The underlying issue here with the fan base is that they watched South Carolina have a lot of success throwing the ball and are fearful that they will get obliterated by Tua and Co if we play.
I don't think that Clemson fans are truly disappointed in the outcome of their game yesterday, but I think they have been cautiously optimistic about this team from the start. They knew that they had a very favorable schedule, and that the ACC was projected to be pretty weak this year and has lived up to that. Therefore, getting to 12-0, while satisfying, was somewhat expected. In fans' minds, the season really starts on Dec 29th. Obviously, that is a crazy way to look at it, but I don't know that Alabama fans, as a group, can point fingers on this issue.