Game Thread: National Championship: Clemson vs Alabama 8pm ET ESPN

[Crimson Kirk]

Pretty comparable to this season. It really doesn't matter they get a #1 recruiting class every season, they have the best head coach and they have built depth for 3-4+ years. It's a cakewalk to the CFP

As it stands the SEC title game is their only projected dog fight in any season. I have no doubt that Clemson playing more close games throughout the season gave them an edge.

 

[4down20]

Indeed. If you have been paying any attention, the station was herroragging viewers for several years. not my opinion but
from Fox Business channel.

All I know is my Disney stock is my only stock that hasn't lost it's ass the past 2 months.

 

[UNA Lion]

Not a bad write-up of the game last night, though arguably with a Bama fan's slant (Initial Impressions from the CFP Championship game):

Well, that was.... something.

Alabama came roaring out of the gate looking like the superior football team by a fair margin. The defense forced a quick three-and-out and, after a head-scratching pick-six by Tua Tagovailoa that would serve as an omen, the offense marched right down the field to tie the score. Immediately, the defense had Trevor Lawrence and company in 3rd-and-14 on the ensuing possession. The freshman was looking a little shaky at that point, and frankly wasn’t great under pressure most of the night (unfortunately he was rarely under pressure, but I digress). A hit on him there and a forced punt would have gone a long way toward the Tide racing out to an early cushion.

Alas, Tosh Lupoi made the decision to rush only three and it hurt, as Deionte Thompson bit up and let WR Tee Higgins behind him for an easy 62 yards that the Tigers would cash in for seven more. Unphased, the Tide offense marched right down the field a second time, mostly with the run game, and made it look rather easy. Of course, Joseph Bulovas managed to miss his sixth extra point, but after the defense forced another three-and-out, it felt like the Tide would start to seize control of the game.

indeed, the offense got the ball back near the 50 and marched again, getting all the way down to the half-yard line on 2nd-and-goal. The Tide had made every mistake imaginable to keep Clemson in the game to this point despite outgaining them almost 3-to-1. Outside of the one lapse, the defense had been solid. A touchdown and another stop would have had the Tide in firm control of things and well on their way to another national title. Unfortunately for the Tide, a false start by Jedrick Wills moved the ball back to the 5 and Clemson’s defense bowed up from there to force a field goal. It was yet another mistake for the Tide, but they still had a narrow lead on the scoreboard and were dominating in the trenches.

Nobody knew it at the time, but that false start was the turning point.

Bulovas followed with his second gaffe, kicking the football out of bounds to put Clemson on their own 35. A quick, correctly called pass interference penalty on a ball that Higgins probably wasn’t going to catch moved it to the 50. Mack Wilson then overran a simple RB screen to give up 26. Clemson punched it in from there to take a lead that they would never relinquish.

On the following possession, Tagovailoa threw another horrible interception, again baited by the coverage disguise. This one was particularly frustrating because six consecutive run plays had moved the ball 38 yards. Venables had clearly bet that Tua and Mike Locksley couldn’t stay patient, and he was right. With a lead, the ball across the 50 and renewed confidence, Lawrence moved it down the field and punched it in again. Another great call by Venables created a third-down sack on the next possession, and Lawrence advanced the ball for a field goal.

Down by 15 at the break and getting the ball, the Tide came out looking like a team prepared to restore order. Damien Harris ripped off two runs for 26 yards and the Tide were in business again. On 2nd-and-6 at the Clemson 22, Tua completed a three-yard pass to Devonta Smith. Unfortunately, since fate was in charge on this night, Smith fumbled the ball with his knee about in inch off the turf and it rolled back to the line of scrimmage. He recovered, but it was 3rd-and-6 rather than 3rd-and-3. Still, you had to figure on another running play since the Tide had been successful on the ground and it was likely four down territory, right? Right?

