Sunday Notebook: Tigers have turned the page

The No. 1 Clemson Tigers have had time to review the film from their season opening win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and if head coach Dabo Swinney had to summarize the game with one word, that word would be—proud.

CLEMSON– The No. 1 Clemson Tigers have had time to review the film from their season opening win over the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and if head coach Dabo Swinney had to summarize the game with one word, that word would be—proud.

"We've had an opportunity over the last two days to study ourselves and get a head start on A&M. I'm really proud of our team and our staff," Swinney said. "We were focused, we were ready and were able to play a lot of people against an ACC opponent this early. That can really help us moving forward. A lot of good things in the game, but we were disappointed with penalties and turnovers. Outside of that, a pretty clean first game. We had great energy."

The task now for the Tigers is to produce that same energy this week in a game where the stakes are significantly higher, as they welcome the No. 11 Texas A&M Aggies to Death Valley.

"We just got one tape from this year but had an extensive summer study on them. They're really talented," Swinney said. "They have recruited very well. They're well coached. Their quarterback is a really good player. He hurt us last year. They have outstanding skill and big guys up front on both sides. This will be as good a secondary as we will see all year. They are a really good team coming off a good year in Jimbo Fisher's first year. They're going to be one of the better teams in their league. They're talented enough and have everything they need to beat us.

"A good start. We're 1-0, which is where we wanted to be. Now it's about getting into the rhythm of the season and having a normal week. A huge challenge this week."

Etienne named national offensive player of the week: Travis Etienne rushed for 205 yards (on just 12 carries) and scored three touchdowns as top-ranked Clemson defeated ACC-rival Georgia Tech, 52-14, in its 2019 season opener. Etienne scored on runs of 90, 14 and 48 yards. His 90-yard scoring run tied a school record.

Notes: Travis Etienne is the eighth Clemson player to receive Walter Camp National Player of the Week honors since 2004, and the first since former Tiger defensive end Austin Bryant (Sept. 10, 2017).

Injury Update:

"Injury wise we came through really good. Again I am really glad we were able to get so many guys in the game," Swinney said.

However the biggest news came when Swinney was asked about wide receiver Amari Rodgers', who suffered a torn ACL this spring, status for this week's game after Rodgers went through warmups with the team Thursday night.

"I think he is in a really good place. He is ahead of schedule. He's really close. We will see," Swinney said. "His timeline has moved up and I would say anything is possible at this point."

Tigers in the polls: While the official AP and Coaches polls will not be released until Tuesday this week, due to the final game of Week 1 being played Monday night between Louisville and Notre Dame, the Tigers did remain atop Sports Illustrated's predicted rankings.

"We last saw the Tigers bludgeoning Alabama to win it all. Nothing's changed. They hammered Geoff Collins in his debut with the Yellow Jackets, a test run of sorts for next week's big-time clash with the Aggies," Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger wrote.