WHAT WE ARE HEARING: PREVIEW AND PREDICTION FOR NO.22 CLEMSON vs. APP STATE

Welcome to the home opener edition of What We Are Hearing!

The Tigers took one on the chin last week in Atlanta. It was anyone’s game at halftime but turned into a second-half “butt-kicking,” as Dabo put it. Nobody wants to begin a season that way, but that’s the risk you undertake when you schedule the best team in the nation over the last 3 years for your opener and give them a crowd advantage to boot. Dabo could have scheduled an easy blowout win like Alabama, Ohio State, Oklahoma and many others, and Clemson fans would be feeling great about the Tigers all week. Like I said after the game, step off the ledge because the Tigers will get better from this, and I still fully expect them to win the ACC and get a first-round bye in the playoff. The national media pounced on the opportunity to slam Clemson all week, but within the program, it’s a windshield mentality, and the team is ready to take out its frustration on App State as well as show the country how good they really are. It’s the “Chase Brice Bowl” in primetime in Death Valley! On to the matchup…

APP STATE SYNOPSIS

It was almost 2 years ago to the day when Clemson grad Chase Brice and App State stunned Texas A&M in College Station. Those who have followed college football closely over the last decade know that this App State program has been upsetting the big boys ever since its epic upset at No.4 Michigan as an FCS team in 2007. In fact, App has beaten a top-25 team for 3 straight seasons. However, the last time the Tigers played them in 2015, it was a 41-10 rout in Death Valley.

App State finished 9-5 last season with a 13-9 bowl win over Miami of Ohio and is coming off a 38-10 home win over ETSU last week. Offensively, it’s a zone-read team that heavily employs option principles, and that suits their quarterback’s skill set perfectly. 6’3, 220-pound senior Joey Aguilar completed 63.7 percent of his passes last season for 3,757 yards with 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. He also rushed for 249 yards and 3 TD’s. last week, he was 22-36 for 326 yards with no interceptions. He passed for two touchdowns and rushed for two.

Senior WR Christian Horn (#13) started the season with a bang last week with 2 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown. The 6’2, 190-pound native of Columbia, SC will be hyped for a shot at the Tigers in Death Valley. He’s a big-play receiver who’s scored 10 TD’s in the last 2 seasons with an average of about 17 yards per catch.

6’0, 200-pound junior Makai Jackson (#15) had just 2 catches for 24 yards last week, but he had a 47-yard touchdown run. He scored twice last season. Kaedin Robinson (#2), a 6’2, 205-pound senior slot receiver, had a big game last week with 8 catches for 103 yards. He also had a 13-yard run. He was their leading receiver last season with 906 yards and 10 TD catches. The Mountaineers also have a good tight end in 6’3, 240-pound Eli Wilson (#87). The senior from Piedmont, SC had 3 catches for 43 yards and a score last week and had 5 touchdown catches last season.

In the backfield is 6’0, 205-pound sophomore RB Kayne Roberts (#14). He only rushed for 35 yards on 9 carries last week, but as a redshirt freshman last season, he averaged 5.7 yards per carry with 7 touchdowns. He had 4 catches for 37 yards last week, so beware of him in the passing game as well. He will split carries with junior RB Anderson Castle (#1). The 6’0, 220-pound local product from Boone, NC rushed for just 28 yards on 9 carries last week, but he averaged 5.3 yards per rush last season. He also had 2 catches for 20 yards last week. Backup LG Jayden Ramsey (#63) is a redshirt junior from Anderson, and 6’4, 305-pound starting RG Thornton Gentry (#70) is from Chapin, SC.

