Texas A&M Football 50 in 50: Can the Aggies upset Clemson?

Texas A&M football is 43 days away, and in the days leading up to the Aggie opener we’re answering the 50 biggest questions for the 2018 season.

One of the most anticipated match ups early in the College Football season will be the Clemson TIgers traveling to Kyle Field to take on Texas A&M football. It will be a night game on ESPN and is definitely a candidate for the College Gameday crew to visit for the weekend.

It’s a big matchup for two very obvious reasons. The first being Clemson is one of the best teams in the country. There is a real possibility they come in at No. 1 in the preseason rankings — at the very least, they will get votes for the No. 1 spot.

They were supposed to be in a “rebuilding” year in 2017 and hauled off and made the College Football Playoff. They have a ton of returning talent from that squad, including dynamic quarterback Kelly Bryant and a defensive line that could all be taken in the first round of the draft next year.

The second reason is the Jimbo Fisher vs. Dabo Swinney head-to-head match up. The two coaches faced off eight times while Fisher was at Florida State (and Swinney at Clemson) and their record against each other was an even 4-4. However, Clemson won the last three.

So how can Texas A&M pull off the upset? Well, Jimbo being familiar with Clemson will certainly help. He will know how to prepare for them and know what game plan will have the best chance of success.

Even during Clemson’s recent run of three consecutive appearances in the College Football Playoff, they only went undefeated in the regular season once. They lost to Pitt at home in their championship season and lost to Syracuse on the road last year.

Neither one of those teams were ranked.

Clemson has no reason to fear any team, but they’ve also never been to an atmosphere quite like Kyle Field. The crowd is the best in college football. Thanks to this being a night game, and it being the first big test of the Fisher era they will be getting rowdy at the tailgate all day and will have that stadium as loud as humanly possible.

A&M may not be on the elite talent level of Clemson, but they are close. The Aggies have a host of returning talent themselves. At least 16 starters return from a year ago, with most of the losses being replaceable. Armani Watts and Christian Kirk are the two they will truly miss.

Fisher will get more out of this returning talent than Sumlin ever did. His offense is more equipped to compete with the elite teams in the country and if they have some success running the football, they could keep the score close and drain the clock.

The defense will be the key in this game, however. A&M returns eight starters from a year ago and six of their front seven. Clemson has an elite defense that will be very tough to score on. A&M will have to hold Clemson’s offense to around 20 points and they are more than capable.

Next: Will Jimbo Fisher end the November slide?

Keep the score close and keep the crowd into it under the bright lights of Kyle Field and anything is possible. I predict the Aggies pull off the major upset, 23-20.

Jeff Shull is the Site Expert for the Gig Em Gazette on FanSided. Follow him on Twitter, and be sure to follow the Gig Em Gazette on Facebook and Twitter.