SEC Round-Up: Texas A&M's mountain to climb against Clemson

In May of 1953, Sir Edmund Hillary, a New Zealand explorer, accomplished a task few believed possible.

He and his Nepalese Sherpa, Tenzing Norgay, were the first to climb to the summit of Mount Everest.

When asked how he managed to overcome such a massive obstacle, Hillary answered: “It is not the mountain we conquer, but ourselves.”

That would seem to support the theory that the mental aspect of sports is more vital to success than the physical.

Or as New York Yankees legend Yogi Berra famously put it: “Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical.”

The point is: mental toughness and confidence mean as much — if not more — than physical ability.

The Aggies would be wise to dismiss Berra’s mathematics but adopt Hillary’s mindset. 

Like Hillary, Texas A&M faces an incredible obstacle on Saturday when they face No. 1 ranked and reigning national champion Clemson, winners of their last 16 consecutive college football games.

But unlike Hillary, at least the Aggies can glean encouragement from the fact that past A&M teams have conquered similar obstacles.

Jason McConnell, Aggieland Illustrated

Ryan Swope is no stranger to upsetting defending national champions. In 2012, he and the Aggies upended Alabama 29-24 in Tuscaloosa.

Three times since 1998 the Aggies have defeated defending national champions. They toppled Nebraska in 1998, Texas in 2006 and Alabama in 2012.

Star players said the source of those upsets was a strong feeling of confidence that grew throughout that week of practice.

“We were silently confident,” said receiver Ryan Swope, who caught 11 passes from Johnny Manziel for 111 yards and a touchdown in a 29-24 victory over Alabama. ”I think we knew we could go in there and do something no one else thought we could do.

“We knew we had the capability and the talent on that team to go in and really shock the world. We just had to execute. Sure enough, we did it. It was a fun night.”

Quarterback Stephen McGee had a similarly fun day in Austin in 2006. He passed for 58 yards and rushed for 95, including a game-winning 8-yard touchdown with 2:32 remaining to lift the Aggies over Texas, 12-7.

The Aggies had lost three games that season by a combined six points. They entered the game against Texas coming off back-to-back one-point losses to Oklahoma and Nebraska, so they knew they were capable of pulling off an upset.

“The team just had a mentality of ‘Our backs are against the wall. We have nothing to lose. Let’s just go out and do what we do,’” McGee recalled. “As the game progressed on, we realized we can go toe-to-toe with these guys. There’s that moment at the end where everybody in our huddle knew we were going to win. There’s that confidence. You just kind of feel it. It’s not really spoken, but you really feel we’re the better football team today. We weren’t supposed to win on paper, but we were out there getting it done.”

The Aggies also were not expected to do much against Nebraska in 1998, either. The defending champion Cornhuskers brought a 19-game winning steak to Kyle Field but left with a 28-21 loss as A&M’s Jamar Toombs rushed for 110 yards on just ten carries.

Receiver Chris Taylor, who caught an 81-yard touchdown pass from Randy McCown for A&M’s first score, said the Aggies had been eager to play Nebraska since losing to the Cornhuskers, 54-15, in the 1997 Big 12 Championship game.

“We wanted to go out and show we were a much better team than we had showed the year before,” Taylor said. “I don’t want to say the focus was different. We approached each game the same. We knew we were a good football team. It was just a matter of putting it all together.

“I think that week, we bounced around and had really, really good preparation. When we went out on Saturday, we had confidence. We knew we had put the work in, and it was just a matter of executing the game plan.”

Four years later, the Aggies accomplished a similar feat. Oklahoma was not the defending national champion, but the Sooners were ranked No. 1 when they visited Kyle Field.

The Aggies trailed 13-0 early, but freshman Reggie McNeal came off the bench to throw four touchdown passes — two to Terrence Murphy — as A&M prevailed 30-26.

As a sophomore, Murphy was not a team leader, but he tried to assume that role in practice.

“We had more of a mindset that we’re just going to play fearless,” Murphy said. “I kept telling (teammates) ‘We’re going to shock the world.’ Coach (R.C.) Slocum brought a different mindset, too.

“Even though we did all that talking, we were still down 13-0. But then I was able to make a play on a seam route, Reggie threw a laser, and I scored a 60-yard touchdown. I was telling everybody ‘Did I not tell you all week we can beat these guys?’”

A&M hopes to shock the world again at Clemson. The Tigers are 17.5-point favorites and have won 11 straight by at least 20 points.

Quarterback Trevor Lawrence is a Heisman contender. Running back Travis Etienne is, too. Receivers Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross are big-play threats. Four of the five offensive linemen were named to the All-Atlantic Coast Conference preseason teams. The defense is fast and athletic.

Rey Romo, TexAgs

Kellen Mond had a breakout performance against Clemson in 2018. This year, the Aggies will again need stars to emerge should they have any hope to pull off the upset.

