Swinney: Aggies will be a 'handful'

CLEMSON — The No. 1 Clemson Tigers (1-0, 1-0 ACC) face their biggest challenge of the young season this week, as they welcome the No. 11/12 Texas A&M Aggies (1-0) out of the SEC to Death Valley on Saturday (3:30 p.m., ABC), in what has been billed as one of the best nonconference games of the 2019 season.

For head coach Dabo Swinney and the rest of the Tigers, even though they defeated the Aggies last season at College Station by a final score of 28-26, Swinney has nothing but respect for the Aggies.

"We just have one tape from this year, but obviously, we do a pretty extensive summer study on our first four opponents," Swinney said. "They are really talented. They have recruited very well. They have outstanding coaches. Their quarterback (Kellen Mond), I think is a really, really good player. He can run. He hurt us last year. They have outstanding skill — big guys up front on both sides of the ball. This will be as good of a secondary as we will play all year."

Saturday's contest will be the 10th all-time meeting between teams led by Swinney and Jimbo Fisher in head coaching capacities. Swinney presently holds a 5-4 lead in the all-time series between the two coaches, including a 4-4 record against Fisher with Florida State and a 1-0 record against Fisher with Texas A&M.

With the two head coaches being extremely familiar with each other, there is an understanding that the Aggies are more than capable of knocking off the top-ranked Tigers.

"They are really talented so they are just a really good team. They are coming off a good year last year in Jimbo’s first year. There is no doubt that they will be one of the better teams in their league. They are certainly a team that is talented enough, and they have everything they need to be able to beat us.”

The Tigers are attempting to win a sixth straight home game against SEC competition, defeating Georgia in 2014, South Carolina in 2014 and 2016, Auburn in 2017 and South Carolina again in 2018. The current five-game home winning streak against SEC foes is already the longest in school history.

In addition to possibly extending their home winning streak, the Tigers are also attempting to win their ninth straight regular season game against SEC competition. Clemson's last regular season loss to an SEC team came against Georgia in 2014.

In last year's game at College Station, Mond torched the Tigers' secondary for 430 yards. But if the Tigers are going to extend those impressive streaks, they must contain Mond.

"Well, he is big first of all," Swinney said. "He is a big kid, and he can really run. And especially if you watch him on his progression as a passer. Jimbo has done a great job with him. If you look at how the season went, I mean he can really throw the football. With a year under his belt with Jimbo, he is going to be very well coached.

"He is really going to own their system as opposed to last year where he played really great against us, but it was just his first or second game. Now he has a whole year under his belt. He is an excellent leader. I think he is a very smart player. He has great instincts for the game. But just his size, his skillset and his ability to beat you both running and passing is a challenge.”

According to Swinney, a game like the Tigers will play Saturday is the reason that players come to a school like Clemson. He said the game will be "big boy" football with the nation watching.

"We've only got one game for this year," he said. "Looking at the people they've got back, their secondary is great. Their corners are long. It's a big boy matchup on the edges. Their defensive coordinator does a great job schematically. We have a long history with him from his time at Wake (Forest). They're big up front. They have recruited very well. They have a lot to work with and they are well-coached. (They have) a lot of speed on the perimeter. They're going to be a handful."

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