I realize everyone thinks Tua is the end all and be all but

It didn't matter if they trotted out Peyton Manning.

Saban n Co were content to run the play clock down, run, try fake FG's when Clemson was in that defense and other stuff.

Hurts is an okay QB, but not to lead a comeback of down 3 TD's. That isn't in his game at all.
 
wiseplayer said:
That happened on my side of the field and it made me wonder what the hell was going on with this play calling. Just terrible tonight
Click to expand...


I think it's time to let our coordinators that take HC jobs to go ahead and be full time at their new school. I think it's too hard for them and it has shown, especially with the last 2 OCs to leave. That said, Locksley's playcalling all season has been suspect in the RZ, he just got bailed out a bunch
 
guaranteeed said:
Whomever called that fake field goal is an idiot

Saban not calling a timeout when he saw clemson in base d for it is worse tho
Click to expand...

This is the first time I can recall Saban just looking worn out. He wasn't getting in the refs ear like usual, his halftime interview was pretty bland, etc. And the playcalling and what appeared to be total lack of preparation or adjustment throughout the game was completely uncharacteristic.
 
gps_3 said:
This is the first time I can recall Saban just looking worn out. He wasn't getting in the refs ear like usual, his halftime interview was pretty bland, etc. And the playcalling and what appeared to be total lack of preparation or adjustment throughout the game was completely uncharacteristic.
Click to expand...
He looked 'old' last night. I said that to myself at halftime.
 
gps_3 said:
This is the first time I can recall Saban just looking worn out. He wasn't getting in the refs ear like usual, his halftime interview was pretty bland, etc. And the playcalling and what appeared to be total lack of preparation or adjustment throughout the game was completely uncharacteristic.
Click to expand...
I thought the same thing. Saban wasn't really barking at anybody. He seemed to give up right away and the team appeared to feel that on the field.
 
gps_3 said:
I think it's time to let our coordinators that take HC jobs to go ahead and be full time at their new school. I think it's too hard for them and it has shown, especially with the last 2 OCs to leave. That said, Locksley's playcalling all season has been suspect in the RZ, he just got bailed out a bunch
Click to expand...
I think this is a good point, and despite their diligence it's nearly impossible to try and work the two jobs simultaneously and that has to hurt preparation. I thought the red zone play calling was terrible, don't understand trying to throw slants and inside action in the red zone when you have accomplished receivers on the outside who can get good matchups with the proper play calling. Thought too, that they abandoned the running game too soon where they were having good success. It was just a very weird game overall for Bama, uncharacteristic mistakes, bad play calling and absolutely no breaks went their way. The officiating was horrendous, and the missed holding call or PI (they could have called it twice) was a huge setback in their comeback attempt. The game really changed in Clemson's favor and once they started to turn their pass rush loose in the 2H coupled with different looks by Venables with the Clem defense it became very difficult for Ala in the passing game. Very disappointing for Alabama, and we're certainly not used to seeing a Saban coached team make that amount of mistakes in a championship setting. I felt like despite being down at half and not considering the TO, that Alabama had outplayed them in the first half. The biggest shocker to me was down 15, trying a fake FG when everyone knows 3 there doesn't matter with the score scenario. I felt like they would have been much better off running a regular offensive play there, no element of surprise at all.
 
Agree on the fake FG. Even if he kicks it, less than 65% chance he makes it. The 4th quarter and the scoreboard will skew perception, but I felt that the game was much closer than the result. The biggest difference is that Alabama's mistakes were catastrophic, while Clemson's were either nonexistent or inconsequential, which is what championship teams do. I think once #4 fell down on that 3rd and long that resulted in the long TD, our will to fight was gone. And us quitting will be the lasting impression from that game. Clemson made us quit. We moved the ball well between the 20's, but when it came to winning individual battles in the short part of the field, Clemson won those battles. On defense, we got them in favorable down and distance all night, but Clemson was able to make the plays when it counted. Their OL and WR were otherworldly. I think Lawrence played pretty good, but I don't think it was necessarily a spectacular individual performance by him. He maintained poise and didn't make a critical error which is huge, but his throwing accuracy wasn't great, but his WR made up for it. He did make some big league throws and he is a special talent for sure. Wish we had started blitzing earlier. His jersey was cleaner than anyone's in the game.
 
