***National Championship--Clemson vs Alabama--Discussion***

Bama 6.5 52...Both of those look low to me. The side makes me leery and the total looks very obtainable.
 
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Concerned with Bamas offensive play calling and their punt returner kept acting like a dumbass. Hard for me to see either offense having sustained success. Like the under better than a side at first blush.
 
clem was able to run last year. their run games seems decently worse this year while Bama run D is better. that's the key to the game to me, because watson will throw a couple or three picks if clem throws it 50 times.
 
Mike Williams a big offensive add for Clemson over last year. So is this guy for Bama:

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5dimes hung a 54.5 in the 3q of the fiesta once Clemson had it in hand and I bet under. Not sure I love it but was almostcertain I would have have line value and in turn an opportunity to have a decent middle opp around some key numbers. I will say this, I'm less confident about Bama winning this title than any other. I can't seem to shake the (over?) simplification of Senior Watson v. Freshman Hurts. Both DL, like the Bama/Wash games will clearly be the best units on the field for both teams, IMO. Will give more thoughts later I just made that one bet on gut feel so far. Will want to see if I can glean anymore on Bama possibly using tempo again like last game. Bo played his first game for Bama without wearing his huge knee brace. He looked good.
 
Watson vs Hurts is all you need to know
plus Clemson doesn't fear Bama, they want Bama. They battled toe to toe last yr.
aint winning running qb sweeps, qb draws and your qb throws behind guys wide open right in front of him.
 
P12. Can't be worse than the B1G crew that did Peach. I now feel the pain of my northern brethren.
 
Watson vs hurts. No comparison- fact or opinion
he missed wide open guys and they called multiple qb runs with hurts- fact or opinion
sure me saying Clemson wants Bama may be opinion
 
Oohhh and if Bama beats Clemson with hurts doing jack shit like yesterday I guess I will tip my cap cuz that most likely means they will have shut down the Clemson offense.
 
dudleysdad said:
Watson vs hurts. No comparison- fact or opinion
he missed wide open guys and they called multiple qb runs with hurts- fact or opinion
sure me saying Clemson wants Bama may be opinion
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The first one sounds like an opinion. There isn't NO comparison.

Sure, that's a fact, but that's NOT what you said. You said "aint winning running qb sweeps, qb draws and your qb throws behind guys wide open right in front of him." So you can't possibly win a football game running qb sweeps, qb draws, and having an inaccurate QB? Even with the best defense in the country? Does that only relate to Bama, or does that "ain't winning" scenario apply to every football team at all levels? Sorry Duds, that seems an awful lot more like an opinion than a fact.

I was just busting balls anyway (which I know you know), but come on bro.
 
Speaking of Watson though, are we going to have to sit through a couple of months leading up to the draft where a bunch of guys try and tell us how great he's going to be in the NFL? For fuck's sake I certainly hope not. Of course it's going to happen, but it still amazes me that we don't learn from history, even recent history. Taj Boyd anyone? Remember how he should have been the #1 pick and he was going to be the next big thing?
 
If Bama can win this game by being one dimensional and have hurts not turn it over. well, I said I would tip my cap.
you have the same offense back for Clemson plus a 1st rd WR in mike Williams who was hurt last season.
 
I doubt Bama can call a worse game than they did against Washington. They showed an incredible lack of confidence in Hurts imo. They made very little attempt at making Washington adjust in the game. They were gashing Washington with the above pictured #9 but would not continue with it in the first half. Then in the second half, Washington adjusted and crowded the middle of the defensive front seven. This is why the first play of the first half was so effective for Alabama and why they couldn't run it at all (Save the four or so broken tackle beast mode run by #9) in the second half. Basically, Alabama was passing when the Washington defense was giving them the run and running when the Washington defense was giving them the pass. It was mind boggling bad play calling in my estimation for Alabama in that game. I have no respect for Kiffin as a human being but I do generally respect his play calling. 17 offensive points is not going to get it done against Clemson, I don't think and I also doubt that Alabama benefits from the same field position advantages for a games entirety the way they did against Washington. I think Watson has the confidence to make mistakes and Dabo has the confidence to coach to win (Peterson and his staff flat out quit on their players), so I do think Watson is involved in big plays, whether that is interceptions or big pass gains. That throws a wrench in what looks like a good under bet. Alabama did an amazing job of defending the WR screen stuff that was so good for Washington all year. They were blowing up the blocks out there. Conversely, I thought the Clemson WR's blocked Ohio State exceptionally well on their WR screen game. So I think that could end up being a key in the game as well, because Clemson uses that as an extension of the running game pretty effectively and sometimes for chunks.

