SMU HC Rhett Lashlee Praises Clemson Ahead of ACC Championship Rematch

After cruising past North Carolina and Boston College on the road, outscoring both opponents by a combined 59 points, the Clemson Tigers return to Death Valley this Saturday to face the SMU Mustangs.

Speaking to the media on Tuesday, SMU head coach Rhett Lashlee knows what's at stake heading into Week 8. The Mustangs face Clemson for the first time since last year's 34-31 loss in the ACC Championship, a game that marked the first-ever meeting between the two teams.

It's a tough task for the Mustangs, who begin a demanding road stretch with one of College Football's most difficult environments.

"We've got to go on the road, I think, three of the next four weeks," Lashlee said on Tuesday. "We start with going to Clemson, which is one of the hardest places to play in America. It's a great challenge, and our guys are excited about the opportunity. It's a rematch, lots of different faces on our side for sure, but still a rematch of last year's [ACC] Championship game. It ended up being a really good game, so hopefully we can go in there and give them a good game this year."

Similar to what Troy head coach Gerard Parker said about Clemson's roster being 'filled with NFL talent,' Lashlee pointed out how scary the Tigers are on the defensive side of the ball.

Over the past two weeks, Clemson's defense has looked more like the dominant unit many expected entering the year, allowing only 20 points while racking up 13 tackles for a loss, six sacks and one interception over the past two contests.

"They have loads of talent. All the preseason accolades were right. They struggled a little bit early, but I think the last two weeks they're hitting their stride," Lashlee emphasized. "Defensively, I think, statistically, it's the second-best defense in our conference. They're one of the best defenses in the country, and they should be. It starts up front, with their defensive line. They're No. 1 in the country with the quickest pressure rate on the quarterback. They have a couple of NFL defensive ends and tackles, and the second group isn't a big drop-off. Great depth, and they're big. They have really experienced linebackers, too, that can stop the run."

Lashlee continued raving about the defense, specifically Avieon Terrell, whom he considers one of the most impressive cornerbacks his team will face this season.

He also noted the Tigers' recent progress on offense, as Clemson has totaled 79 points in the past two weeks.

"At corner, I think [Avieon Terrell] is as good as we'll see all year, he was last year," he said. "They're all good on the back-end, they play really good team defense, and I think they're hitting their stride offensively now too."

Having praised Clemson's defense and emerging offensive rhythm, Lashlee inferred that the Tigers' recent performances show why they remain one of the ACC's most well-rounded teams.

He brought up how strongly Dabo Swinney and his program have responded since their bye-week, drawing a parallel between Clemson's adjustments and those his own team made during the same stretch, as SMU has also won two straight after entering the break with a 2-2 record.

"They're a complete team, and I think that's what we're finding now in College Football with all the parity. Week in and week out, anything can happen. You can't just look at records like you used to be able to," Lashlee explained. "They did like we did. They went into the bye week and figured out what they needed to do for this year, and they've played really well over the last two weeks since the bye week. I would say they're getting right at the right time for us to be coming into town."

With both programs surging since their bye weeks, Saturday's rematch in Death Valley should offer a clear picture of how far each team has come since their early-season struggles.