USAT: Clemson, not Alabama, now face of college football

If Clemson is now the face of College football then why are there still more national articles, stories focused on Bama?

Even if they are trying to convince us that we are no longer on top, Bama is still the focus of all the attention. The articles I’ve read that seem to be about Clemson being on top actually end up being more about Bama not being on top.

Back when Saban kicked off this dynasty, I don’t remember a bunch of articles about “so-and-so not on top anymore”. Nope, I remember many articles just claiming Bama’s back.

Seems to me, if all people want to talk about is Bama, then maybe things haven’t changed as much as they say they have.

BamaNation said:

Generally true, but we know attitude can carry over from one season to another. Each team has to define its own legacy but it’s not mutually exclusive from prior results, actions, or attitudes.

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I think that programs carry things over, and players carry things over, but teams no longer exist after the last game is played. The 2018 Alabama team is no more. It cannot avenge the loss to Clemson. But the 2019 Alabama team can learn from the loss, and the players on that team who suffered through that debacle will be extremely motivated.

B1GTide said:

I think that programs carry things over, and players carry things over, but teams no longer exist after the last game is played. The 2018 Alabama team is no more. It cannot avenge the loss to Clemson. But the 2019 Alabama team can learn from the loss, and the players on that team who suffered through that debacle will be extremely motivated.

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The story is told by Lars Anderson that two days after we beat LSU to win the 2011 title, Saban called a meeting of the guys who were returning in 2012.

He told them, "This team hasn't done anything at all" and made sure they understood that they were no longer the dominant 2011 team.

And, of course, they won it all.

In reference to the Clemson players assertion that Notre Dame was the tougher team consider this. Clemson more than doubled up Notre Dame on yards - something like 500+ for Clemson and around 250 for Notre Dame. Alabama was ahead of Clemson in yards until Clemson's last drive. I think Clemson ended up +40 or something in yards over Alabama and were +250 or so vs Notre Dame. Also, to state the obvious, Notre Dame was basically shut out and did not reach the red zone. They did not score until a field goal in the 4th quarter. Not surprisingly, none of the media talk about these facts and instead just default to the scoreboard and say Clemson "dominated" Alabama. They dominated the scoreboard which is all that matters but the game was decided on a handful of plays that, credit to Clemson, all went their way. I don't remember another time this year we had a DB fall down and blow out his foot but that's exactly what happened on one of the Justyn Ross go routes. I mean Clemson made the play but it was fluky. As was many of their 3rd down conversions. Give them credit but it was not domination on the field. The most they dominated us was on that last drive of the game. Before that it was back and forth except they scored TDs and we kept bogging down in the red zone..

CrimsonForce said:

In reference to the Clemson players assertion that Notre Dame was the tougher team consider this. Clemson more than doubled up Notre Dame on yards - something like 500+ for Clemson and around 250 for Notre Dame. Alabama was ahead of Clemson in yards until Clemson's last drive. I think Clemson ended up +40 or something in yards over Alabama and were +250 or so vs Notre Dame. Also, to state the obvious, Notre Dame was basically shut out and did not reach the red zone. They did not score until a field goal in the 4th quarter. Not surprisingly, none of the media talk about these facts and instead just default to the scoreboard and say Clemson "dominated" Alabama. They dominated the scoreboard which is all that matters but the game was decided on a handful of plays that, credit to Clemson, all went their way. I don't remember another time this year we had a DB fall down and blow out his foot but that's exactly what happened on one of the Justyn Ross go routes. I mean Clemson made the play but it was fluky. As was many of their 3rd down conversions. Give them credit but it was not domination on the field. The most they dominated us was on that last drive of the game. Before that it was back and forth except they scored TDs and we kept bogging down in the red zone..

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TBF, the Clemson player might be right. You prepare one week for one team while preparing an entire month, so you expect the one week preparation to be more difficult. Thus, ND was harder.

We didn't have a DB blow out his foot... He blew out his ego.

The sports media prints something and college fans lose their collective minds.


What exactly is "the face of college football"?


Answer: There isn't one. It's a made up term.....giving a writer/broadcaster something to talk about.


