I think they are...

Somehow, New Offensive Coordinator vs. D that just shutout Urban Meyer doesn't sound like a good formula for success

The good news is that their D is freaking legendary, and they have a punter that can lock you down on starting field position

How long can the Alabama D keep Watson and Co. out of scoring range? That's what this game will be about

The Alabama offense will be lucky to score a touchdown....

This is Dabo's chance right here, it's Clemson's hour

(01-03-2017 10:33 AM)EvilVodka Wrote:  I think they are...

Somehow, New Offensive Coordinator vs. D that just shutout Urban Meyer doesn't sound like a good formula for success

The good news is that their D is freaking legendary, and they have a punter that can lock you down on starting field position

How long can the Alabama D keep Watson and Co. out of scoring range? That's what this game will be about

The Alabama offense will be lucky to score a touchdown....

This is Dabo's chance right here, it's Clemson's hour

Alabama might not have any drop off at all on offense. New Offensive Coordinator has been working for Alabama all season.

(01-03-2017 10:33 AM)EvilVodka Wrote:  I think they are...

Somehow, New Offensive Coordinator vs. D that just shutout Urban Meyer doesn't sound like a good formula for success

The good news is that their D is freaking legendary, and they have a punter that can lock you down on starting field position

How long can the Alabama D keep Watson and Co. out of scoring range? That's what this game will be about

The Alabama offense will be lucky to score a touchdown....

This is Dabo's chance right here, it's Clemson's hour

Poor corndog. All Bama. All the time

It also might have something to do with tendency's and rhythm. Clemson is very familiar with how Kiffin would call plays. They aren't with Sark.

(01-03-2017 10:39 AM)ValleyBoy Wrote:  

(01-03-2017 10:33 AM)EvilVodka Wrote:  I think they are...

Somehow, New Offensive Coordinator vs. D that just shutout Urban Meyer doesn't sound like a good formula for success

The good news is that their D is freaking legendary, and they have a punter that can lock you down on starting field position

How long can the Alabama D keep Watson and Co. out of scoring range? That's what this game will be about

The Alabama offense will be lucky to score a touchdown....

This is Dabo's chance right here, it's Clemson's hour

Alabama might not have any drop off at all on offense. New Offensive Coordinator has been working for Alabama all season.

And their offense really isn't that complicated. It depends on their 5 big uglies. Or maybe 15. They have depth.

(01-03-2017 10:45 AM)hawghiggs Wrote:  It also might have something to do with tendency's and rhythm. Clemson is very familiar with how Kiffin would call plays. They aren't with Sark.

you know who else isn't familiar with how Sark would call plays? the Alabama players lol

This is a major F-up by Saban IMO....he should have had Sarkisian making the plays in the semifinal, so at least they'd have a chance to fine tune anything

I think Bama's offense comes out, drives the field the first drive and scores, Clemson makes adjustments, and shuts out Bama's offense the rest of the way....

you don't see Saban ever really make mistakes with staff, so you're feeding a piece of meat to a defense that completely shutdown J.T. Barrett and offensive guru Urban Meyer

Watson and Williams will have their hands full with the Tide defense which is better than that of Clemson. I agree that the Clemson offense is a little bit better than that of Alabama. I expect another game like the last time they met. It will come down to a few plays.

One should not be overwrought with the destruction of Ohio State. The same thing has happened to Big 10 champs in the past on those years when they faced teams with superior athletes. Clemson's line (both OL & DL) overwhelmed that of the Buckeyes. They will be up against equal size and speed against Alabama.

Remember this is the same Alabama team that beat Southern Cal by 50 to start the year. The same So. Cal that laid 52 on Penn State yesterday.

The Big 10 elite were spruced up by Purdue, Rutgers, Maryland, Indiana, Michigan State, and games to start the season against a weaker than normal PAC schedule. It wasn't their fault or plan but they entered the bowl season with a false sense of security since nobody was quite sure how weak the PAC was, or how strong the top of the Big 10 really was.

I think the end result will be that the top team in the SEC and ACC are about on equal footing. The middle of the ACC was larger and as strong as the middle of the SEC and the bottom of the ACC was stronger than that of the SEC this year.

I think the top of the Big 12 was slightly lower than the top of the Big 10, but that the conference as a whole was as strong top to bottom as either the ACC or SEC.

And I think the Big 10 top was slightly stronger than the PAC but that the PAC middle was larger and stronger than the Big 10's.

I also think Penn State should have played Clemson. Ohio State was like Auburn on steroids. They had a really good ground game but were 1 dimensional and reasonably strong on defense. But when faced with a stronger defense that 1 dimensional ability was overwhelmed and the running game stymied by predictability. Just like Auburn's was in the 2nd half last night. If you can't pass 8 in the box can shut down the best of running attacks. Clemson had no fear of Barrett throwing the ball against corners and safeties that were comfortable with 1 on 1 coverage. Ohio State was screwed right there!

I wouldn't be surprised if the Alabama / Clemson winner scores only 17 or a tad fewer.

Oh - I thought this was going to be a thread on all the illegal payoffs Alabama does to it's players.

