Field Level Media
Sep 7, 2019
Quarterback Trevor Lawrence passed for one touchdown and ran for another as No. 1 Clemson rolled past No. 12 Texas A&M 24-10 on Saturday in Clemson, S.C.
The victory was the 17th in a row for Clemson (2-0), matching the longest winning streak in program history. The Tigers haven't lost since a 24-6 defeat to Alabama in a College Football Playoff semifinal game in the 2017 season.
It also was the 17th straight victory at Memorial Stadium for the defending national champions, ranking as the second-longest home winning streak in school history.
The Tigers have won nine of their 10 games against Southeastern Conference opponents since the start of the 2016 season.
Texas A&M (1-1), which lost to Clemson 28-26 last season in what was the Tigers' closest game of the year, got off to a solid start. The Aggies led 3-0 after a 32-yard field goal by Seth Small that capped a 16-play, 48-yard drive that consumed more than 7 1/2 minutes and included a fourth-down and two third-down conversions.
But that score by the Aggies appeared to awaken the Clemson offense, which responded by driving 82 yards in nine plays to take a lead it would never relinquish. Lawrence rolled left while under pressure and threw a 30-yard pass to sophomore wide receiver Justyn Ross for the touchdown with 10:52 left in the first half.
The Tigers proceeded to score on their next two possessions as well, getting a 29-yard field goal from B.T. Potter with 4:57 left in the half and a 1-yard scoring run from Lawrence to cap an 89-yard drive 33 seconds before the half for a 17-3 lead.
Clemson pushed its advantage to 24-3 late in the third quarter on a 4-yard run by second-team running back Lyn-J Dixon, who led the Tigers with 79 yards rushing on 11 carries.
Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond, who passed for 430 yards and three touchdowns against Clemson last season, struggled for much of the day against an improved Clemson secondary. He completed 24 of 42 passes for 236 yards, with his lone touchdown coming on a 2-yard pass to tight end Jalen Wydermyer with six seconds left.
The Aggies managed just 289 total yards, including 53 rushing -- an average of 2.0 per carry. Clemson had 389 yards of offense.
--Field Level Media