Of course not. Tua attempted to get the ball to Irv Smith with a Clemson defender draped on his back, which should have drawn a flag. Unfortunately the Tigers somehow managed to commit only one skinny penalty all night and that wasn’t it. Comically, the next play was a fake field goal with Bulovas following lead blocker extraordinaire Mac Jones between the tackles. Yes, you read that correctly: on the edge of the red zone, our coaching staff ran the ball with Joseph Bulovas rather than one of our excellent backs who had been making hay all night. Shockingly, it failed.

Justyn Ross was promptly left wide open as Saivion Smith crumpled to the ground with some sort of lower leg injury, and the Tigers were up 21. The Tide would drive the ball again but come up short, partially because Clemson again managed not to commit a penalty despite a corner grabbing Jerry Jeudy with both hands on third down.

As I said in the postgame, most of the credit should go to Venables. He knew he had a bad physical matchup, so he scouted the hell out of it and created some plays. So often, football comes down to turnovers and red zone conversions, and Clemson won in a landslide in those two critical areas. Yes, the Tide made a ton of stupid mistakes and the yellow flags were skewed in the Tigers’ favor, the two third down pass interference non-calls looming large. Still, Clemson executed their game plan on both sides of the ball and deserve all the credit. The object of the game is to accumulate points not yards, and that is exactly what they did.

The hot takes are already getting ridiculous, and I’m sure they will continue through the offseason. Football can be a funny game, and this was just Clemson’s night. In hindsight, perhaps the staff had done a masterful job all season covering for the defensive shortcomings. The Tide replaced five starters in the secondary, lost the best pass rusher in the preseason and best cover corner early in the season, yet still managed to perform well enough to get to this point. Perhaps the loss of Christian Miller was the last straw, as the pass rush didn’t get home often enough. They actually stuffed the run well until the last drive when the game was over, but a combination of mental mistakes and great execution by Clemson got them torched through the air.

The offense made plenty of plays all night, they just didn’t convert in the red zone. No matter how you slice it, 400 yards of offense through three quarters should produce more than 16 points. Irv Smith has a decision to make, but the Tide will return a ton of talent on that side of the ball. The defense has to replace the line, but there will be no shortage of good candidates with the talent on hand plus a stellar class, and barring another injury Terrell Lewis will be back. They will enter next season as the odds-on favorite to win the SEC and make another playoff to seek redemption. if you said anything along the lines of “this is the beginning of the end blah, blah, blah” last night, please slap yourself and snap out of it. This was one game and a rather weird one, nothing more.

As Saban has said before, “never waste a failure.” Like last year’s game was to Clemson, this one should serve as great offseason motivation for all of those who return. Hopefully they are able to regroup and get back to the top of the mountain. Only eight months ‘til game day, folks.

Roll Tide.

 

[_rolltideroll_]

Im sorry but can I ask it...

and you can tell me im an idiot. but if Jalen starts the 2nd half, is the game closer?

IMO, the short answer is no.

 

[Bandwagonbo2]

 

[TigerBait1971]

Not a bad write-up of the game last night, though arguably with a Bama fan's slant (Initial Impressions from the CFP Championship game):

Well, that was.... something.

Alabama came roaring out of the gate looking like the superior football team by a fair margin. The defense forced a quick three-and-out and, after a head-scratching pick-six by Tua Tagovailoa that would serve as an omen, the offense marched right down the field to tie the score. Immediately, the defense had Trevor Lawrence and company in 3rd-and-14 on the ensuing possession. The freshman was looking a little shaky at that point, and frankly wasn’t great under pressure most of the night (unfortunately he was rarely under pressure, but I digress). A hit on him there and a forced punt would have gone a long way toward the Tide racing out to an early cushion.