Right now, the thing hurting alabama is either their QB himself, or their lack of confidence in him. They had so many opportunities to put Washington away with good field position and they were shockingly opposed to letting him attempt passes. I realize at a certain point, that Bama realized they had Washington figured out and they weren't likely to score, so they weren't going to let Freshman mistakes beat them but he kept dropping the football on the running plays too, Bama just recovered both times. Washington had zero fear of Hurts. None. They allowed two big plays to Bama in the second half... the Hurts edge run to start it after making the adjustment at halftime and the #9 run which they actually defended pretty well ... he just ran through their tackles like the incredible hulk.

I dunno ... gonna be a good game I think. Ironically, I think both teams are lesser versions of last years teams.
 
Alabama had Hurts throwing in some of the later games (see, e.g., Miss St) to prepare him for these games and then they refused to let him throw in the Wash game. Makes no sense. No matter the final score, Wash was in that game much too long considering the turnovers and all the short fields. My money will be (actually already is) on Clemson as I don't think Bama will open up the playbook enough and Clemson will make plays to put pressure on Bama's offense, which is something they are not used to. Clem will not be shell shocked like Was was most of the game.
 
Comments from u fellas make me thoughts seem real.. or closer to a fact lol
 
The Bama D is incredible..they can win because of it.
We sit and here and just make excuses and blah blah....they have a kid at QB who looks like a kid at QB but it doesn't seem to matter....they just covered the spread vs Washington and we keep looking for excuses like we can coach better than Petersen.

I think Bama will throw a bit more and test deep on the Clem DBs

I think it will be a good game, but Bama is favored for a reason and not because of "bias" or jerseys
 
C-MAN said:
Alabama had Hurts throwing in some of the later games (see, e.g., Miss St) to prepare him for these games and then they refused to let him throw in the Wash game. Makes no sense. No matter the final score, Wash was in that game much too long considering the turnovers and all the short fields. My money will be (actually already is) on Clemson as I don't think Bama will open up the playbook enough and Clemson will make plays to put pressure on Bama's offense, which is something they are not used to. Clem will not be shell shocked like Was was most of the game.
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Could also be Saban just playing it close to the vest, realizing they weren't losing that game to Washington once it got going, and hoping to have it be a bit of a surprise with Hurts throwing it a lot more in the title game as they truly "open up the playbook." I'm not saying that's a certainty in the least bit, just throwing it out there as a possibility.
 
Could be, but it was 10-7 Bama and Wash had the ball late in the 2Q... I don't care how confident he was, that's just a little bit too close to know you aren't going to lose.
 
Hurts wasn't and hadn't been the problem throwing it, IMO. I agree with CC the play calling was atrocious by Kiffin and there were a few untimely penalties where Hurts made good throws that came back. Keep in mind about Clemson - they have up 35 the game before and have given up 30+ 4x. The game against OSU is better indicator of who they really are and keep in mind the ACC has the best group of QB in country so seeing Barrett was no big thing for him as the 2016 version of him is not good. Venables sold out to stop the run and said if they're gonna get beat it will be JT throwing it. They will do same against Bama and Kiffin has shown he can scheme a good plan but not sure that he will that will be the key.
 
The second half offensive play calling looked like Alabama just wanted the clock to run out. Different than any other game I've watched since Lane got there. No jet sweeps or WR screens, way, way too many QB runs considering the circumstances. I don't know if Hurts was dinged up, or the coaches thought they could win the game without having to do anything special, or we just sucked, but it was unusual and not what I wanted to see going into the championship game.

Thinking about the matchup with Clemson, I think for the first time in years, someone we play has a higher floor than we do. Our defense can keep it a game better than any other, but if Watson is sharp, defense alone won't be enough. I do think our ceiling is higher than Clemson's, but the offense is going to have to be much better than what they showed against Washington.

The good news for me and other Alabama backers, is that I don't think Watson can play better than he did against us last year, and I do think our defensive personnel is much better suited to limit him this season as opposed to last year. And I think Pruitt is a better in-game coach against the elite offenses than Kirby was.