On another note, I have noticed the term "SEC speed" has pretty much gone away.

So, we've got that going for us, which is nice.

FairlyAmazing said:

On another note, I have noticed the term "SEC speed" has pretty much gone away.

So, we've got that going for us, which is nice.

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You really should limit this stuff to your homer boards.

CrimsonForce said:

In reference to the Clemson players assertion that Notre Dame was the tougher team consider this. Clemson more than doubled up Notre Dame on yards - something like 500+ for Clemson and around 250 for Notre Dame. Alabama was ahead of Clemson in yards until Clemson's last drive. I think Clemson ended up +40 or something in yards over Alabama and were +250 or so vs Notre Dame. Also, to state the obvious, Notre Dame was basically shut out and did not reach the red zone. They did not score until a field goal in the 4th quarter. Not surprisingly, none of the media talk about these facts and instead just default to the scoreboard and say Clemson "dominated" Alabama. They dominated the scoreboard which is all that matters but the game was decided on a handful of plays that, credit to Clemson, all went their way. I don't remember another time this year we had a DB fall down and blow out his foot but that's exactly what happened on one of the Justyn Ross go routes. I mean Clemson made the play but it was fluky. As was many of their 3rd down conversions. Give them credit but it was not domination on the field. The most they dominated us was on that last drive of the game. Before that it was back and forth except they scored TDs and we kept bogging down in the red zone..

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In the abstract, it was ridiculous for the Clemson player to say that ND was "the best team" they played. Both the season's that ND and Bama had were quite different as well as the game's they played vs Clemson. There was no comparison between the two - Bama was much better. It's possible that the kid was just responding to the quote of Moses, which would make it understandable, but as far as a genuine assessment, it was a stupid statement. But it doesn't matter - Clemson solidly beat Alabama, though IMO, I would not characterize it the way many have.

CrimsonForce said:

In reference to the Clemson players assertion that Notre Dame was the tougher team consider this. Clemson more than doubled up Notre Dame on yards - something like 500+ for Clemson and around 250 for Notre Dame. Alabama was ahead of Clemson in yards until Clemson's last drive. I think Clemson ended up +40 or something in yards over Alabama and were +250 or so vs Notre Dame. Also, to state the obvious, Notre Dame was basically shut out and did not reach the red zone. They did not score until a field goal in the 4th quarter. Not surprisingly, none of the media talk about these facts and instead just default to the scoreboard and say Clemson "dominated" Alabama. They dominated the scoreboard which is all that matters but the game was decided on a handful of plays that, credit to Clemson, all went their way. I don't remember another time this year we had a DB fall down and blow out his foot but that's exactly what happened on one of the Justyn Ross go routes. I mean Clemson made the play but it was fluky. As was many of their 3rd down conversions. Give them credit but it was not domination on the field. The most they dominated us was on that last drive of the game. Before that it was back and forth except they scored TDs and we kept bogging down in the red zone..

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I obviously agree with your assessment about the yardage differences, but when Clemson talks about toughness, that is a topic where I can understand their point. I think we fell in love with the big play, the passing yardage, the easy way. I've seen it happen to many, many teams through the years where their passing games are "cutting edge" and "unstoppable" until they meet a team that punches them in the mouth. We had some problems all year with stupid penalties where we lost focus and also in some short yardage situations where toughness matters. With the talent that we have, there are only a few teams that have a chance to beat us. I think the whole team got used to things being easy, which usually means sloppy play with penalties and taking things for granted. Even with these issues during our late season challenges we were able to go 14-0 before the debacle against Clemson. I hope we get back some toughness in the running game and on defense while also showing the ability of our QBs and receivers. If we do, I don't think any team will beat us. Now that I've rambled on, I'll just say that I also think we need more toughness this year. Roll Tide!

More, bring on MORE...

Here's hoping we meet again, and our guys come in healthy and mad.
Besides... I want to see how Clemson handles the front runner role.
I want to see what extras Coach Saban decides to throw at Clemson.