Alas, Tosh Lupoi made the decision to rush only three and it hurt, as Deionte Thompson bit up and let WR Tee Higgins behind him for an easy 62 yards that the Tigers would cash in for seven more. Unphased, the Tide offense marched right down the field a second time, mostly with the run game, and made it look rather easy. Of course, Joseph Bulovas managed to miss his sixth extra point, but after the defense forced another three-and-out, it felt like the Tide would start to seize control of the game.

indeed, the offense got the ball back near the 50 and marched again, getting all the way down to the half-yard line on 2nd-and-goal. The Tide had made every mistake imaginable to keep Clemson in the game to this point despite outgaining them almost 3-to-1. Outside of the one lapse, the defense had been solid. A touchdown and another stop would have had the Tide in firm control of things and well on their way to another national title. Unfortunately for the Tide, a false start by Jedrick Wills moved the ball back to the 5 and Clemson’s defense bowed up from there to force a field goal. It was yet another mistake for the Tide, but they still had a narrow lead on the scoreboard and were dominating in the trenches.

Nobody knew it at the time, but that false start was the turning point.

Bulovas followed with his second gaffe, kicking the football out of bounds to put Clemson on their own 35. A quick, correctly called pass interference penalty on a ball that Higgins probably wasn’t going to catch moved it to the 50. Mack Wilson then overran a simple RB screen to give up 26. Clemson punched it in from there to take a lead that they would never relinquish.

On the following possession, Tagovailoa threw another horrible interception, again baited by the coverage disguise. This one was particularly frustrating because six consecutive run plays had moved the ball 38 yards. Venables had clearly bet that Tua and Mike Locksley couldn’t stay patient, and he was right. With a lead, the ball across the 50 and renewed confidence, Lawrence moved it down the field and punched it in again. Another great call by Venables created a third-down sack on the next possession, and Lawrence advanced the ball for a field goal.

Down by 15 at the break and getting the ball, the Tide came out looking like a team prepared to restore order. Damien Harris ripped off two runs for 26 yards and the Tide were in business again. On 2nd-and-6 at the Clemson 22, Tua completed a three-yard pass to Devonta Smith. Unfortunately, since fate was in charge on this night, Smith fumbled the ball with his knee about in inch off the turf and it rolled back to the line of scrimmage. He recovered, but it was 3rd-and-6 rather than 3rd-and-3. Still, you had to figure on another running play since the Tide had been successful on the ground and it was likely four down territory, right? Right?

Of course not. Tua attempted to get the ball to Irv Smith with a Clemson defender draped on his back, which should have drawn a flag. Unfortunately the Tigers somehow managed to commit only one skinny penalty all night and that wasn’t it. Comically, the next play was a fake field goal with Bulovas following lead blocker extraordinaire Mac Jones between the tackles. Yes, you read that correctly: on the edge of the red zone, our coaching staff ran the ball with Joseph Bulovas rather than one of our excellent backs who had been making hay all night. Shockingly, it failed.

Justyn Ross was promptly left wide open as Saivion Smith crumpled to the ground with some sort of lower leg injury, and the Tigers were up 21. The Tide would drive the ball again but come up short, partially because Clemson again managed not to commit a penalty despite a corner grabbing Jerry Jeudy with both hands on third down.

As I said in the postgame, most of the credit should go to Venables. He knew he had a bad physical matchup, so he scouted the hell out of it and created some plays. So often, football comes down to turnovers and red zone conversions, and Clemson won in a landslide in those two critical areas. Yes, the Tide made a ton of stupid mistakes and the yellow flags were skewed in the Tigers’ favor, the two third down pass interference non-calls looming large. Still, Clemson executed their game plan on both sides of the ball and deserve all the credit. The object of the game is to accumulate points not yards, and that is exactly what they did.

The hot takes are already getting ridiculous, and I’m sure they will continue through the offseason. Football can be a funny game, and this was just Clemson’s night. In hindsight, perhaps the staff had done a masterful job all season covering for the defensive shortcomings. The Tide replaced five starters in the secondary, lost the best pass rusher in the preseason and best cover corner early in the season, yet still managed to perform well enough to get to this point. Perhaps the loss of Christian Miller was the last straw, as the pass rush didn’t get home often enough. They actually stuffed the run well until the last drive when the game was over, but a combination of mental mistakes and great execution by Clemson got them torched through the air.