This last-second offensive shakeup could very well cost Alabama. Saban is a genius, if he wins this game he surpasses Bear Bryant as the greatest coach of the poll era, but like Belicheat, he's a deliberate genius. He's not fast on his feet, he carefully plots out the chessboard over the course of a season and builds strategic momentum, and if something happens to disrupt that, it takes awhile for him to adjust, kind of like trying to turn around an oil tanker.

The one reason I think Alabama wins anyway is that Clemson, IMO, just isn't as good as they were last year. Last year's Clemson team wins this game, this year's doesn't.

(01-03-2017 11:41 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  This last-second offensive shakeup could very well cost Alabama. Saban is a genius, if he wins this game he surpasses Bear Bryant as the greatest coach of the poll era, but like Belicheat, he's a deliberate genius. He's not fast on his feet, he carefully plots out the chessboard over the course of a season and builds strategic momentum, and if something happens to disrupt that, it takes awhile for him to adjust, kind of like trying to turn around an oil tanker.

The one reason I think Alabama wins anyway is that Clemson, IMO, just isn't as good as they were last year. Last year's Clemson team wins this game, this year's doesn't.

Kiffin's a boat rocker. Not what Saban wants. Surprised he did it on such short notice. Think it was the tweets knocking Tuscaloosa that pushed him over the edge.

(01-03-2017 11:03 AM)JRsec Wrote:  Watson and Williams will have their hands full with the Tide defense which is better than that of Clemson. I agree that the Clemson offense is a little bit better than that of Alabama. I expect another game like the last time they met. It will come down to a few plays.

One should not be overwrought with the destruction of Ohio State. The same thing has happened to Big 10 champs in the past on those years when they faced teams with superior athletes. Clemson's line (both OL & DL) overwhelmed that of the Buckeyes. They will be up against equal size and speed against Alabama.

I think the difference this year is that Clemson has some veterans on offense, and the National Championship isn't new this year...

Usually Alabama squeezes and suffocates offenses, eventually holding them to 3 and outs and winning field position....

This Clemson team is the ONLY team I can recall that might actually be able to flip that script...by shutting down the Bama offense and keeping that Stud Bama D on the field

We've got future NFLers on both sides of the ball all over the place...it's going to be fun to watch

(01-03-2017 11:41 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  This last-second offensive shakeup could very well cost Alabama. Saban is a genius, if he wins this game he surpasses Bear Bryant as the greatest coach of the poll era, but like Belicheat, he's a deliberate genius. He's not fast on his feet, he carefully plots out the chessboard over the course of a season and builds strategic momentum, and if something happens to disrupt that, it takes awhile for him to adjust, kind of like trying to turn around an oil tanker.

The one reason I think Alabama wins anyway is that Clemson, IMO, just isn't as good as they were last year. Last year's Clemson team wins this game, this year's doesn't.

Watson hasn't played as good as last year, that's for sure. He's thrown more picks as well...he had a couple picks against Ohio State. Still, they won 31-0.

Clemson plays sloppy at times too....but they've got athletes. They've got the athletes and the leadership at the key positions. Alabama's O is a little shaky at the moment. I just think circumstances have provided Clemson an opportunity to take down the giant

(01-03-2017 11:46 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-03-2017 11:41 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  This last-second offensive shakeup could very well cost Alabama. Saban is a genius, if he wins this game he surpasses Bear Bryant as the greatest coach of the poll era, but like Belicheat, he's a deliberate genius. He's not fast on his feet, he carefully plots out the chessboard over the course of a season and builds strategic momentum, and if something happens to disrupt that, it takes awhile for him to adjust, kind of like trying to turn around an oil tanker.

The one reason I think Alabama wins anyway is that Clemson, IMO, just isn't as good as they were last year. Last year's Clemson team wins this game, this year's doesn't.

Kiffin's a boat rocker. Not what Saban wants. Surprised he did it on such short notice. Think it was the tweets knocking Tuscaloosa that pushed him over the edge.

I think it was Kiffin doing FAU work and the poor offensive performance vs Washington that caused the change. Saban remembers last year's title game, where a one-foot-out-the-door DC arguably almost cost them the game vs Clemson because he didn't have Alabama's defense prepared for Watson et al.

It was no secret that Kiffin was interviewing coaches for his FAU staff just last week, as the UW game approached. IMO the lousy offensive performance just confirmed for Saban that this FAU work kept Kiffin from focusing on the offense for UW.

IMO, had Alabama scored 45 points and rolled up 500 yards against UW, the SI comments wouldn't have been a problem for Saban, not at least with regards to a coach who is leaving his staff in a week anyway.

(01-03-2017 11:55 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(01-03-2017 11:46 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-03-2017 11:41 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  This last-second offensive shakeup could very well cost Alabama. Saban is a genius, if he wins this game he surpasses Bear Bryant as the greatest coach of the poll era, but like Belicheat, he's a deliberate genius. He's not fast on his feet, he carefully plots out the chessboard over the course of a season and builds strategic momentum, and if something happens to disrupt that, it takes awhile for him to adjust, kind of like trying to turn around an oil tanker.

