Comparing Alabama and Clemson - A few stats

STONECOLDSABAN

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I remember feeling this way leading up to the 2016 championship game. I thought we'd handle Watson. He hadn't seen a defense as talented and tough as Alabama's. Well, that didn't go so well. Then the next year, our defense was faster, better, and scored points on its own. I had a helluva lot more respect for Watson leading up to that game, but still I thought our defensive prowess would be too much to overcome. But then we kept going three and out on offense...
QUOTE]


What's crazy is I thought the 2018 sugar bowl would be another barn burner and I considered not even watching it cause I wasn't sure if I had another Bama/Clemson 15 round fight in me. I began to buy into all the Kelly Bryant/Clemson boogeyman hype by the time the game arrived. Then the game started and Alabama just skull drug Clemson for 60 minutes. It went from 10-6 to 24-6 in the blink of an eye. It wasn't even as close as the score made it seem. Most of Clemson's yards came on their last drive when the game was out of reach. My point is you just never know how these things are gonna turn out. For better or worst...Here is to hoping its more like last year then the two previous years.
 

selmaborntidefan

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I’m sorry but, every one talks about how great Clemson was at the end of the year but, look at who they played.
They played a ranked (and pretty good) Texas A/M on the road.
They beat Ga Tech by more points than UGA did.
They beat Louisville by more points than Alabama did.


Their Sagarin rating only moved up from 46 to 40 after beating an unbeaten Irish; ours moved up from 42 to 23.

Outside of maybe 2 or 3 games, their schedule isn’t much better then ND’s.
Clemson and Notre Dame played four of the exact same opponents. Clemson beat 3 of them by more points, and lost their new QB in the other but still won. It isn't substantially better - but Clemson IS substantially better than Notre Dame, too.

They haven’t really been test this year and haven’t seen anything near as talented as Bama.
That's true, but Alabama hasn't seen anything near as talented as Clemson, either.

Bama has face a few of the top defenses in the country and just faced the best offense (maybe second best now).
The best defense Alabama played was MSU and scored 24.
The best defense Clemson played was Notre Dame and scored 30.

Clemson faced Syracuse, who scores 40.8 ppg and held them to 23.

However, you're correct that overall Alabama has faced more challenging defenses AND offenses. That is absolutely correct.

Bama is ready and Clemson won’t know what hit them.
I sincerely hope you're right.

This Clemson team just doesn’t make me as nervous as the last one we faced in a title game. It won’t be as lopsided as last years semi but, I think Bama puts it away with plenty of time remaining.

I think what a lot of people forget about the game 2 years ago is how close we were to blowing it open. And if we had had a quarterback who could throw worth a damn, DeShaun Watson still wouldn't have a title ring. We led by 14 in the fourth quarter.

But at the same time - that's playing the "what if" game. There's not a doubt in my mind that if Eddie Jackson wasn't lost for the year in October that we would have drubbed the two years ago....but that doesn't matter. Dabo's team SMARTLY kept an all-world defense on the field for 100 plays and beat it.

And for that, tip the hat.

But I suspect that with the improved passing game, some of the folks predicting "blowout" or "pull away" might be right.
 

day-day

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Jan 2, 2005
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I remember feeling this way leading up to the 2016 championship game. I thought we'd handle Watson. He hadn't seen a defense as talented and tough as Alabama's. Well, that didn't go so well. Then the next year, our defense was faster, better, and scored points on its own. I had a helluva lot more respect for Watson leading up to that game, but still I thought our defensive prowess would be too much to overcome. But then we kept going three and out on offense...
QUOTE]


What's crazy is I thought the 2018 sugar bowl would be another barn burner and I considered not even watching it cause I wasn't sure if I had another Bama/Clemson 15 round fight in me. I began to buy into all the Kelly Bryant/Clemson boogeyman hype by the time the game arrived. Then the game started and Alabama just skull drug Clemson for 60 minutes. It went from 10-6 to 24-6 in the blink of an eye. It wasn't even as close as the score made it seem. Most of Clemson's yards came on their last drive when the game was out of reach. My point is you just never know how these things are gonna turn out. For better or worst...Here is to hoping its more like last year then the two previous years.
So what are you doing next Monday night?
 

deliveryman35

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I remember feeling this way leading up to the 2016 championship game. I thought we'd handle Watson. He hadn't seen a defense as talented and tough as Alabama's. Well, that didn't go so well. Then the next year, our defense was faster, better, and scored points on its own. I had a helluva lot more respect for Watson leading up to that game, but still I thought our defensive prowess would be too much to overcome. But then we kept going three and out on offense...

My point is, I think it is folly to disrespect Clemson based upon their schedule. Yes, they haven't been tested by the same kind of tough schedule that Alabama has. But, what matters more is how talented Clemson is across the board. They are not every bit our equal, but they are damn close. Much like Georgia. And, they've beaten us before. Their schedule strength isn't going to matter as much as it normally would otherwise.

I think if you dropped Clemson into the SEC East this year, they'd probably be 12-0 going into the SEC championship against us.
Deshaun Watson was the random element that single-handedly enabled them to play us tight and take one out of two games imo. TL is better than KB but I think TL is actually a better matchup for us. He will be under relentless pressure all night. The only hope that I think Clemson has of beating us is shutting down our O and I just don’t see that happening.

I think it could be close for a while but if our guys execute then I see us winning by +10 points.
 
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bamaga

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I’m sorry but, every one talks about how great Clemson was at the end of the year but, look at who they played.

Outside of maybe 2 or 3 games, their schedule isn’t much better then ND’s.They haven’t really been test this year and haven’t seen anything near as talented as Bama.

Bama has face a few of the top defenses in the country and just faced the best offense (maybe second best now). Bama is ready and Clemson won’t know what hit them.

This Clemson team just doesn’t make me as nervous as the last one we faced in a title game. It won’t be as lopsided as last years semi but, I think Bama puts it away with plenty of time remaining.
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BamaMoon

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Apr 1, 2004
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I remember feeling this way leading up to the 2016 championship game. I thought we'd handle Watson. He hadn't seen a defense as talented and tough as Alabama's. Well, that didn't go so well. Then the next year, our defense was faster, better, and scored points on its own. I had a helluva lot more respect for Watson leading up to that game, but still I thought our defensive prowess would be too much to overcome. But then we kept going three and out on offense...

My point is, I think it is folly to disrespect Clemson based upon their schedule. Yes, they haven't been tested by the same kind of tough schedule that Alabama has. But, what matters more is how talented Clemson is across the board. They are not every bit our equal, but they are damn close. Much like Georgia. And, they've beaten us before. Their schedule strength isn't going to matter as much as it normally would otherwise.

I think if you dropped Clemson into the SEC East this year, they'd probably be 12-0 going into the SEC championship against us.
I don't have a problem with fans getting caught up in stats and thinking we are better.

But I sure hope our football team agrees with you and I hope they have that sharp focus back that we are used to seeing in these type of games.

Hope we are prepared for a dogfight but it turns into an easy win.
 

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