Tennessee football: Vols, SEC, top 25 predictions for Week Two of 2019
No. 12 Texas A&M Aggies at No. 1 Clemson Tigers
TV: ABC; Line: Clemson -17.5; Over/Under: 64
Saturday, Sept. 7 at 3:30 p.m. E.T.; Memorial Stadium; Clemson, S.C.
Arguably the game of the week, two teams who opened the season with Thursday night blowout wins will face each other. Last year, the Clemson Tigers needed to stop the Texas A&M Aggies on a two-point conversion to get the win. It was shocking later in the year as they blew out the Alabama Crimson Tide for the national title.
Dabo Swinney’s team is obviously back with Trevor Lawrence and looking to repeat. And they get this rematch back in South Carolina with that blowout now on their resume, so the hype behind Clemson is much greater. Even with Lawrence struggling against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, expectations are still for him to take off.
Meanwhile, the Aggies were a typical first-year team under a superstar coach Jimbo Fisher last year. But now Fisher is looking to prove that his program is ready to compete with the SEC East. They are certainly further along under him than Tennessee football is in its second year under Jeremy Pruitt. But this is a great game to gauge both team.
Prediction
Last year’s score was 28-26. Both teams return their star quarterbacks and seven starters overall on offense. They also both lost seven on defenses, and they are led by offensive minds. This means take the over. Finally, people are overreacting to Clemson’s title game blowout. A&M will keep this game interesting late in a shootout. Clemson wins another exciting one.