National Championship Discussion: Clemson vs Alabama
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rambler882
Head of the Justin Fields Fan Club
Clemson +6. Cannot wait for this game!
Frank Costanza
Co-Inventor of the Man's Bra
Bama will cover. I have very little doubt.
Fondybadger
CTG Partner
It opened at -9 Bama
Bama got the rough end of Oklahoma this year similar to UGA last year.
Clemson offense is the most efficient in CFB besides Oklahoma..They are very underrated with a freak at qb.
Fondybadger
CTG Partner
gps_3
Head of Alabama Department of Decision-Making
Trevor Lawrence has never faced adversity. He will next Monday. He may pass with flying colors, and he better, because they are going to have to keep up. Tua looks 100%. And he put up decent numbers tonight despite closing 75% of the playbook halfway though the 1st quarter
Yeah, he definitely has some happy feet. It all depends if he gets protection. If not, it will be smooth sailing for Bama. Lawrence is unreal though, he is super accurate with a cannon..might be the best college football qb/pro prospect I've ever seen for his age.
KJ
Bump. Set. Shuma!
Meet Luck, Andrew
AliShaheed
Pretty much a regular
I see bama -6 at BOL right now.
Anything less than a td and bama seems like the only option. At a td+ we can start to talk Clemson as bama's inability to finish seems real...
Anything less than a td and bama seems like the only option. At a td+ we can start to talk Clemson as bama's inability to finish seems real...
AliShaheed
Pretty much a regular
Bama pass offense vs clemson secondary doesn't seem like a very good matchup for clemson.
Kellen Mond was 2nd game of the season - things have changed since then to a degree that renders that tape irrelevant.
Seems as though there were a few stupid busted coverages against SC that have since been corrected.
My argument isn’t that Clemson is an obvious play or better team, it’s just that Bama is overpriced here against a team that has won its last 9 games by 37ppg including 5 top 50 opponents. Clemson is their direct peer.
Also, this is not tangible and totally get if you guys don’t agree or call me crazy for this, but I don’t think this Bama team has an edge to it right now. They’re way too happy all year to just play zombie ball for 30-45 minutes at a time, being at the game last night and seeing their unwillingness to stomp on OU’s throats left an imprint. Just think Clemson is the dirtier dog more prepared for a fight in this one.
gps_3
Head of Alabama Department of Decision-Making
I didn’t see that at all, especially last night. That 1st quarter was as intense as I’ve seen them all year. Granted, the playcalling went super vanilla after it was 28-0, and Locksley admitted that it changed to attempt to keep defense as fresh as possible. We probably used the largest rotation on the DL as we have all season. It was disappointing seeing our players let the OU guys get under their skin and make some bonehead decisions because of it, but I don’t think Clemson plays that way so not much of an issue next week. I have no doubts that the team will be at max intensity Monday night.
None of this is to say that Clemson can’t win, because they are clearly one of the top 3 teams in college.
AliShaheed
Pretty much a regular
I think this is a valid observation.
Jimmydafreak
Pretty much a regular
Clemson's receivers will be a handful, but I agree. Much better match-up for the Alabama defense.
booksbestfriend
On Johnny's Shitlist
From the QB perspective yes. But, having to deal with a 1st string TB may prove difficult.
M.W.
Parties like it's 1979
Trevor will run and run a lot on Monday.
brada
Pretty much a regular
Clemson will beat the breaks off Bama.
If Alabama thinks they can run the ball between the tackles, they are sadly mistaken. Clemson's LB core also negates the chances of Alabama running counters or misdirection as well.
This will force Alabama to become somewhat one dimesional offensively IMO.
Venables defenses are generally very disciplined and don't abandon assignments early. They fly to the football.
The talk being focused on Lawrence, not facing adversity, well Tua has NEVER faced a defense like he will against Clemson.
Clemson 31
Alabama 20
If Alabama thinks they can run the ball between the tackles, they are sadly mistaken. Clemson's LB core also negates the chances of Alabama running counters or misdirection as well.
This will force Alabama to become somewhat one dimesional offensively IMO.
Venables defenses are generally very disciplined and don't abandon assignments early. They fly to the football.
The talk being focused on Lawrence, not facing adversity, well Tua has NEVER faced a defense like he will against Clemson.
Clemson 31
Alabama 20
Jimmydafreak
Pretty much a regular
Strenuously disagree with this assertion. Tua has been facing the Alabama defense in practice for two years now. And while you could argue that Clemson defensive front is better than Alabama's - that could be - but it is still very comparable to what he sees everyday in practice. And, btw, Alabama's defense can't stop Tua in practice either. Just like the Oklahoma game, Tua will be the best and, by far, the more battle-tested QB on the field. Alabama's offense will easily score in the 30s. Clemson's offense won't sniff 30.
Moreover, the defensive fronts Tua has faced this season versus the defensive fronts Lawrence has faced this season are not even in the same universe, and that is the built-in advantage all SEC teams have when playing for championships, and is why they almost never lose.