Defensively, App will show an odd-man front with 3 down linemen. 6’6, 275-pound senior DE Michael Fletcher (#5) did not play last week but expects to play on Saturday. He had 4.5 sacks last season with a fumble recovery. 6’2, 230-pound junior LB Caden Sullivan (#26) is a Spartanburg native and has to be excited about this game. He had 7 tackles last week and 65 last season to go with a forced fumble and a sack. Fellow linebacker Nate Johnson (#90) is a big 6’5, 240-pound sophomore from Gaffney, so I’m sure he’s eager for this opportunity as well. He had a stellar freshman campaign last season with 7.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

On the back end, App State features 5 in the secondary, and at the star safety position is junior Charlotte native Avarion Cole (#11), who had 3 interceptions and a fumble recovery last season. Junior CB Jason Chambers (#6) is another Charlotte native who had 3 interceptions last season along with a forced fumble and recovery. Redshirt junior strong safety Jordan Favors (#7) did not play last week but will start on Saturday. The Georgia native had 4 interceptions and a forced fumble last season.

As for special teams, App has a solid senior kicker in Micheal Hughes. He was 19-22 las season with a long of 54. In fact, he made his only 2 attempts from over 50 yards last season. He made his only attempt last week from 32 yards. The sophomore punter, Mitchell Lake, averaged 39 yards on his 3 punts last week, which matched his average last season. His long as a freshman last year was 57 yards.

CLEMSON STATUS

One of the biggest positives to come out of Atlanta last week is that the Tigers came out of an extremely physical game healthy. Starting OG Marcus Tate was banged up but should start on Saturday. It’s hard to take much away from the Tigers’ offensive performance last week, scoring just 3 points against arguably the best defense in the nation. It was the fewest points they’ve scored since the last time they opened the season with Georgia in 2021, also scoring 3 points in that game. It was also the last two games in which the Tigers were shut out in the first half. The difference is that in 2021, the Tigers’ defense was outstanding for all 4 quarters, keeping the Georgia offense out of the end zone for the entire game. They did the same in the first half last week but ran out of gas after halftime with the offense unable to sustain any drives to give them a rest. The offense ran just 52 plays last week. Like I said last week, though, resist the urge to jump to conclusions after a first game against an elite defense. I believe that the offense will be fine. Many fans wanted to see heralded freshman receivers Bryant Wesco and TJ Moore, who each had a late catch, earlier in the game. However, I think you will see how talented and capable the Tigers’ veteran receivers are on Saturday night. Antonio Williams had a tremendous first half, and while Cole Turner struggled to get open last week, he is still the fastest player on this team. Dabo admitted that he would have liked to get Tyler Brown, a Freshman All-American last season, involved in the offense earlier, and we will likely see that on Saturday night. As for Wesco and Moore, don’t worry; their time is coming. They are still true freshmen and it will take some time for them to be ready for more playing time. Briningstool had a bad drop on the opening possession of the game last week but showcased his ability with a highlight-reel one-handed catch later in the game.

I can’t wait to see what the Tigers’ defense does on Saturday under the lights with the Death Valley crowd when they’re not gassed from being on the field for most of the game. Peter Woods played on the edge, ala Christian Wilkins as we anticipated, and he was unblockable at times against that stout UGA offensive line, producing the Tigers’ only sack. I was also impressed with Mickens and Lukus in the first half, although they had a couple bad plays in the second half. The Tigers have forced the most turnovers in the nation since 2018, but they didn’t come up with any last week against Georgia. The good news is that, unlike last season, they protected the football. They gave up one late interception on an incredible circus play by Georgia, but they didn’t put the ball on the ground once. Last season, the Tigers had the second-most fumbles in the nation, and App State was among the leaders in forced turnovers, so let’s hope the Tigers will protect the football again on Saturday night.

 PREDICTION

The Tigers have had to hear all week about the way they were manhandled by the Bulldogs in the second half last week, and I feel sorry for the predicament that App State is walking into. Not only is it the home opener for the Tigers, but it’s under the lights in Death Valley, and the Tigers have been waiting all week to redeem themselves. I expect Garrett Riley and the offense to show everyone what they are capable of and for the defense to be craving turnovers, sacks and a shutout. The line on the game is 17, and I think the Tigers cover. With FSU already losing twice in ACC play, the Tigers have everything in front of them for the taking. Let another win streak begin!

The Prowl toward another ACC Championship, College Football Playoff and fourth National Championship continues…

CLEMSON    41        App State    13