The one reason I think Alabama wins anyway is that Clemson, IMO, just isn't as good as they were last year. Last year's Clemson team wins this game, this year's doesn't.

Kiffin's a boat rocker. Not what Saban wants. Surprised he did it on such short notice. Think it was the tweets knocking Tuscaloosa that pushed him over the edge.

I think it was Kiffin doing FAU work and the poor offensive performance vs Washington that caused the change. Saban remembers last year's title game, where a one-foot-out-the-door DC almost cost them the game vs Clemson because he didn't have Alabama's defense prepared for Watson et al.

It was no secret that Kiffin was interviewing coaches for his FAU staff just last week, as the UW game approached. IMO the lousy offensive performance just confirmed for Saban that this FAU work kept Kiffin from focusing on the offense for UW.

IMO, had Alabama scored 45 points and rolled up 500 yards against UW, the SI comments wouldn't have been a problem for Saban, not at least with regards to a coach who is leaving his staff in a week anyway.

Kiffin is an undisciplined, spoiled brat, head case who only has a job because so many folks in the industry have respect and love for his daddy. He came to Alabama to be rehabilitated from his early failures.

I seriously doubt he's done any FAU work. What he was doing was thumbing his nose at Saban for hemming him in for a few years to stop his self destructive off field behavior patterns. Tuscaloosa is a relatively small and confined place, and Saban keeps all of his coaches on a tight leash. Lane hated all of it.

He's past 32. He isn't changing his ways. And, he will never be successful anywhere as a head coach because self discipline is a requirement of the job.

(01-03-2017 11:55 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(01-03-2017 11:46 AM)bullet Wrote:  

(01-03-2017 11:41 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  This last-second offensive shakeup could very well cost Alabama. Saban is a genius, if he wins this game he surpasses Bear Bryant as the greatest coach of the poll era, but like Belicheat, he's a deliberate genius. He's not fast on his feet, he carefully plots out the chessboard over the course of a season and builds strategic momentum, and if something happens to disrupt that, it takes awhile for him to adjust, kind of like trying to turn around an oil tanker.

The one reason I think Alabama wins anyway is that Clemson, IMO, just isn't as good as they were last year. Last year's Clemson team wins this game, this year's doesn't.

Kiffin's a boat rocker. Not what Saban wants. Surprised he did it on such short notice. Think it was the tweets knocking Tuscaloosa that pushed him over the edge.

I think it was Kiffin doing FAU work and the poor offensive performance vs Washington that caused the change. Saban remembers last year's title game, where a one-foot-out-the-door DC arguably almost cost them the game vs Clemson because he didn't have Alabama's defense prepared for Watson et al.

It was no secret that Kiffin was interviewing coaches for his FAU staff just last week, as the UW game approached. IMO the lousy offensive performance just confirmed for Saban that this FAU work kept Kiffin from focusing on the offense for UW.

IMO, had Alabama scored 45 points and rolled up 500 yards against UW, the SI comments wouldn't have been a problem for Saban, not at least with regards to a coach who is leaving his staff in a week anyway.

Saban likes running the ball...

To me, it was pretty obvious that Washington was having trouble stopping the run. That Husky D was fast, and could shut down Hurts and get to him in the backfield. But they didn't have the size to just close down Scarborough...

Alabama probably could have scored a lot more, and I agree that Saban saw that on Saturday

The problem is, now you've got a new guy in there a week before playing a D that just stomped Urban Meyer...Clemson's got athletes, they've got the size and speed, to shut down that Bama offense.

Hurts isn't Coker, Scarborough isn't Henry, and this year Clemson can keep an eye on OJ Howard and that onsides kick....It's going to be a harder going for Alabama on offense. They're going to have to ride that defense to the title, BUT....Defense does win championships, and this might be Saban's best yet....better than 2011? I don't know

(01-03-2017 11:16 AM)dbackjon Wrote:  Oh - I thought this was going to be a thread on all the illegal payoffs Alabama does to it's players.

There's an ongoing FBI probe and a good chance some of their major boosters visit Club Fed for using university system funds to pay off the governor's busty girlfriend, but they pay the players through a separate conduit.

(01-03-2017 10:39 AM)ValleyBoy Wrote:  

(01-03-2017 10:33 AM)EvilVodka Wrote:  I think they are...

Somehow, New Offensive Coordinator vs. D that just shutout Urban Meyer doesn't sound like a good formula for success

The good news is that their D is freaking legendary, and they have a punter that can lock you down on starting field position

How long can the Alabama D keep Watson and Co. out of scoring range? That's what this game will be about

The Alabama offense will be lucky to score a touchdown....

This is Dabo's chance right here, it's Clemson's hour

Alabama might not have any drop off at all on offense. New Offensive Coordinator has been working for Alabama all season.

He hasn't worked with the players all season.

Yup. Plus he only came on board in September. So wasn't there for spring ball. Wasn't there for two-a-days. May not have even been there for the first game. And he basically has to call Kiffin's offense, not his own, lest not to confuse the players.

Word is that some of the players complained to Saban about Lane.

While it may matter, this game is going to be very good. Clemson and Alabama are on fire. Viewers will be very pleased.