gps_3 said:
Agree on the fake FG. Even if he kicks it, less than 65% chance he makes it. The 4th quarter and the scoreboard will skew perception, but I felt that the game was much closer than the result. The biggest difference is that Alabama's mistakes were catastrophic, while Clemson's were either nonexistent or inconsequential, which is what championship teams do. I think once #4 fell down on that 3rd and long that resulted in the long TD, our will to fight was gone. And us quitting will be the lasting impression from that game. Clemson made us quit. We moved the ball well between the 20's, but when it came to winning individual battles in the short part of the field, Clemson won those battles. On defense, we got them in favorable down and distance all night, but Clemson was able to make the plays when it counted. Their OL and WR were otherworldly. I think Lawrence played pretty good, but I don't think it was necessarily a spectacular individual performance by him. He maintained poise and didn't make a critical error which is huge, but his throwing accuracy wasn't great, but his WR made up for it. He did make some big league throws and he is a special talent for sure. Wish we had started blitzing earlier. His jersey was cleaner than anyone's in the game.
Click to expand...


This stood out to me. BIG TIME.

I remember when we played them in a bowl game a bit back. I kept looking at their WRs.....couldnt get my eyes off em. Then again, in the Champioship Games and other games.

They really really get top notch WRs that go and get the ball.

And they STOLE Etienne.....thanks Les
 
gps_3 said:
Read somewhere that Alabama has lost 20 assistant coaches in the last 5 years, Clemson has lost 3. Think we saw some of the effects last night
Click to expand...

It can't be easy working under Saban while it looks like a ton of fun to work for someone like Dabo.
 
brewers888 said:
It can't be easy working under Saban while it looks like a ton of fun to work for someone like Dabo.
Click to expand...

I think it’s definitely more enjoyable to work for Dabo than Nick. But the vast majority of assistants lost were to promotions at other schools. I imagine that other schools are going to want what Clemson has been doing, so Dabo’s assistants are likely going to be hot commodities moving forward.
 
VirginiaCavs said:
Nobody talks about Venables but it seems like he did a great job of confusing Tua from the start.
Click to expand...

Didn’t he play at Kansas St? Or at least spend a bunch of time there under Snyder? Seems like that i heard his name linked there a few times. But he’s got a good gig. One of highest paid coordinators in country, gets to coach elite players, win a ton of games. Maybe he’s waiting for a huge job to open like Kirby did when he finally left Alabama
 
gps_3 said:
Didn’t he play at Kansas St? Or at least spend a bunch of time there under Snyder? Seems like that i heard his name linked there a few times. But he’s got a good gig. One of highest paid coordinators in country, gets to coach elite players, win a ton of games. Maybe he’s waiting for a huge job to open like Kirby did when he finally left Alabama
Click to expand...

LB and assistant coach for Snyder, yes
 
B.A.R. said:
He was great. But it took a quarter for that defense to settle in. Bama was moving AT WILL.
Click to expand...

Venables can only help the physical mismatches so much, theres no reason that Bama‘s speedsters at receivers shouldn‘t be able to torch Clemsons big d backs downfield, but he consistently confused Tua and forced him into really costly mistakes. Idk who to credit for Bama’s red zone woes Saban’s playcalling a part of that for sure
 
Game was really pretty even. Tua with 3 bad plays prob cost them 20 some points. Pick 6 which could have been a 10 or 14 pt swing. Terrible INT into double coverage, probably cost them 3 or 7. He then missed a really easy throw in the 3q where the WR got a hand on it. Walk in TD if the ball is just halfway decent. The fake fg was hilarious. The goal line play calling at the start of the 4q was as bad as you can find. Did Clemson ever stop bama iso a WR against a CB and running a 7 yd stop route? Seems like that was there all game.
 
