By William Qualkinbush.

More than anyone else, Brent Venables understands the gravity of the challenge his Clemson defense faces as it prepares to duel with North Carolina on Saturday.

Fans and media can hardly remember what the Tar Heels looked like three seasons ago, when Butch Davis’ last team came into Death Valley and left with a stinging 59-38 defeat.

No coach at Clemson has matched wits with Fedora like Venables. The North Carolina head coach was at Oklahoma State as Mike Gundy’s offensive coordinator from 2005 to 2007, so he faced off against Venables—the former defensive coordinator for Oklahoma—in the annual Bedlam Game on three occasions.

The Sooners got the best of the Cowboys in each of those matchups, twice winning by more than 20 points. Based on his familiarity with the system, Venables has a proper understanding of the task at hand for his unit this week.

“They’ve got a great tempo, a good system. They know what they’re doing. They’re precise with what they’re doing, both running and throwing.

“You don’t have a whole lot of time to do anything. Hopefully, you can get your hand in the dirt and play some technique and put your eyes where they belong.”

Fedora’s background extends beyond Stillwater. He was also the first offensive coordinator for Urban Meyer at Florida, meaning he grasps the importance of using the quarterback in the running game. Venables says the stress of dealing with a mobile quarterback like Marquis Williams while still trying to contain the full width of the field can task his team if it lacks discipline.

“If it was a team that could just run with the quarterback, and they’re not really good at throwing it, then that would be a lot easier,” Venables said of stopping Williams. “But they’ve got excellent skill and a good system. They know how to distribute the football when you do certain things.”

Venables’ unit is coming off of a performance against top-ranked Florida State in which it dominated in every aspect of play. The veteran defensive play-caller refuses to dwell on that performance, however, saying he characterizes it “as a loss”.

By this point in the season, Venables has learned that his players are capable of making plays and carrying out their assignments in any environment—even against a team that stretches and tests a defense the way North Carolina can. He says it makes the job of a coordinator easier when the execution on the field can sometimes erase issues with a play call, instead of the coordinator constantly having to mask the flaws of his players.

“Sometimes you’re not going to be in a perfect call, but if guys are playing with awareness and they’re playing with incredible effort, you can cover up for some inevitable mistakes,” Venables said. “Sometimes you think you’re in the perfect call and sometimes it looks like that’s a great call, but really it’s just guys playing with great effort and good technique and being aware and having some good instincts too.”

The “it’s about Clemson” mantra has become old hat for the Clemson coaching staff, but against a familiar foe Venables has not seen in a number of years, he firmly believes in his team’s ability to carry out its task and lead the Tigers to a victory.

“Hopefully what you do, you just do it well,” he said. “It still comes down to fundamentals. You’re not going to line up and out-trick people.”