Texas A&M rolled into Clemson this weekend very confident in their chances of pulling off an upset and knocking off the top ranked Tigers. Instead, they came face to face with the cold, hard truth. It isn’t smart to poke the bear, and they poked at it all week, with one A&M player going as far as guaranteeing victory. There is a fine line between being confident and cocky, and the Aggies just got a refresher course in where that line is.
Brent Venables
It can’t be said enough, Brent Venables is the best at what he does. What we saw yesterday was a masterful gameplan. 3-2-6 dime looks. 3-3-5 nickel looks. Using safeties in place of corners in some instances. It was a thing of beauty to watch as it unfolded. Please, never leave us Jimmy Greenbeans..... Paws Up
Amari Rodgers
Welcome back! Just five months removed from surgery to repair a torn ACL, the Tigers wide receiver was back on the field, catching two passes in the process. Impressive..... Paws Up
Wide Receivers
Is there any doubt that this group of receivers have the best hands in the nation? That fact was on full display in Death Valley yesterday. Justyn Ross, Tee Higgins, and Amari Rodgers all had unbelievable catches on bad throws. Balls that most receivers would not have hauled in. On top of their pass catching abilities, these guys take pride in their abilities as downfield blockers in the running game..... Paws Up
Lyn-J Dixon
On a day where yards were hard to come by for starting RB Travis Etienne, Dixon helped pick up the slack by rushing for 79 yards and averaged over 7 yards per carry. He had a 4 yard TD run in the 3rd quarter that put the Tigers up 24-3. He also caught two balls out of the backfield. Dixon looks like a grown man as a sophomore, and should have a major impact on the running game this season..... Paws Up
Tackling
Just like last week, it feels a little “negative” to critique anything in such a dominating win, but if we’re picking one thing that stood out watching from the stands, it is that the tackling could still improve. There were some misses in the backfield and at least one badly missed tackle in the open field..... Paws Crossed
Texas A&M Fanbase
There were tons of Aggies scattered throughout The Valley on Saturday. A&M has some very unique traditions that are fun to watch. Their band put on a very impressive halftime show. The thing that stood out the most though, was how much of a pleasure it was to interact with them..... Paws Up
And in other action across the country.....
Syracuse
Talk about getting caught with your pants down. With a first time ever visit from GameDay on the line, the Orange traveled to College Park only to get demolished by the Terps 63-20. Maryland accumulated 650 total yards, 354 of those on the ground, against what was supposed to be a pretty good Syracuse defense. It was 21-7 after the 1st and 42-13 at the half. This wasn’t a case of just looking ahead to next weeks matchup with Clemson, this was a Syracuse team being exposed as overrated..... Paws Down
Michigan
The Fightin’ Harbaughs needed double-overtime to knock off a pesky Army team 24-21. The Black Knights came into The Big House as more than 20-point underdogs and almost pulled off the upset. Michigan didn’t lead in this one until the second OT, and kept shooting themsleves in the foot with untimely penalties, turnovers, and by failing to convert on 4th down twice. It has been a shaky start to the season for the Wolverines despite being 2-0. They have a matchup with Wisconsin coming up in two weeks, and need to use this bye week to get some things cleaned up..... Paws Crossed
Florida State
After getting beat at home by Boise St last weekend, UL-Monroe came to town this weekend in a game in which the Noles were hoping to get things back on track. Instead, FSU needed a missed PAT in overtime to escape with a 45-44 win. Just like last week, the Seminoles led comfortably at the half, this time 24-7. James Blackmon threw a pick 6 about midway through the 3rd and that set the stage for a Warhawks comeback. The FSU defense gave up over 400 yards, with 178 of those coming on the ground. Willie Taggart’s chair is getting hotter with each passing week..... Paws Down
Tennessee
The Vols got embarrassed at home last week against Georgia State, and this week were hoping to rebound with BYU coming to town. It wasn’t to be however, as the Cougars knocked off Tennessee 29-26 in double overtime. The Vols are 0-2 for the first time since 1998 and are just 6-16 over their last 22 games. Good Ole Rocky Top, where Tennessee always gets beat..... Paws Way Down
That’s all we have for this week. Let us know some of your reactions to the weekend in the comments.