologies, Gig ‘Em, guys and gals. But that longtime derisive criticism of Texas A&M football – that it takes a leak down its leg in big games – remains applicable.
The confidence exhibited during the week – predicting a victory, shocking the world – did not translate into anything that can be described as threatening top-ranked Clemson. It was 96 degrees, the hottest temp for a kickoff in Death Valley history. The Aggies will need to stay out of the kitchen because, on this day, they didn’t handle the heat.
It was a determined but not dominant 24-10 victory for the defending national champions. Clemson spotted A&M a 3-0 lead before scoring 24 consecutive points to remove all doubt. An oh-by-the-way Aggies touchdown with six seconds remaining was, arguably, the only highlight for the visitors.
Here’s what the 12th-ranked Aggies accomplished Saturday: The late touchdown mattered for gamblers; the line was 17 1/2. And the final margin ended Clemson’s streak of 11 consecutive victories of 20 or more points. If not for the late TD, the Tigers would have tied 2018 Alabama for the longest such streak in the Associated Press poll area.
Much was made of this game based on last season’s game in College Station. Kellen Mond led a second half comeback and the Aggies came within a two-point conversion of forcing overtime. Mond threw for 430 yards against the Tigers in a 28-26 loss. The Aggies needed another big game from their quarterback, but Mond threw for just 236 yards with an interception and a lost fumble.
A&M coach Jimbo Fisher produced a word-salad, convoluted answer when asked about his quarterback.
“Well, I thought he started off… you know, he had a couple throws early that… he couldn’t get in a groove,” Fisher said. “I didn’t think he was in sync early, just a hair off. When he was in sync, we were dropping the ball, or as an offense, we were out of sync.”
On the second play of the game, a second and 10 after a drop on first down, Camron Buckley came out of the slot on the right side and beat the linebacker covering him on a slant. Mond overthrew him.
“We had a drop on the first play and then I missed a throw on the second play that would have been a touchdown,” said Mond, who completed 24 of 42 passes. “Against a team like this, you can’t make mistakes like that. I didn’t play up to par and do what it takes to to win a game against a team like this. The offense was given a lot of opportunities and we didn’t take advantage of it.”
Clemson’s rebuilt defense snuffed A&M’s running game, allowing 2 yards per carry and 53 rushing yards. Mond was unable to produce in the passing game, leaving the Aggies’ offense melting in the heat.
Clemson sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence was efficient if not spectacular. He completed 24 of 35 passes for 268 yards, with one touchdown passing and one on the ground.
“It’s huge,” Lawrence said of the Tigers’ 17th consecutive victory. “Last year you saw, we came out with a win, but it was close, left some doubt. It was awesome to play a lot better this year and didn’t really leave any doubt.”
Texas A&M was considered Clemson’s toughest regular season opponent. The Tigers travel to Syracuse next week and the Orange will be attempting to recover from a 63-20 shellacking at Maryland. The Aggies could again claim the Pyrrhic victory of giving Clemson its closest regular season challenge.
“They made more momentum plays than we did,” Fisher said. “We have a good football team. Winning is a learned behavior and you have to get to where you can make those critical plays at critical times to come up with the win.”
Here are some bullet points to support Fisher’s point.
- In the second quarter, A&M defenders – especially on the line – seemingly were hurt on every play. Defensive tackle Jayden Peevy hurt his ankle, got it taped and returned. But on third and 11, Lawrence scrambled away from pressure to his left. Peevy gave chase but his injury made his pursuit a Walter Brennan imitation. Lawrence found Justyn Ross for a 30-yard touchdown that put Clemson ahead for good, 7-3.
- Jashaun Corbin, A&M’s starting running back, was injured and didn’t return after catching a screen pass on A&M’s second drive of the second half. With Clemson holding the lead, the running game was shelved. That allowed Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables to unleash the dogs with A&M freshman running back Isaiah Spiller responsible for picking up blitzes. That’s not advisable against a team that since 2014 leads FBS in sacks.
- After Clemson started the second half with consecutive three-and-outs on offense, the Tigers sealed the deal with a touchdown drive aided by four plays that totaled 58 yards. Two were penalties on A&M (a questionable horse collar penalty called by the SEC crew and a pass interference call in the end zone) and two 14-yard gains by Travis Etienne and Justyn Ross on short throws by Lawrence.
- The Aggies’ first impressive pass play came in the third quarter, but needed the help of the SEC instant replay crew who awarded Jhamon Ausbon for a sideline catch that likely wasn’t. As was too often the case, Clemson followed that up by sacking Mond on a safety blitz for a loss of 10. The series ended with a low shotgun snap that Mond had to smother.
- On its first possession of the fourth quarter, A&M methodically drove against a passive Clemson defense – the Tigers were dropping seven to eight in zone coverage – and reached the 11. But on third and five, the Tigers went from passive to aggressive. A safety blitz hit Mond as he threw a flutter ball that Clemson intercepted.
- Clemson took over at its own 1-yard line after the interception. A&M stuffed the Tigers’ first play for an apparent safety, but the SEC officiating crew blew the whistle before the snap because the refs thought the Aggies had a … wait for it … 12th man on the field. A replay review showed just 11 on defense, but the premature whistle forced a do-over and wiped out the safety. (Considering the questionable horse collar tackle, it appeared that the SEC crew was treating A&M like it was, like, a Big 12 team.)
With Auburn moving into the top 10 this week, Texas A&M has five foes ranked in the top 10. Clemson was the first of those. Auburn visits on Sept. 21, Alabama on Oct. 12, with the Aggies closing the season with road games at Georgia and LSU.
For the Aggies, it wasn’t as bad as the 77-0 loss at top-ranked OU in 2003, and the disappointing defeat in Death Valley doesn’t ruin the season. But it needs to provide the lessons that help Fisher build his program.