I watched the game on ESPNU which showed the main cam, sky cam, and cams on the coaches all game. The difference between Dabo and Saban was stunning. From the start of the game Dabo was fired up, engaged, interacted and encouraged everyone, while Saban was just muttering into his headset and walking around with his arms crossed. He did have one or two blowups but I was stunned at how unengaged he was with EVERYONE. I've never watched a game this way but is Saban like that every game and they only show his blowups during the actual game cast?

I couldn't help but think who in the fuck would want to play for Saban and who the fuck wouldn't want to play for Dabo? Bama lost more than the game last night. They are going to lose the recruiting battle to Clemson in the next few years.
 
JohnnyGambler said:
I watched the game on ESPNU which showed the main cam, sky cam, and cams on the coaches all game. The difference between Dabo and Saban was stunning. From the start of the game Dabo was fired up, engaged, interacted and encouraged everyone, while Saban was just muttering into his headset and walking around with his arms crossed. He did have one or two blowups but I was stunned at how unengaged he was with EVERYONE. I've never watched a game this way but is Saban like that every game and they only show his blowups during the actual game cast?

I couldn't help but think who in the fuck would want to play for Saban and who the fuck wouldn't want to play for Dabo? Bama lost more than the game last night. They are going to lose the recruiting battle to Clemson in the next few years.
Click to expand...


The battle for Alabama legend Justin Ross was win by Clemson.
The guy is a star.

It signaled that Clemson is the school to come to. Family atmosphere. Better school.

Saban has his time.

I think his legacy is destroyed.

You can’t have a legacy and have a blowout in a title game.
Doesent work that way.
 
cubsker said:
Game was really pretty even. Tua with 3 bad plays prob cost them 20 some points. Pick 6 which could have been a 10 or 14 pt swing. Terrible INT into double coverage, probably cost them 3 or 7. He then missed a really easy throw in the 3q where the WR got a hand on it. Walk in TD if the ball is just halfway decent. The fake fg was hilarious. The goal line play calling at the start of the 4q was as bad as you can find. Did Clemson ever stop bama iso a WR against a CB and running a 7 yd stop route? Seems like that was there all game.
Click to expand...

The goalline at the start of 4th q is going overlooked and it might have been the worst sequence of the game

They spent like 2 mins there cause they kept running, down 28, your chances of winning are slim to none, but even if you can score the 2 minutes is massive
 
Tua sweep on fourth down at the goal line was just impossible to believe.

Game was more even but Clemson made the plays they had to in the clutch (look at third down conversion for instance) and the big plays. They also caught a lot of breaks, to include officiating, imo. That said, they deserved to win that game and Alabama did not.

There was the pick six early, the incredible luck that Clemson/Lawrence had when throwing it up for grabs to a spot (credit for making the throws and credit to the receivers for those catches but there was a little bit of luck involved in some of those plays .. but most of all, the play calling was just awful.

I won't say that I haven't seen a worse called game because that would seem unlikely but for a team that had a lot available to them .. ran the ball well, were able to pass the ball well, were able to move the ball well in general ... to only get 16 was kind of shocking. Moreover, they had a huge time of possession advantage prior to the point where Saban quit and punted and Clemson had that long final drive. There was a lot to like heading into halftime with Alabama.

Tua was just awful on third downs. Even instances where he scrambled it looked like he turned easy first downs into one yard short couple of times.

I love how Alabama would run the ball super successfully and then abandon the run after they got to the opponent 35 or better ... EXCEPT when they needed to be fast .. then they ran the ball and wasted time. It was so silly. The Tua sweep is just unreal.

The fake FG call/ lack of timeout is bad .. but in a vacuum it would have just been one awful call ... it felt more like the straw that broke the camel's back when it came to how bad the game was coached.

