Who thinks Clemson can win?

[outhereincali]

Just a quick comment I'm sure more will be said over the next seven days.

Why I think Clemson can win
They play an up tempo offense and Watson reminds me of Vince Young in that he can run the ball 20+ times a game and do considerable damage to the other team. And I can't remember his name offhand but their other rb is no slouch. They run an up tempo offense and Bama has not played an offense like that yet. The key to an uptempo/spread offense is how many plays you can run in a game. Oklahoma has a respectable defense but the tiger offense wore Oklahoma out. If they can get into that rhythm they could score a lot of points against the tide.

If you watched the OB you know the Clemson defense has some vicious hitters. They knocked at least two players from the sooner offense out of the game, and we're popping them all night long. If they can do this against the tide well this could get interesting.

You know Clemson can be a role model for fb programs like Baylor and TCU. By that I mean is that Clemson doesn't have that much more fb tradition than those schools. Baylor and Clemson are about the same size in enrollment and they get about the same viewership. And Clemson has done it the right way their recruiting of elite talent that keeps getting better each year. They have elite talent on offense and defense. Just four years ago they were humiliated in the Orange Bowl 70-33 but here they are four years later playing for the nc. A tiger victory would be a victory for the little guy beating a blue blood. Bama is a solid favorite but I'm gonna pull for the CT.

Intangibles
Dabo Swinney is an outstanding coach definitely in the top ten. And he is playing the us against the world, nobody thinks we can win game. But it's also true. This could be his coming out party as a hc. Deshaun Watson may come out and say hey don't give Christian McCaffrey the Heisman just yet.

Go tigers

 

[LonghornMM]

I'm definitely pulling for Clemson and I think they can win the game.

 

[magnahorn]

Clemson will win

 

[Metcalf #2]

Clemson by two TDs.

 

[outhereincali]

Another thought.

We all know Clemson is a good team but Bama is favored. But hey when you have the better qb, an NFL caliber qb, that levels the playing field quite a bit. And Bama's is basically a game manager.

I've seen Clemson 4 times this year. And with the exception of the fourth quarter against ND they played much better and took control in the second half.

Clemson has beaten three NYS bowl teams and Bama had only beaten one and that wasn't till the playoffs.

Hmmmm

 

[BringBackRoyal]

It's hard to bet against Saban in a national championship game, but Clemson can win. I think Clemson has the talent on the DL to slow down Bama/Henry without having to sell out to stop the run. If they can manage that (still a very big if), then they should be pretty successful at corralling Bama's WRs and TE. Bama's receiving threats aren't that impressive this year. Clemson also has a terrific true dual-threat QB in Watson, and Bama has sometimes struggled against mobile QBs. Watson's not going to be able to run it non-stop in this game, though; Bama's LBs are a different kind of beast from anyone he has played against so far, and they are going to hit him harder than he's been hit by anyone else. Hopefully Clemson will get its up-tempo offense going and play the kind of offensive game that Saban detests.

I've heard some people (not here) reference the Michigan State-Bama result as proof that the Tide will demolish Clemson, but that result is obviously meaningless for this game. You can't beat Bama at their own game, and MSU is basically Bama with smaller, weaker, slower players. I was hoping for some kind of miracle, but MSU is exactly the kind of team that Bama should be able to drill in its sleep. Clemson is much more talented than MSU, and they match up much better scheme-wise.

I definitely disagree with you on Clemson's tradition, though. Clemson has the 21st-highest win percentage in CFB history; Baylor is at 68th. Clemson has won a national championship in the modern era of CFB (1981); Baylor, of course, has never won a national title -- or finished ranked higher than no. 7. Clemson has 12 seasons of 10+ wins to Baylor's five and 23 seasons of 9+ wins in the AP era to Baylor's eight. At the end of the season, Clemson will have been ranked in 30 final polls compared to 17 for Baylor. Clemson isn't a blue blood by any means, but they're historically a much stronger program than Baylor.

 

[oldhorn2]

OU was favored over Clemson.....that part doesnt mean much. USC was favored over us. Bama may win, but not because they were favored.Each team may be facing their toughest opponent all year.

 

[CaptainZigZag]

Just a quick comment I'm sure more will be said over the next seven days.

Why I think Clemson can win
They play an up tempo offense and Watson reminds me of Vince Young in that he can run the ball 20+ times a game and do considerable damage to the other team. And I can't remember his name offhand but their other rb is no slouch. They run an up tempo offense and Bama has not played an offense like that yet. The key to an uptempo/spread offense is how many plays you can run in a game. Oklahoma has a respectable defense but the tiger offense wore Oklahoma out. If they can get into that rhythm they could score a lot of points against the tide.

If you watched the OB you know the Clemson defense has some vicious hitters. They knocked at least two players from the sooner offense out of the game, and we're popping them all night long. If they can do this against the tide well this could get interesting.

You know Clemson can be a role model for fb programs like Baylor and TCU. By that I mean is that Clemson doesn't have that much more fb tradition than those schools. Baylor and Clemson are about the same size in enrollment and they get about the same viewership. And Clemson has done it the right way their recruiting of elite talent that keeps getting better each year. They have elite talent on offense and defense. Just four years ago they were humiliated in the Orange Bowl 70-33 but here they are four years later playing for the nc. A tiger victory would be a victory for the little guy beating a blue blood. Bama is a solid favorite but I'm gonna pull for the CT.