CrimsonForce said:

In reference to the Clemson players assertion that Notre Dame was the tougher team consider this. Clemson more than doubled up Notre Dame on yards - something like 500+ for Clemson and around 250 for Notre Dame. Alabama was ahead of Clemson in yards until Clemson's last drive. I think Clemson ended up +40 or something in yards over Alabama and were +250 or so vs Notre Dame. Also, to state the obvious, Notre Dame was basically shut out and did not reach the red zone. They did not score until a field goal in the 4th quarter. Not surprisingly, none of the media talk about these facts and instead just default to the scoreboard and say Clemson "dominated" Alabama. They dominated the scoreboard which is all that matters but the game was decided on a handful of plays that, credit to Clemson, all went their way. I don't remember another time this year we had a DB fall down and blow out his foot but that's exactly what happened on one of the Justyn Ross go routes. I mean Clemson made the play but it was fluky. As was many of their 3rd down conversions. Give them credit but it was not domination on the field. The most they dominated us was on that last drive of the game. Before that it was back and forth except they scored TDs and we kept bogging down in the red zone..

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Well, several Alabama players from the 92 team said that La Tech was better than Miami. The final score might suggest that, but I don't think that's accurate and neither does anyone else.

They played La Tech as the Tide was coming off an SEC road win at Arky and had a week to get ready presumably without David Palmer, who was suspended (and then won the game).

By contrast, Alabama had four weeks to prepare for a Miami team that was actually one-dimensional (a passing team) and threw the ball 14 of 15 plays. The entire scheme was set up to defend the pass with the hope that the Tide's team speed could make the plays on the rare attempts at running the ball Miami would make. If Miami had had a stout running game to compliment Torretta's passing, the entire game is different (even though the outcome may or may not be).


Personally, I just think this is the way teams insult each other after winning. "Oh, La Tech was better than you were. Oh, Notre Dame was better than you were."

We beat 2-9 LSU by fewer points than we beat Miami in 1992. Anybody think LSU was better?

We beat four teams by the 21 or greater points margin than we did Miami in 1992:
Ole Miss 21
Arkansas 27
Tulane 37
SCAR 41

Does anybody actually think that Vandy losing to us by only 17 and giving up only one TD makes them better than Miami that year?


I wouldn't worry about it. Notre Dame was the least deserving team in the playoff last year, but you can't exactly leave out an unbeaten P5 team.

FairlyAmazing said:

On another note, I have noticed the term "SEC speed" has pretty much gone away.

So, we've got that going for us, which is nice.

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Well, we do run faster in the South, but it's mostly because we're all so poor and on welfare down here that stealing is a way of life.

So being fast is a matter of survival something something.

Wolves are not concerned with the opinions of sheep !

BamaNation said:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/spor...-college-football-entering-season/1754234001/


Good! Bulletin board material! Keep it coming, national media!

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Problem with Clemson as the face of College Football is one stumble
and the dogs will go after them too.
Clemson has a much easier conference schedule than we do, but both teams
will have to win em all to silence the dogs.

This is the same plot as it's been since, what, 2012 season but with a different supporting actor. Only change is a new episode. Other teams are catching up in talent but not so much in depth and development. Clemson is the only legitimate actor that appears to be a regular in the series.

Quite frankly I'm glad we have a legitimate challenging rivalry now. This is why I love CFB so much.

The casual college football fan today:


"What do you know about Clemson?"

Uh, they beat Alabama last year pretty badly, which made me happy and.......and.......


"What do you know about Alabama?"

Oh, wow, Nick Saban, man. Those guys are something else. And Bear Bryant before him, too. Just always in the big games, win or lose. You beat them you've really done something."

To me the real face of college are the players who toil all year and never play, the walk-ons whose love for the game makes them try to accomplish the near impossible. It is the fans who trek to Tuscaloosa, Baton Rouge, Columbus or Pullman, WS every weekend to support their favorite team. It is the bands, cheerleaders, and all the support staff who make the game on Saturday truly a fall pageant. The media writers are trying to put out pieces or entice clicks so they can get a paycheck. The face of college football is bigger than any one team or coach.

Lets talk about ND. The media always builds them up,
and Michigan or Ohio State knocks them down.

I suspect the ND mention was just a Clemson guy putting us down.