ACC wins the natty. Agree?
- Thread starter 12375CAT
- Start date
Well, all I know is I want Clemson to win. I happen to like our new conference mate and I would back them no matter who they were playing - outside of us, of course.
This is a tough matchup for Bama.
1) The SEC doesn't have many good QB's. Literally I can't think of any real good QB's in that entire conference. That means as long as Bama shuts down the run, which they are the best at, then other teams just can't score. In the SEC that is much easier as most of these teams just don't have elite QBs.
2) Clemson is a balanced, up tempo, Spread offense that can do everything. They can hand the ball to Gallman. They can run the Zone Read with Gallman and Watson. They can have Watson fake the Dropback Pass and run a QB draw. They can throw quick passes to the perimeter where there receivers can make plays in space. They have one of the best Tight Ends in the country. Watson can throw intermediate passes and he is the best statistical Deep Ball Thrower in the country. They are balanced. That type of offense is much harder to stop than an offense like LSU who only can run Leonard Fournette and can't do much else.
3) Clemson's defense is no slouch and their Secondary is a lock down Secondary. That allows them to play Man to Man coverage and if they need to sneak a Safety up to stop the run they have that option. I have a hunch they'll play both Safeties deep to start with and see if their Front Seven can stop Henry and the Bama run game with 7 in the box to start. If they start getting gashed with the run they'll probably bring a safety into the box and trust their Secondary to play Man to Man coverage. The Michigan State defense played a soft zone with minimal blitzing and pressure and Coker just picked them apart. Clemson has a more athletic Secondary which gives them more options.
I am looking forward to this game. I look for it to be a close game and Clemson has a great chance to win.
1) The SEC doesn't have many good QB's. Literally I can't think of any real good QB's in that entire conference. That means as long as Bama shuts down the run, which they are the best at, then other teams just can't score. In the SEC that is much easier as most of these teams just don't have elite QBs.
2) Clemson is a balanced, up tempo, Spread offense that can do everything. They can hand the ball to Gallman. They can run the Zone Read with Gallman and Watson. They can have Watson fake the Dropback Pass and run a QB draw. They can throw quick passes to the perimeter where there receivers can make plays in space. They have one of the best Tight Ends in the country. Watson can throw intermediate passes and he is the best statistical Deep Ball Thrower in the country. They are balanced. That type of offense is much harder to stop than an offense like LSU who only can run Leonard Fournette and can't do much else.
3) Clemson's defense is no slouch and their Secondary is a lock down Secondary. That allows them to play Man to Man coverage and if they need to sneak a Safety up to stop the run they have that option. I have a hunch they'll play both Safeties deep to start with and see if their Front Seven can stop Henry and the Bama run game with 7 in the box to start. If they start getting gashed with the run they'll probably bring a safety into the box and trust their Secondary to play Man to Man coverage. The Michigan State defense played a soft zone with minimal blitzing and pressure and Coker just picked them apart. Clemson has a more athletic Secondary which gives them more options.
I am looking forward to this game. I look for it to be a close game and Clemson has a great chance to win.
Well, Kelly and the five Alabama turnovers. If Clemson can win the turnover battle as Ole Miss did 5-0, then I suspect Clemson has a pretty good shot at winning.
As far as your assessment of strengths and weaknesses (and challenges) I think you are basically correct. A couple of points I would add, however.
Offensively, Kiffin is very good at creating mismatches. I expect Alabama to line up in a lot of three wide with O.J. Howard in the mix. Some of those will be with Kenyan Drake split. Assuming (as I do) that often Howard will be split as well, that will force Clemson to either go zone and go man coverage all around with seven in the box. That is a "pick your poison" scenario in Alabama's favor. If Clemson can cover man-for-man all over the field and stop Henry with seven, then they deserve to win.
Defensively, you can be certain the Alabama staff has preached gap integrity all week. Clemson's offense is not quite as dynamic as the one Auburn ran a couple of years ago with Nick Marshall. So, gap integrity and rush lane discipline are better tools here. Still, I think if Watson plays a clean game (doesn't turn it over), Clemson has a real chance at a win. He does not have to be great. But, he has to be efficient. If Alabama is sound on defense, he will have to hit some tight windows down field to have a chance. Frankly, I don't think he can consistently do that. We'll see.