The offense made plenty of plays all night, they just didn’t convert in the red zone. No matter how you slice it, 400 yards of offense through three quarters should produce more than 16 points. Irv Smith has a decision to make, but the Tide will return a ton of talent on that side of the ball. The defense has to replace the line, but there will be no shortage of good candidates with the talent on hand plus a stellar class, and barring another injury Terrell Lewis will be back. They will enter next season as the odds-on favorite to win the SEC and make another playoff to seek redemption. if you said anything along the lines of “this is the beginning of the end blah, blah, blah” last night, please slap yourself and snap out of it. This was one game and a rather weird one, nothing more.

As Saban has said before, “never waste a failure.” Like last year’s game was to Clemson, this one should serve as great offseason motivation for all of those who return. Hopefully they are able to regroup and get back to the top of the mountain. Only eight months ‘til game day, folks.

Roll Tide.

 

[UNA Lion]

Heh, yeah, sorry for the wall of text ... thought it was a pretty good write-up though, and pulled few punches on Bama.

 

[blazer prophet]

I saw it as "one of those games" for Alabama. They ran at will but had uncharacteristic mistakes and gaffes. Seemed to have saved them for their final game.

Not to take anything away from Clemson as they really took it to the Tide and easily played their best game of the season.

I guess what it shows me is that Clemson was a better team that I thought with plenty of talent and heart to beat Alabama's B game. Nonetheless, Clemson would have beaten Alabama's A game last night. They were simply golden.

 

[gobigred]

View attachment 195225

Maybe he still has another year of eligibility left ?

 

[Goldbug]

I'm not pissed at all really. I've been an Alabama fan for decades, these are good times. I just think it was more about coaching than anything as I've pointed out.

Tua also needs to cool his shit and stop trying to make homerun throws every down and go back to taking what the defense gives him, no doubt about that. But in the end, Jalen isn't going to make up for a complete lack of coaching effort.

I was pulling for Alabama to win the game so I wasn't exactly happy with what happened either. Do you know why Saban was losing his shit against Oklahoma every time someone screwed up but he was calm and just seemed resigned to his fate against Clemson? It was unlike anything I expected. When OU got down 0-28 against Alabama, Lincoln Riley went berserk on the sideline yelling at the whole squad and he made his point; OU did start playing better. But last night Saban was damn near a choir boy.

 

[Wishbone]

It was a great season! on that note....

 

[DJ]

It's even better the next day.


LOL.

 

[theboardref]

 

[Fred_Delosantos]

I was pulling for Alabama to win the game so I wasn't exactly happy with what happened either. Do you know why Saban was losing his shit against Oklahoma every time someone screwed up but he was calm and just seemed resigned to his fate against Clemson? It was unlike anything I expected. When OU got down 0-28 against Alabama, Lincoln Riley went berserk on the sideline yelling at the whole squad and he made his point; OU did start playing better. But last night Saban was damn near a choir boy.

I don't think he even smashed 1 headset. You're right, he was resigned to the coming train wreck.

 

[Fred_Delosantos]

wow, that is funny, like, they didn't get the memo. or trying to predict the presidential election erroneously.

 

[theboardref]

wow, that is funny, like, they didn't get the memo. or trying to predict the presidential election erroneously.

Worked for a radio station before. My guess is they made the spot and programmed it to play at that time. Probably just assumed Bama would win and completely forgot about it before it was too late.

 

[poewelch84]

Not a bad write-up of the game last night, though arguably with a Bama fan's slant (Initial Impressions from the CFP Championship game):

Well, that was.... something.

Alabama came roaring out of the gate looking like the superior football team by a fair margin. The defense forced a quick three-and-out and, after a head-scratching pick-six by Tua Tagovailoa that would serve as an omen, the offense marched right down the field to tie the score. Immediately, the defense had Trevor Lawrence and company in 3rd-and-14 on the ensuing possession. The freshman was looking a little shaky at that point, and frankly wasn’t great under pressure most of the night (unfortunately he was rarely under pressure, but I digress). A hit on him there and a forced punt would have gone a long way toward the Tide racing out to an early cushion.