Intangibles
Dabo Swinney is an outstanding coach definitely in the top ten. And he is playing the us against the world, nobody thinks we can win game. But it's also true. This could be his coming out party as a hc. Deshaun Watson may come out and say hey don't give Christian McCaffrey the Heisman just yet.

Go tigers

Bama and laying 10 points

 

[bubba2023]

Coker may be a bus driver overall, but he had a hell of a game vs Michigan State, and that was without Henry running wild. Bama will cruise if Coker is able to play like that against Clemson.

 

[clob94]

Clemson by two TDs.

Damn Metcalf!

Puff, puff, pass bro.

If you'd have said "Clemson by a late fg" I'd have been like "ya, I can see that". But two TDs?

What are you seeing that I'm not? And if you don't come back with a solid response, my next question will be, "where'd you score that high quality sh!t you're smoking and can you get me some?".

 

[DocAg]

I think Clemson has to play the perfect game and get a couple of turnovers. I will be pulling for Clemson, but Alabama is really solid up front so I think they can contain Watson

 

[CoachEmUp64]

When Bama wins big like they did against State it's hard to stop their momentum, I think Bama wins big again.

 

[Belldozer1]

I agree I think both Bama's lines take care of business. Although I do believe that for Alabama to win, they need the Coker from the last couple games to show up not the one from the games leading up to those. Also I think if Clemson is to have a chance Watson will have to come out on fire throwing the ball in the first half unlike the OU game where he looked bad the first half.

 

[outhereincali]

It's hard to bet against Saban in a national championship game, but Clemson can win. I think Clemson has the talent on the DL to slow down Bama/Henry without having to sell out to stop the run. If they can manage that (still a very big if), then they should be pretty successful at corralling Bama's WRs and TE. Bama's receiving threats aren't that impressive this year. Clemson also has a terrific true dual-threat QB in Watson, and Bama has sometimes struggled against mobile QBs. Watson's not going to be able to run it non-stop in this game, though; Bama's LBs are a different kind of beast from anyone he has played against so far, and they are going to hit him harder than he's been hit by anyone else. Hopefully Clemson will get its up-tempo offense going and play the kind of offensive game that Saban detests.

I've heard some people (not here) reference the Michigan State-Bama result as proof that the Tide will demolish Clemson, but that result is obviously meaningless for this game. You can't beat Bama at their own game, and MSU is basically Bama with smaller, weaker, slower players. I was hoping for some kind of miracle, but MSU is exactly the kind of team that Bama should be able to drill in its sleep. Clemson is much more talented than MSU, and they match up much better scheme-wise.

I definitely disagree with you on Clemson's tradition, though. Clemson has the 21st-highest win percentage in CFB history; Baylor is at 68th. Clemson has won a national championship in the modern era of CFB (1981); Baylor, of course, has never won a national title -- or finished ranked higher than no. 7. Clemson has 12 seasons of 10+ wins to Baylor's five and 23 seasons of 9+ wins in the AP era to Baylor's eight. At the end of the season, Clemson will have been ranked in 30 final polls compared to 17 for Baylor. Clemson isn't a blue blood by any means, but they're historically a much stronger program than Baylor.

Well in the case of that last paragraph I stand corrected I did not know that I knew about that nc in 1981 but during that season they were being investigated by the NCAA and right after their bowl game they were put on probation for 3 years and it set their program back a few years. And hey the entire ACC talked to the NCAA about them. I've always gotten the impression that the ACC is basically FSU and everybody else. But I always thought of them as team good for few 9 or even ten win seasons and that's it. I just never remembered them being on the national stage until the last 3 years.

 

[Cotton #12]

Give me "BAMA". When you have 12 National Championships in the trophy case it is expected by players,coaches and fans.They will no doubt try to knock out the Clemson QB and you have seen this picture before.I do think Clemson will give them a game.

 

[Belldozer1]

Give me "BAMA". When you have 12 National Championships in the trophy case it is expected by players,coaches and fans.They will no doubt try to knock out the Clemson QB and you have seen this picture before.I do think Clemson will give them a game.

You may be right, Bama may knock him out of the game. I would not want to be a scrambling qb playing Bama

 

[Metcalf #2]

Damn Metcalf!

Puff, puff, pass bro.

If you'd have said "Clemson by a late fg" I'd have been like "ya, I can see that". But two TDs?

What are you seeing that I'm not? And if you don't come back with a solid response, my next question will be, "where'd you score that high quality sh!t you're smoking and can you get me some?".

Just a feeling I guess. Bama has a history of struggling against this type of offense. Sure, they look great against MSU. That's the kind of team they always look great against. No surprise there. Now everybody thinks they're unstoppable because of that game. Unlike most I guess my memory goes back more than the last game. Clemson is the more proven team this year. They've been tested much more than Bama, and they're still undefeated. Bama won't have a slow, statue of a QB to tee off this time.

 

[Metcalf #2]

You may be right, Bama may knock him out of the game. I would not want to be a scrambling qb playing Bama

I'd much rather be a scrambling QB than a statue against them.

 

[Okie70]

Most OU fans