Of course, the Aggies have star players, too. Quarterback Kellen Mond, who passed for 430 yards against Clemson last season, has emerged as a star and team leader.

However, Murphy said A&M would likely need another role player or two to emerges as stars for the Aggies to again shock the nation.

“Who’s going to be that guy to step up?” Murphy asked. “Is it going to be Quatney Davis? Buddy Johnson? You need one or two guys not seen as leaders to step up and make the play and say we can beat these guys.”

Junior guard Jared Hocker has already stepped up and proclaimed the Aggies would defeat Clemson. While some may wince at that, Murphy said he likes Hocker’s bold statement — under one condition.

“It was a ballsy statement. From a political standpoint, I’d like him not to say that,” Murphy said. “At the same time, I’m OK with it. It’s like a boxing match or any game: If you don’t go in thinking you’re going to win then don’t show up.

“Now, you personally better go out and play lights out. You can’t make that statement and go out missing blocks. You’ve got to have the best game of your career.”

Beating Clemson likely will take several players — maybe all of them — having the best game of their careers.

Still, the guys who have previously climbed that mountain know what it takes. They sense these Aggies can climb it, too.

“They’ve got a good football team. They’ve got some play-makers,” Taylor said. “I think their attitude is to string together one play after another, one series at a time.

“Nobody is unbeatable. Clemson is a good football team. I think our guys are a good football team, too. It’s just a matter of executing the game plan, don’t do more than you’re supposed to do, trust your teammate, and do your job.”

McGee agreed. He also offered an analogy from Berra’s sport.

“What does A&M have to lose here?” McGee said. “I think everyone expects you to lose the game. You’re talented enough to win the football game. You can line up with them and compete with them. At most positions, our guys are almost as good as their guys, if not better.

“I think what’s going through (the Aggies’) minds right now is ‘let’s go up to bat, swing for it and make it happen.’”

Around the SEC...

Who’s hot: Dating back to last season Alabama receiver Jerry Jeudy has caught a touchdown pass in each of the Tide’s last five games. Last week, he caught a 21-yard score vs. Duke. He closed last season with a 62-yarder against Clemson, a 13-yard score vs. Oklahoma, a 10-yard score vs. Georgia and a touchdown of 46-yards against Auburn. … Also, Florida’s pass rush has generated 20 sacks in its last three games, including 10 in a season-opening victory over Miami. … Finally, Texas A&M quarterback Kellen Mond has thrown 15 touchdown passes in his last five games. He’s had at least three touchdown passes in three of those games.

Who’s not: The SEC East Division is quite frosty, actually. Sure, Georgia won. That’s expected. But who knew Florida’s lackluster opening victory over Miami would reinforce the Gators as the second-best team in the division? That’s after Missouri was upset at Wyoming, South Carolina blew a 10-point lead to North Carolina, and Tennessee fell — at HOME — to Georgia Freaking State. Fortunately, Kentucky rallied from a 14-7 deficit to get by Toledo, 38-14. Still, four SEC East teams lost their opening game. At least Vanderbilt could blame its loss on facing Georgia.

Keep an eye on: Not only did South Carolina lose to North Carolina, but the Gamecocks also lost starting quarterback Jake Bentley indefinitely to a foot injury. He’s expected to miss six to eight weeks, if not more. Enter true freshman Ryan Hilinski. He’ll be working behind an offensive line that allowed three sacks and frequently allowed Bentley to be pressured. Hilinski participated in spring practice with the Gamecocks, so that’s a plus. But if he doesn’t prove to be a prodigy, South Carolina could be in for a difficult year. They might even be in for a difficult day against Charleston Southern.

The pressure is on: Saturday’s Knoxville forecast calls for a high of 87 degrees. The temperature around Tennessee coach Jeremy Pruitt figures to be much hotter. Pruitt is suddenly under intense pressure after the Volunteers’ inexplicable loss to Georgia State, a Sun Belt Conference team that finished 2-10 a year ago. There are already calls for Pruitt’s ouster. Those calls may be heeded should the Volunteers lose to BYU, which is a distinct possibility. The Vols couldn’t stop the run against Georgia State. There’s little reason to think they will against BYU, which last week was at least competitive for three quarters against No. 13 Utah.

Best matchup: Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger is a solid passer who threw for 276 yards and four touchdowns in an opening victory over Louisiana Tech. But the only thing Louisiana Tech and LSU have in common is the state in which they reside. Ehlinger and Texas’ group of receivers, led by Collin Johnson, face a severe test against the LSU secondary. LSU likes to refer to itself as DBU (defensive backs university), and coach Ed Orgeron has stated this year’s Tigers’ secondary is the best he’s ever coached. All-American safety Grant Delpit and Co. certainly will make Ehlinger earn whatever yardage he gets.