I don't feel bad for Alabama but I do think it was Saban's best team ever, even if not defensively.

I think it would be great to have a montage of Dabo post game interviews through the years ... that guy went from awwww shucks to pretty cocky from hire until now.

Probably a good thing for college football that the SEC got exposed this postseason. Hopefully it puts an end to the two teams from one conference making the playoff debate. I mean the best defense in the SEC couldn't even beat Iowa. The Best team in the SEC couldn't beat the best team in the ACC. The second best team in the SEC couldn't beat the second best team in the Big12, and one could argue that Oklahoma looked just as good or better than Alabama for a good percentage of that game too.

I also thought for a half that UCF was every bit as physical as LSU. They wore down and LSU was quite better with no Milton on UCF .. but that makes two years in a row where UCF showed they can compete with the SEC.

Long term .. I hope this is good for college football and the playoffs. SEC domination of the championship would eventually end up being very bad for the sport.
 
JohnnyGambler said:
I watched the game on ESPNU which showed the main cam, sky cam, and cams on the coaches all game. The difference between Dabo and Saban was stunning. From the start of the game Dabo was fired up, engaged, interacted and encouraged everyone, while Saban was just muttering into his headset and walking around with his arms crossed. He did have one or two blowups but I was stunned at how unengaged he was with EVERYONE. I've never watched a game this way but is Saban like that every game and they only show his blowups during the actual game cast?

I couldn't help but think who in the fuck would want to play for Saban and who the fuck wouldn't want to play for Dabo? Bama lost more than the game last night. They are going to lose the recruiting battle to Clemson in the next few years.
Click to expand...


I wonder if its related to the discipline issues apparent during the OU game when Saban broke his headset and was clearly pissed at his players. Some discord
 
RetroVK said:
Tua sweep on fourth down at the goal line was just impossible to believe.

Game was more even but Clemson made the plays they had to in the clutch (look at third down conversion for instance) and the big plays. They also caught a lot of breaks, to include officiating, imo. That said, they deserved to win that game and Alabama did not.

There was the pick six early, the incredible luck that Clemson/Lawrence had when throwing it up for grabs to a spot (credit for making the throws and credit to the receivers for those catches but there was a little bit of luck involved in some of those plays .. but most of all, the play calling was just awful.

I won't say that I haven't seen a worse called game because that would seem unlikely but for a team that had a lot available to them .. ran the ball well, were able to pass the ball well, were able to move the ball well in general ... to only get 16 was kind of shocking. Moreover, they had a huge time of possession advantage prior to the point where Saban quit and punted and Clemson had that long final drive. There was a lot to like heading into halftime with Alabama.

Tua was just awful on third downs. Even instances where he scrambled it looked like he turned easy first downs into one yard short couple of times.

I love how Alabama would run the ball super successfully and then abandon the run after they got to the opponent 35 or better ... EXCEPT when they needed to be fast .. then they ran the ball and wasted time. It was so silly. The Tua sweep is just unreal.

The fake FG call/ lack of timeout is bad .. but in a vacuum it would have just been one awful call ... it felt more like the straw that broke the camel's back when it came to how bad the game was coached.

I don't feel bad for Alabama but I do think it was Saban's best team ever, even if not defensively.

I think it would be great to have a montage of Dabo post game interviews through the years ... that guy went from awwww shucks to pretty cocky from hire until now.

Probably a good thing for college football that the SEC got exposed this postseason. Hopefully it puts an end to the two teams from one conference making the playoff debate. I mean the best defense in the SEC couldn't even beat Iowa. The Best team in the SEC couldn't beat the best team in the ACC. The second best team in the SEC couldn't beat the second best team in the Big12, and one could argue that Oklahoma looked just as good or better than Alabama for a good percentage of that game too.

I also thought for a half that UCF was every bit as physical as LSU. They wore down and LSU was quite better with no Milton on UCF .. but that makes two years in a row where UCF showed they can compete with the SEC.

