Daily Skiff

The Horned Frogs face off Saturday against the Clemson University Tigers in Clemson, S.C., and head football coach,Gary Patterson expects a good fight.

"(Clemson is) probably the most athletic team we've played since we played (University of) Oklahoma a year ago, so we have a lot of work to do," Patterson said.

TCU playing at Clemson presents a unique set of challenges, he said.

"The home team never gives it to you, so you've got to go play," Patterson said. "Clemson definitely doesn't do that. They play very well at home."

Death Valley, the Tigers home stadium, is a very loud place to play, Patterson said.

Junior wide receiver Bart Johnson agreed that playing away against Clemson would be difficult because of the stadium's loud nature and the home crowd.

"I hear Death Valley ... is a really loud place to play. We're going to have to do a lot of silent snap counts, a lot of stuff like that," Johnson said.

Johnson added that the Horned Frogs need to utilize more hand signals in this game to overcome the volume of the crowd and the stadium.

Clemson, an Atlantic Coast Conference team, sits with a 2-1 record this season, with victories over Middle Tennessee State University and Boston College. They lost to Georgia Tech University.

Both of their wins took place at home.

"Offensively, they have some weapons," Patterson said.

According to the Tigers' official Web site, senior C.J. Spiller, running back for the Tigers, leads Clemson's offense in rushing yards with a net of 176 so far this season.

Spiller also leads Clemson in all-purpose yards with 630 and a total of three touchdowns, according to the site.

As for the defense, Patterson said the Tigers are very aggressive.

They are also very strong on special teams and have returned both kickoff and punt returns for touchdowns this season, Patterson said.

Patterson said the key for the Frogs is to continue gaining confidence as the season progresses.

While Clemson presents a challenge, Johnson said he remains excited for the upcoming game.

"You dream about this your whole life, playing in places like this in front of a big crowd," Johnson said.

"Everybody loves to coach in these kind of games, everybody likes to play in these kind of games," Patterson said.

Patterson said the Frogs plan to take this team seriously, but will go into the game with level heads.

"You get ready for the game you are supposed to win, and the big games take care of themselves," Patterson said. "For us, we are gonna go in and play hard. We don't need to put any more emphasis on the game than what it is."

While the game will not be televised, the university is showing it in the Daniel-Meyer Coliseum on a videoboard. Kickoff is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday.

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