Here we are at the end of the college football season, and we find ourselves in exactly the same place we were a year ago. Alabama against Clemson for round 2. Prior to the semi-final games, you would’ve had a tough time finding someone to not pick Alabama. Now all of a sudden I’ve seen more people picking Clemson than Alabama. I guess crushing Ohio State will swing the momentum a bit.
I think Alabama’s front 7 is better than a year ago and will make running the ball for Clemson very difficult. I think even Watson will have a tough time finding scrambling room. Bama has very athletic LBs, so I expect them to spy Watson quite a bit. Bama doesn’t have their best secondary. I do think Clemson’s WR are better than the Bama DBs. The question is can Clemson’s OL give Watson enough time to drop back and throw deep. Also, Watson did throw lots if interceptions this season. You do that against Bama, they likely will return one.
While Alabama’s D may be an all-time great, their O is very average. I do think Clemson’s D can really limit what Bama can do when they have the ball. Bama is not a great passing team. They way to beat them is to force them to pass by getting a lead, but nobody has pulled it off for an entire game yet. Obviously the big story of this match-up is Bama switching OC the week before the game. If this were any other team, this would be an even bigger story. We all tend to give Saban the benefit of the doubt though and trust that Sark will be fine.
I do think the motivation edge goes to Clemson. People keep asking if this Bama team is an all-time great, much like they did before USC lost to Texas. I also see elements of Saban’s first Bama title team here. They beat Florida in the SEC title game, after having lost to them the year before. I think Clemson feels much more like they want revenge and that they have unfinished business here. It also seems that the ACC was really good this season, and Clemson won that conference. Clemson beat FSU, Louisville, Virginia Tech, and Ohio State. Bama beat a USC that is not the USC we now know, LSU, and Washington. This season, Clemson definitely played tougher teams, which is something I never thought I would say about an ACC team wen comparing them to an SEC team.
There are lots of signs pointing to either team being capable of winning the championship. If we get the two teams from New Year’s Eve, Clemson should absolutely in this game. Their best may actually be better than Alabama’s best. The problem is, their worst is also worst than Alabama’s worst. While I think lots are basing their pick off last week, I can’t get the several weeks of struggles Clemson had this season. While they only lost 1 game, several others were close. Bama never really had a close game. Some would say this favors Clemson as they will be able to handle it, but I think it speaks to Bama’s overall team. This game will be close, and I actually expect Clemson to be up early. I also expect that in the fourth quarter, Bama’s physicality finally wears Clemson down, giving Bama a 24-20 win. I will not be shocked if either teams were to win, and these 100% are the best two teams. I really just hope for a good game, because it’s going to be essentially September before we see another game.
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