Clemson trying to avoid last year’s pitfall

Clemson’s Jad Dean kicks a 42-yard winning field goal as Cole Chason holds the ball to defeat Texas A&M, 25-24. (AP Photo/Mary Ann Chastain) Defensive end Gaines Adams wants to revel in Clemson’s new top 25 ranking and big victory over then-No. 17 Texas A&M last Saturday night. But he can’t help thinking about last season, when improbable losses followed amazing wins.

‘‘We had a big win at Miami,’’ said Adams, recalling the Tigers’ 24-17 landmark victory at the Orange Bowl last November. ‘‘And then we came back the next week and lose to Duke.’’

As unbelievable as it sounds, Clemson did indeed fall to the Blue Devils, 16-13.

And for all the confidence the Tigers gained a week ago, Adams knows how quickly it could disappear with a flat effort Saturday at Maryland (1-0) in their Atlantic Coast Conference opener.

‘‘We can’t have that lazy mindframe after beating a ranked team ... and lose to an unranked team,’’ he said.

The Tigers (1-0) entered The Associated Press poll at No. 25, their first appearance since early last season. Clemson was No. 15 in the 2004 preseason poll and slid to 20th after a 37-30 victory over Wake Forest in overtime. The following week, the Tigers held a 10-point lead over Georgia Tech with about two minutes left.

But then Clemson gave up two touchdowns and fell to the Yellow Jackets, 28-24. The loss started a four-game slide.

These Tigers remember all too well the problems of a year ago.

‘‘The guys, they know the sense of urgency is there,’’ said Chansi Stuckey, who returned a punt for Clemson’s only touchdown. ‘‘We know we’ve got to forget about the A&M, not look ahead or behind, just concentrate on the game at hand.’’

Although Clemson hadn’t opened with a victory over a ranked team since beating North Carolina 20-18 in 1959, coach Tommy Bowden didn’t look at last week like his club proved itself.

‘‘That was a test against Texas A&M,’’ Bowden said. ‘‘The true test is when we can win a championship game.’’

Right now, Bowden says, he’s most interested ‘‘to see if we can solve the problems (against Texas A&M) and improve on those.’’

And there were problems.

Clemson needed a record-setting game from kicker Jad Dean — he made all six of his field goals, including a 42-yarder to win the game with 2 seconds left — and a steady, ground it out performance by the Tigers offense to overcome the Aggies.

Bowden said in pre-game planning with offensive coordinator Rob Spence and defensive coordinator Vic Koenning, he told them he could let Dean go with as much as a 57-yard field goal attempt. ‘‘A strong wind, I might go even more,’’ he said.

Several of those kicks came at the end of lengthy drives where Clemson could not bust it over the goal line. ‘‘I would be concerned after three or four games,’’ Bowden said of the lack of offensive touchdowns. ‘‘It is not a concern after one.’’

Stuckey, Clemson’s junior receiver, says the team has gained the poise and experience to execute at key moments. Look at how the defense, with the Tigers trailing 24-22, held Texas A&M to a three-and-out series. Then Clemson freshman tailback James Davis took over, gaining 33 of his team high 101 yards to give Dean a crack at the victory.

‘‘You could look at everybody’s eyes,’’ Stuckey said. ‘‘Nobody was nervous, nobody was like, ’Oh are we going to win.’ Everybody on the sidelines kind of knew that Jad was going to come through.’’

For their effort, Dean was named the ACC’s special team’s player of the week while Davis earned the conference’s rookie of the week honor.

Adams, Clemson’s defensive end, doesn’t want to hurt like he did after the Duke loss. ‘‘People talking bad about you and saying that you had a (lucky) game against Miami,’’ he said. ‘‘We play good against Maryland and hopefully, good things happen’’ this season.