I really have no opinion on the line. I think it's probably the right number. Wouldn't surprise me at all if either team won.
 
CrimsonK said:
Hurts wasn't and hadn't been the problem throwing it, IMO. I agree with CC the play calling was atrocious by Kiffin and there were a few untimely penalties where Hurts made good throws that came back. Keep in mind about Clemson - they have up 35 the game before and have given up 30+ 4x. The game against OSU is better indicator of who they really are and keep in mind the ACC has the best group of QB in country so seeing Barrett was no big thing for him as the 2016 version of him is not good. Venables sold out to stop the run and said if they're gonna get beat it will be JT throwing it. They will do same against Bama and Kiffin has shown he can scheme a good plan but not sure that he will that will be the key.
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The penalties definitely hindered the offense as we were behind the chains a good bit, which I'm sure factored into the playcalling too. I haven't watched the replay, but from memory, the illegal man downfield penalty was attributed to Forristall, who was blocking behind the line, so obviously the refs called the wrong number. But we went from a first down in Washington territory to a 2nd or 3rd and forever to stall out the first drive of the 2nd half
 
It almost doesn't seem real that I'm going to the title game for a second year in a row to pull for clemson. We are a good program but certainly not a traditional blue blood and are about half the size of the other traditional blue booods. What Dabo has done is absolutely amazing
 
C-MAN said:
Could be, but it was 10-7 Bama and Wash had the ball late in the 2Q... I don't care how confident he was, that's just a little bit too close to know you aren't going to lose.
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Right. "Once it got going" was probably a poor choice of words...pretty much meant halftime after the pick 6...which is when they really seemed to pack it in.
 
Scrute said:
It almost doesn't seem real that I'm going to the title game for a second year in a row to pull for clemson. We are a good program but certainly not a traditional blue blood and are about half the size of the other traditional blue booods. What Dabo has done is absolutely amazing
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There is still a huge number of Alabama fans who don't even want to consider him as a replacement for Saban. I'm not sure Dabo will ever want to leave or come back to Tuscaloosa, but if he's not the 1st call we make after Nick hangs it up, we are morons
 
Scrute said:
It almost doesn't seem real that I'm going to the title game for a second year in a row to pull for clemson. We are a good program but certainly not a traditional blue blood and are about half the size of the other traditional blue booods. What Dabo has done is absolutely amazing
Click to expand...

Enjoy the trip doc. I haven't gone since the Alabama-LSU game in NOLA. Hits my wallet too hard with 2 little ones at home and a 3rd on the way
 
gps_3 said:
Enjoy the trip doc. I haven't gone since the Alabama-LSU game in NOLA. Hits my wallet too hard with 2 little ones at home and a 3rd on the way
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Yeah it's not a cheap endeavor. I won't be able to get 2 tickets for under 2000. I think my "once in a lifetime experience" excuse is used up after going 2 straight years
 
Scrute said:
Yeah it's not a cheap endeavor. I won't be able to get 2 tickets for under 2000. I think my "once in a lifetime experience" excuse is used up after going 2 straight years
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Yep. I burned that one a few years ago. Who would have thought my wife would have been right about there being more opportunities in the near future?
 
Only Kiffin can get fired from a job he was already leaving

I think you can spin it either way as to whether it hurts or helps, or has no real effect. Sark has been there all season, so it's not like he's unfamiliar with the players and their capabilities. No idea what to expect as far as in game management, but hard to think Saban would do this if he didn't think it would be to his benefit
 

He pretty much maxed out his bank roll....

Rovell: Lane Kiffin, who made $1.4 million as Alabama's offensive coordinator this season, already earned $224,000 of $250,000 in possible bonuses.
 
I wasn't overly impressed with Kiffen this season. It's insane that Hurts is leading that team in rushing attempts.
 
On the plus side, Clemson now has to spend time charting Sark's tendencies while he was calling plays at Wash/USC. And I'd wager that one of Sark's assignments the last few weeks was to scheme against the Clemson defense.
 
If Clemson is able to get out to an early lead I'll be interested to see how Sark handles the play calling and the reprimanding. If Bama gets out to an early lead no doubt he hammers Bo down clemsons throat
 
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