Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence and running back Travis Etienne constitute the premier backfield combination in college football.
Lawrence, the young, uber-talented passer, and Etienne, the incredibly productive rusher, are a tough duo to stop and were huge parts of the Tigers' national title run.
But they also struggled to fill up the box score when the Tigers traveled to Texas A&M last season, a 28-26 victory that was the closest game Clemson played all year. At least one reason? The Aggies' defensive line more than held its own against Clemson's offensive line, and it will be that matchup that dictates how Saturday's rematch in Death Valley (3:30 p.m. ET on ABC) plays out.
"They're big up front," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "[Nos.] 52 and 5 are mountain of men."
The "52" Swinney referenced is 6-foot-3, 304-pound defensive tackle Justin Madubuike, and No. 5 is 6-4, probably-more-than-325-pound super sophomore Bobby Brown III. They stand at the heart of a run defense that should be stellar again after a top-10 finish nationally in 2018.
The Aggies held Texas State to a mere 8 rushing yards last week. Madubuike checks in at 82 and Brown 76 in the PlayStation Player Impact Ratings.
They will go up against Clemson's stout, veteran interior offensive line: guards Gage Cervenka (99 rating) and John Simpson (89) and center Sean Pollard (51).
Cervenka, who can bench 225 pounds 44 times and can squat 600+ with apparent ease, is an invaluable member of this group. Lawrence's and Etienne's production jumped significantly last season when Cervenka was in the game (he played all 15 games but started only eight).
In the Tigers' 52-14 win over Georgia Tech last week, Cervenka & Co. paved the way for a monstrous 411-yard rushing day. The line also allowed zero quarterback sacks.
Last season, Etienne -- who has an impact rating of 92 and has surpassed 100 rushing yards eight times -- managed only 44 on eight carries against the Aggies, and one of those was a 28-yarder, meaning he gained just 16 yards on the other seven carries.
In fairness to Lawrence, a true freshman at the time making only his second career appearance, he wasn't even the starter (now-Missouri QB Kelly Bryant was). Like Etienne, he had one big play -- a 64-yard touchdown pass to Tee Higgins in the second quarter -- but was otherwise ineffective, going 4-for-8 for 29 yards on the rest of his passes.
Both have improved since then -- Lawrence (97 rating) by leaps and bounds, as evidenced by how he performed against Alabama in last year's title game -- so this is not the same backfield that played at Kyle Field last September. The same goes for the Aggies' defensive front, which saw three seniors depart but has reloaded with Brown stepping into a bigger role and defensive ends Tyree Johnson, Michael Clemons and freshman DeMarvin Leal emerging.
A fascinating aspect of this matchup is the fact that two of the key players, Clemson's Cervenka and A&M's Brown, did not play big roles in last year's game. Cervenka told reporters this week that he played just one snap against the Aggies a year ago, while Brown, then a true freshman, played but did not register a tackle.
Madubuike, however, was starting and picked up a sack in the game. The 2019 preseason All-SEC pick was a consistent force when on the field last year and has 14 tackles for loss in 27 career games (only 13 of which were starts).
If the No. 12 Aggies are going to have a shot at pulling off the upset at No. 1 Clemson, they'll have to limit the run the way they did a year ago and get after Lawrence. It all starts in the trenches.
"I'm pretty sure we'll go back and learn from what we did last year," Brown told reporters this week, "but I don't think we'll sit in the past and just dwell on it."