Great points, and let me try to address some of them here...
Probably the biggest disappointment for me one season ago was Clemson's run production vs. the better defensive front sevens they faced. There's no denying that my Tigers had very little success vs. the more physical teams on their schedule. The one thing that does provide me some encouragement as we head into the Bama game, is the youthfulness and inexperience of the Tide linebacker corps. As previously discussed Clemson is loaded with skill talent, and poor angles, over pursuit, or out of position play from that young linbacking corps could result in big plays for the Tiger offense, especially with a guy like Spiller who is a threat to take it the distance on any play. I expect OC Rob Spence to take advantage of misdirections, slip screens, and utilizing his backs out of the backfield to negate some of the upfield penetration that will come as result of Bama surely stacking the box. I have enough faith in this Clemson skill personnel to at least do some damage in the open field vs. a young middle of the defense for the Tide. It's not that I expect Clemson to move the ball relentlessly against the Bama Defense, however given enough opportunities, I think its reasonable to expect some damage to result.
As for the condition of the team, I think this point is negligable. I can honestly say that after following Clemson for two decades, this is the deepest and most talented team since the 1991 season. Coicendentally the last time Clemson managed to win the conference. Aside from the LB corps and OL, Clemson is light years ahead of where they were just a few seasons ago in regards to skilled depth. I don't think conditioning will factor into the equation for either team. I trust that Bama is equally as well conditioned as my Tigers.
In regards to Saban. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Coach Saban, especially given his defensive coaching resume. However with the exception of BC a year ago, Clemson has generally shown well in big game situations/stages. Their issue has not been performing vs. ranked opponents, but rather slipping against lesser opponents that they clearly should beat.
I'm certainly curious as to your thoughts on the Bama offense vs. the Clemson defense. I will break down the defense for the Tigers a bit later, but I'll be honest this where I see Clemson as having the biggest advantage. Given JPW's tendacy to make some critical mistakes, given the youthfullness of Bama's receiving corps, and given the experience and talent returning to the Clemson defense, I just can't see Bama having a great deal of success offensiviely. It's this area that helps me to lean towards Clemson actually covering as I see a 24-14 kind of game. In brief, Clemson returns seven starters from a top 10 unit a year ago, and Phil Steele predicts them to finish second nationally in total defense to OSU this season. Again, I'll go over the personnel on that side of the ball when I have a bit more time.
Let's keep the discussion going...
brohead