College Football
Clemson Survives Texas A&M 28-26
Saturday night was full of excitement and drama as Clemson survives Texas A&M 28-26. The game had everything, from dominant defensive efforts to offensive explosions. Many will remember the game coming down to the final moments and a fumble possibly affecting the outcome of the game. Regardless of feelings, Clemson manages to will its way to victory against a tough Texas A&M squad.
1st Half
The first quarter saw the 12th Man in full force. Clemson struggled on offense but finally broke through to post a score on their second drive of the game. Texas A&M left points on the board, missing their first field goal deep in Clemson territory, but making the second. Clemson went on to hold the lead 7-3 heading into the second quarter.
Trevor Lawrence would come in for Bryant in the second quarter and throw a 64 yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins. Lawrence would stay in for a couple of drives and not manage to engineer any further scoring drives. Kelly Bryant managed to get back in the game but upon driving to the A&M one yard line, fumbled the snap on fourth and goal turning the ball over on downs. Texas A&M began struggling against Clemson’s vaunted defense at the end of the second quarter and even had a field goal blocked. Second quarter ended with Clemson on top 14-3.
3rd Quarter
Remember when I said there was offense? Clemson and Texas A&M began the third quarter like the first half, struggling to get much going on offense. Texas A&M managed to get a field goal to bring themselves within a touchdown of Clemson’s lead. The Clemson offense would sputter under Trevor Lawrence, who began the second half. Then Texas A&M regained momentum when Aggie QB Kellen Mond made some plays to drive them further into Tiger territory. At the end of a big run, Mond had to come out for a play due to cramping, but Clemson’s defense capitalized and forced a turnover. Kelly Bryant returned to QB and led the Tigers down the field for a score. Texas A&M would answer the Tiger strike with a touchdown of their own to pull back within a touchdown of Clemson. Like boxers blow for blow, Clemson bulldozed back to the endzone to head into the fourth quarter ahead 28-13.
4th Quarter
Get ready for all the dramatics. Texas A&M wasted no time driving down the field and pulling back within one touchdown of Clemson. At this point, Clemson’s defense was gassed and their offense sputtered once more. Texas A&M appeared to have all the momentum and in the closing minutes drove down the field on what appeared to be a definite scoring drive. Aggie QB Mond managed to will the Aggies down the field with some amazing throws and catches from the wide receivers; however, the drive would come to an end as a Aggie receiver would fumble the ball out the endzone on a crazy play made from a Clemson defender. The officials would review the play, but the play would stand and Clemson got the ball back with a little over two minutes left. The Texas A&M defense would hold the Tigers and give the Aggie offense one more drive. Texas A&M scored, but failed to get the two point conversion. Clemson recovered the onside kick. Game.
Overall Thoughts
I will be the first to tip my hat to Texas A&M. They played out of their minds and made some amazing plays to keep them in the game. Despite the questionable fumble, Texas A&M managed to battle back and give themselves a shot at winning the game. I don’t think anyone saw this as being that close of a game, but hats off to Texas A&M! The Aggies look to be set at QB as Kellen Mond made some ridiculous plays. If the Aggies can keep that play up, they will be making noise in the SEC West in no time.
Clemson has plenty to be happy about. Managing a win despite the tough environment and themselves is a sign of a scary good football team. Clemson has plenty to clean up on tape on both sides of the ball.
What do you think? Did the officials get the call wrong? Is Clemson overrated or Texas A&M underrated?
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Photo credit to TigerNet.com via Flickr
