COLLEGE STATION -- Texas A&M football will face off against the defending national champion Clemson Tigers on the road this Saturday afternoon. 

If you think anyone on the Aggies roster is afraid of the challenge of playing against the newest member of college football royalty, think again. 

“What you did yesterday doesn’t matter to me,” defensive lineman Bobby Brown said. “Congratulations to Clemson, I’m glad you got a championship for all your hard work, but everybody gotta line up and play the same game.” 

Clemson became the first team in the College Football Playoff era to finish undefeated and win the national championship. In the process, the program won their second title in three years. Out of the Tigers’ 15 wins, 13 were by three touchdowns or more. That includes wins over No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 1 Alabama by a combined 55 points. 

One of the two close calls came against Syracuse because starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence missed half the game. The other? A 28-26 dogfight against Texas A&M at Kyle Field a year ago. 

After going down 21-6 halfway through the third quarter, Texas A&M came to life. The Aggies went on touchdown drives of 78 and 75 yards to cut the lead to 28-20. With 2:13 remaining, Quartney Davis caught a 25-yard pass and nearly scored a touchdown. He fumbled the ball through the back of the end zone, which resulted in a touchback and Clemson ball (arguably the worst rule in football). The Aggies then forced a three-and-out, and scored another touchdown just 26 seconds later to set up a two-point conversion to tie the game. 

Mond threw an interception on the conversion. Texas A&M failed on the onside kick. Clemson let the clock run out. Clemson survived. Texas A&M was left to wonder what could have been. 

“We should have won,” Brown said. “We had numerous opportunities to win. It was just the little thing...kudos to Clemson for winning, but I didn’t really like Clemson won. I feel like we lost.” 

The Tigers haven’t lost at home since Nov. 12, 2016, a streak of 16 straight games. Before that, the Tigers were spotless since Oct. 19, 2013. That loss was to Jimbo Fisher and the Florida State Seminoles, who went on to win the national championship. That's it. Two home losses in six years. 

“We let it slip last year,” linebacker Buddy Johnson said. “This will be a good opportunity for us to see where we’re at and see where our identity is and see how our season is going to be.”

Clemson hasn’t lost a regular season nonconference game of any kind since Aug. 30, 2014, on the road against Georgia. It doesn’t really matter to the Aggies. One player even made the guarantee. 

“There will be an upset,” Texas A&M offensive lineman Jared Hocker told reporters with a smile. 

While the players are motivated to come out and finish the job, Texas A&M coach Jimbo Fisher is focused more on preparation. Just because the Aggies played well a season ago doesn’t really mean anything. 

“It’s two different teams, two different environments and you have to play the game again,” Fisher said. “Last year, it was one of the great games in college football and they made one more play than we did. So hopefully we can go there and make one more play than they do. But you also have to understand that both teams are different and you have to go out and play the game.” 

While Fisher appreciates Hocker’s confidence in his team, he doesn’t like the talk. 

“All the great teams, they don’t look everywhere for external motivation,” Fisher said. “You got to have it within yourself. You are who you are in what you do each day. If you’re only motivated when you play certain people, you’re never going to win a championship.

“How do certain golfers play better in majors than others? Why does Tom Brady play great in big games? It’s all about himself. Why does Michael Jordan play great? I know that’s hard to grasp, but it’s all big games. The only way you’re going to get better is look at yourself in the mirror and get better.” 

Texas A&M travels to face off against the Clemson Tigers at 2:30 p.m. CT at Clemson Memorial Stadium in Clemson, S.C. The game will be broadcast live on ABC.