Alas, Tosh Lupoi made the decision to rush only three and it hurt, as Deionte Thompson bit up and let WR Tee Higgins behind him for an easy 62 yards that the Tigers would cash in for seven more. Unphased, the Tide offense marched right down the field a second time, mostly with the run game, and made it look rather easy. Of course, Joseph Bulovas managed to miss his sixth extra point, but after the defense forced another three-and-out, it felt like the Tide would start to seize control of the game.

indeed, the offense got the ball back near the 50 and marched again, getting all the way down to the half-yard line on 2nd-and-goal. The Tide had made every mistake imaginable to keep Clemson in the game to this point despite outgaining them almost 3-to-1. Outside of the one lapse, the defense had been solid. A touchdown and another stop would have had the Tide in firm control of things and well on their way to another national title. Unfortunately for the Tide, a false start by Jedrick Wills moved the ball back to the 5 and Clemson’s defense bowed up from there to force a field goal. It was yet another mistake for the Tide, but they still had a narrow lead on the scoreboard and were dominating in the trenches.

Nobody knew it at the time, but that false start was the turning point.

Bulovas followed with his second gaffe, kicking the football out of bounds to put Clemson on their own 35. A quick, correctly called pass interference penalty on a ball that Higgins probably wasn’t going to catch moved it to the 50. Mack Wilson then overran a simple RB screen to give up 26. Clemson punched it in from there to take a lead that they would never relinquish.

On the following possession, Tagovailoa threw another horrible interception, again baited by the coverage disguise. This one was particularly frustrating because six consecutive run plays had moved the ball 38 yards. Venables had clearly bet that Tua and Mike Locksley couldn’t stay patient, and he was right. With a lead, the ball across the 50 and renewed confidence, Lawrence moved it down the field and punched it in again. Another great call by Venables created a third-down sack on the next possession, and Lawrence advanced the ball for a field goal.

Down by 15 at the break and getting the ball, the Tide came out looking like a team prepared to restore order. Damien Harris ripped off two runs for 26 yards and the Tide were in business again. On 2nd-and-6 at the Clemson 22, Tua completed a three-yard pass to Devonta Smith. Unfortunately, since fate was in charge on this night, Smith fumbled the ball with his knee about in inch off the turf and it rolled back to the line of scrimmage. He recovered, but it was 3rd-and-6 rather than 3rd-and-3. Still, you had to figure on another running play since the Tide had been successful on the ground and it was likely four down territory, right? Right?

Of course not. Tua attempted to get the ball to Irv Smith with a Clemson defender draped on his back, which should have drawn a flag. Unfortunately the Tigers somehow managed to commit only one skinny penalty all night and that wasn’t it. Comically, the next play was a fake field goal with Bulovas following lead blocker extraordinaire Mac Jones between the tackles. Yes, you read that correctly: on the edge of the red zone, our coaching staff ran the ball with Joseph Bulovas rather than one of our excellent backs who had been making hay all night. Shockingly, it failed.

Justyn Ross was promptly left wide open as Saivion Smith crumpled to the ground with some sort of lower leg injury, and the Tigers were up 21. The Tide would drive the ball again but come up short, partially because Clemson again managed not to commit a penalty despite a corner grabbing Jerry Jeudy with both hands on third down.

As I said in the postgame, most of the credit should go to Venables. He knew he had a bad physical matchup, so he scouted the hell out of it and created some plays. So often, football comes down to turnovers and red zone conversions, and Clemson won in a landslide in those two critical areas. Yes, the Tide made a ton of stupid mistakes and the yellow flags were skewed in the Tigers’ favor, the two third down pass interference non-calls looming large. Still, Clemson executed their game plan on both sides of the ball and deserve all the credit. The object of the game is to accumulate points not yards, and that is exactly what they did.