That said, these two teams are now very familiar with one another, and we absolutely know that Clemosn can hold their own in the trenches versus Alabama. That's not really the issue. The real question, as GPS mentioned above, is how will Trevor Lawrence handle the type of defensive pressure he has not come close to facing all season? Can he pull off a Deshaun Watson masterpiece? - he will need to for Clemson to have a chance. Or will he crack under the pressure, and make critical mistakes? Or is it somewhere in between?
Jimmydafreak
Pretty much a regular
I have no doubt he will, but he's no Kyler Murray. He'll be much easier to corral than Murray.
I think Alabama will game plan a little differently for Lawrence. Don't think we'll see the mush rush we saw versus Oklahoma. Expect the Alabama defensive front to pin their ears back and bring a much heavier pass rush this time around.
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Jimmydafreak
Pretty much a regular
Clemson is rock solid in all phases of the game, including the run game. Clemson is going to have some success running and throwing, and I'm sure Lawrence will scramble for some first downs. Clemson is just too good not to have some success. The question is one of degree? There is certainly no phase of the game where Clemson will be dominant. Alabama is always, and I have no doubt will be in this game, solid in the run game. They will try to minimize big plays, and force Lawrence to beat them with 8-10 play drives.
Jimmydafreak
Pretty much a regular
For Clemson to win or cover this game, they will need to play with the lead. They need to get Alabama in chase mode like Georgia was able to do.
number2
Pretty much a regular
Also the backup QB’s for each team. Alabama had the better backup if needed. Not sure about Clemson.
M.W.
Parties like it's 1979
Probably, but I think Venables will surprise Locksley with a couple of perfect playcalls that will prevent the 1Q separation Alabama routinely established this year. Clemson has been putting 5 and 8 on the field at the same time, and throw in Renfrow and the only way to stop the passing game will be disruptive pressure. If Clemson can give Lawrence time, Clemson will win.
M.W.
Parties like it's 1979
Call me crazy, but I'd take Brice over Hurts. He has the "it" factor, and is teammates love him.
Jimmydafreak
Pretty much a regular
Yes. His collegiate career is over.
gps_3
Head of Alabama Department of Decision-Making
How much can 39 year old Hunter Renfrow really hurt us? I swear he was a freshman the same year I was, 20 years ago
gps_3
Head of Alabama Department of Decision-Making
How much has Brice played? And your last sentence accurately describes Hurts too.
gps_3
Head of Alabama Department of Decision-Making
I think anyone who’s trying to say one team is more talented than the other, or they’ve never seen someone like this is just wasting breath. Two best and most talented teams in the sport. Whoever executes better will win. I’d be shocked if either team “beat the brakes” off the other.
M.W.
Parties like it's 1979
I watched the "coaches film room" broadcast, (PJ, Clawson, Norvell, amd Mack Brown) and apparently Paul Johnson is a fan. "There's my man," he said after Renfrow had a big catch late in the 2Q. Clawson joked that they should petition for another year of eligibility for Renfrow so Mack would get to face him next year with Clemson being on the schedule.
M.W.
Parties like it's 1979
Absolutely, I would think that's true for Hurts as well. I'm just not in a position to know.
Rusty Trombone
Pretty much a regular
Really like the U59.5 better than a side. Lawrence cant scramble like Murray, and Clemsons D will at least make Tua work for it.....
M.W.
Parties like it's 1979
No, he's Matt Jones as a runner. Tall, slender and straight-line speed at 4.5.
JohnnyGambler
Kevin Warren Fan Club Founder
Don't overthink this.
This is by far the best OL that Clemson's front has seen all year. They won't be wreaking havoc like they have vs the garbage schedule they've mostly played to cover up that back. Clemson's secondary is by far the worst unit on the field and they were absolutely torched by the two SEC WR corps they've played. Bama has FOUR NFL WR and an NFL TE. There's no chance in hell those white guys in the Clemson secondary can hang with them.
Bama always struggles with running QB and Kyler got them again. Clemson doesn't have that element. Bama coaches acknowledged after the game they went conservative too. If they had kept their foot on the gas they would have score 60 on Oklahoma.
Lookahead lines were 7.5/8 and all that changed was Clemson pounded a team that was overmatched and Bama basically stopped playing.
This is by far the best OL that Clemson's front has seen all year. They won't be wreaking havoc like they have vs the garbage schedule they've mostly played to cover up that back. Clemson's secondary is by far the worst unit on the field and they were absolutely torched by the two SEC WR corps they've played. Bama has FOUR NFL WR and an NFL TE. There's no chance in hell those white guys in the Clemson secondary can hang with them.
Bama always struggles with running QB and Kyler got them again. Clemson doesn't have that element. Bama coaches acknowledged after the game they went conservative too. If they had kept their foot on the gas they would have score 60 on Oklahoma.
Lookahead lines were 7.5/8 and all that changed was Clemson pounded a team that was overmatched and Bama basically stopped playing.
M.W.
Parties like it's 1979
I think it's fair to say that each team has the best O and the best D the other will have faced this year, which is pretty amazing.
piperdog188
Well-Known Member
Line down to -5 at Pinnacle and 5.5 at a lot of other books.
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