Long term .. I hope this is good for college football and the playoffs. SEC domination of the championship would eventually end up being very bad for the sport.
Click to expand...

UT gets LSU in a meaningful game in the upcoming season.
 
B.A.R. said:
90% play calling (that's not to discredit Clem D at all)... Never put his players in positions to succeed.
Click to expand...
That was half the 'cap. Clemson would be able to score, and BV would outcoach Locksley. If you figured those two things out, you capped the game correctly. Of course, that's nowhere near predicting a 44-16 result, which is a statistical outlier.
 
Sammy Meatballs said:
The battle for Alabama legend Justin Ross was win by Clemson.
The guy is a star.

It signaled that Clemson is the school to come to. Family atmosphere. Better school.

Saban has his time.

I think his legacy is destroyed.

You can’t have a legacy and have a blowout in a title game.
Doesent work that way.
Click to expand...

We lost Ross because we lost his lead recruiter Derrick Ansley. And we had 3 blue chip WR in the class before him and Waddle in his class. Ross is a player for sure, but it has nothing to do with Alabama going down in recruiting. I think this year's and next year's class will prove that
 
RetroVK said:
Tua sweep on fourth down at the goal line was just impossible to believe.

Game was more even but Clemson made the plays they had to in the clutch (look at third down conversion for instance) and the big plays. They also caught a lot of breaks, to include officiating, imo. That said, they deserved to win that game and Alabama did not.

There was the pick six early, the incredible luck that Clemson/Lawrence had when throwing it up for grabs to a spot (credit for making the throws and credit to the receivers for those catches but there was a little bit of luck involved in some of those plays .. but most of all, the play calling was just awful.

I won't say that I haven't seen a worse called game because that would seem unlikely but for a team that had a lot available to them .. ran the ball well, were able to pass the ball well, were able to move the ball well in general ... to only get 16 was kind of shocking. Moreover, they had a huge time of possession advantage prior to the point where Saban quit and punted and Clemson had that long final drive. There was a lot to like heading into halftime with Alabama.

Tua was just awful on third downs. Even instances where he scrambled it looked like he turned easy first downs into one yard short couple of times.

I love how Alabama would run the ball super successfully and then abandon the run after they got to the opponent 35 or better ... EXCEPT when they needed to be fast .. then they ran the ball and wasted time. It was so silly. The Tua sweep is just unreal.

The fake FG call/ lack of timeout is bad .. but in a vacuum it would have just been one awful call ... it felt more like the straw that broke the camel's back when it came to how bad the game was coached.

I don't feel bad for Alabama but I do think it was Saban's best team ever, even if not defensively.

I think it would be great to have a montage of Dabo post game interviews through the years ... that guy went from awwww shucks to pretty cocky from hire until now.

Probably a good thing for college football that the SEC got exposed this postseason. Hopefully it puts an end to the two teams from one conference making the playoff debate. I mean the best defense in the SEC couldn't even beat Iowa. The Best team in the SEC couldn't beat the best team in the ACC. The second best team in the SEC couldn't beat the second best team in the Big12, and one could argue that Oklahoma looked just as good or better than Alabama for a good percentage of that game too.

I also thought for a half that UCF was every bit as physical as LSU. They wore down and LSU was quite better with no Milton on UCF .. but that makes two years in a row where UCF showed they can compete with the SEC.

Long term .. I hope this is good for college football and the playoffs. SEC domination of the championship would eventually end up being very bad for the sport.
Click to expand...


All of your points are pretty spot on. Alabama dominated 1st down on both offense and defense. Won 2nd down handily as well. Then got massacred on 3rd down. Who knows the reason why, but I don't think this game means that Alabama has been passed by. If we can stay relatively injury-free at OLB next season, our defense will look much better. Offense can only improve with experience. Clemson is at minimum our equal right now, but the SEC still has the same Alabama problem it had before the game on Monday night
 
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