COLLEGE FOOTBALL LOOK AHEAD

No. 1 Clemson braces for visit from No. 12 Texas A&M

Field Level Media

September 06, 2019 at 10:18 am.

Aside from the fact that he’s not fond of his opponent’s color scheme, Jimbo Fisher is looking forward to taking his 12th-ranked Texas A&M team into top-ranked Clemson for a Saturday showdown.

“I don’t like orange,” Fisher said. “If you like orange, there will be a lot of it (at Clemson). Will be a lot of happy fans. Tremendous fan base, classy fan base. They love their ball, and they’re passionate about it for sure.

“Be one of the places you’ll be able to say you played at as a player, and one of the places you can say you coached at.”

Fisher and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney will renew acquaintances for the 10th time on Saturday; Fisher’s and Swinney’s teams played each other eight times while Fisher was head coach at Florida State, with each coach winning four of the games.

Swinney pulled ahead last season when his Tigers won at College Station, Texas, holding on for a 28-26 victory en route to a 15-0 record and second national title in three years.

“When somebody asks what are Clemson’s strengths, any time you win a national championship and are ranked No. 1, you’re good in all three phases,” Fisher said. “One heck of a team. They’re talented and confident and well-coached, and they’re playing at home.”

Both teams opened last Thursday with impressive wins against outmanned opponents, Clemson rolling past Georgia Tech 52-14 and A&M trouncing Texas State 41-7.

“They’ll get off the bus throwing the football down the field — that’s what they do,” Swinney said of the Aggies. “We know exactly what we’re getting into with this bunch, and it starts with us having to do a good job on their quarterback.”

That quarterback is Kellen Mond, a junior who riddled Clemson’s secondary for 430 yards and three touchdowns a year ago. His targets include a trio of juniors who are 6-foot-2 or taller, providing the Tigers’ defense with the biggest challenge — literally — that it may have this season, according to Swinney.

Clemson is loaded offensively as well, starting with sophomore quarterback Trevor Lawrence and junior running back Travis Etienne. Etienne opened his season with a bang last week, rushing for a career-high 205 yards and three touchdowns on just 12 carries.

The Tigers’ three starting wide receivers are even taller than A&M’s, with each standing 6-4, so the matchup between those three and the Aggies’ rangy cornerbacks and safeties will be one worth watching.

A&M offensive lineman Jared Hocker made some headlines Monday when he confidently proclaimed, “There will be an upset” on Saturday in Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. Fisher said he doesn’t mind the confidence but added, “that doesn’t need to be said.”

Mostly, both sides were talking about having great respect for one another.

“They’re definitely one of the best teams in the country,” Swinney said. “Regardless of how this plays out — win or lose — we’re going to get better from this game. I love the challenge. We’ll see where we are and grow up a bit. It helped us last year. We’re excited about having them here at home.”