The hot takes are already getting ridiculous, and I’m sure they will continue through the offseason. Football can be a funny game, and this was just Clemson’s night. In hindsight, perhaps the staff had done a masterful job all season covering for the defensive shortcomings. The Tide replaced five starters in the secondary, lost the best pass rusher in the preseason and best cover corner early in the season, yet still managed to perform well enough to get to this point. Perhaps the loss of Christian Miller was the last straw, as the pass rush didn’t get home often enough. They actually stuffed the run well until the last drive when the game was over, but a combination of mental mistakes and great execution by Clemson got them torched through the air.

The offense made plenty of plays all night, they just didn’t convert in the red zone. No matter how you slice it, 400 yards of offense through three quarters should produce more than 16 points. Irv Smith has a decision to make, but the Tide will return a ton of talent on that side of the ball. The defense has to replace the line, but there will be no shortage of good candidates with the talent on hand plus a stellar class, and barring another injury Terrell Lewis will be back. They will enter next season as the odds-on favorite to win the SEC and make another playoff to seek redemption. if you said anything along the lines of “this is the beginning of the end blah, blah, blah” last night, please slap yourself and snap out of it. This was one game and a rather weird one, nothing more.

As Saban has said before, “never waste a failure.” Like last year’s game was to Clemson, this one should serve as great offseason motivation for all of those who return. Hopefully they are able to regroup and get back to the top of the mountain. Only eight months ‘til game day, folks.

Roll Tide.

Early Notre Dame were blitzing a bunch and keeping pressure on Lawrence then Love got hurt and they stopped to try and cover up the inferior CB that replaced him and Lawrence with time started carving them up.

 

[UNA Lion]

Early Notre Dame were blitzing a bunch and keeping pressure on Lawrence then Love got hurt and they stopped to try and cover up the inferior CB that replaced him and Lawrence with time started carving them up.

Yeah, giving that cat four plus seconds in the pocket is a recipe for disaster.

 

[jjc2009]

A bunch of African kids are going to make out ok.

 

[DeafOranguntan]

You may be too pissed off right now to see things objectively (and I would be too if OU had gotten beat like that last night) but the logical answer is "yes", it would likely have made a marginal positive difference. Tua was horrible last night. Putting in the backup would probably have let Bama score a couple of more times but it wouldn't have changed the outcome. Jalen would have done a better job in the red zone. People have to remember Clemson could have scored again if they needed it.

I feel like I'm pretty objective. I'm definitely not pissed off (lol) or emotionally invested in either of Bama's QBs. I thought Jalen was so much better than many Bama fans gave him credit for (and for some situations, including against UGA before they pulled Tua, I insisted he was the better option). And I've praised the hell out of Tua all season. So I like both QBs a lot.

The logical answer is no. Tua really wasn't bad outside of his two really bad picks in the first quarter. If you subtract those, he completed 68% of his passes for 295 yards and 2 touchdowns. Even counting the picks, he played far, far better than Trevor Knight or Baker Mayfield played against Clemson the last two times they played, and this year's Clemson defense was far better than they were in 2014 or 2015. It's basic matchups. Clemson had the best defensive line (probably ever), some really solid linebackers, and some cornerbacks and safeties that were good, but had been vulnerable at times this season. Tua has a laser beam of an arm, and could send his superstar receivers (the best in football - though Clemson's getting there, Oklahoma is in that ball park too) deep and take advantage of that weakness. They could mix those routes in with crosses and runs, and because Clemson had to defend against everything, they moved the ball down the field with ease. However, in the red zone, they no longer had the deep ball, and Clemson was able to shut them down, which is where they've been best all season. Jalen is not a terrible passer, but he is and always has been a run first QB. Clemson would not have to fear his passing ability the way they do Tua. In 2016, Jalen completed 41% of his passes for 131 yards, averaging 4.2 yards per pass. Last year, Jalen averaged 5 yards per pass for 120 yards. Because Jalen's such a great runner but not an enormous passing threat, Venables would have been able to stack the box and send serious blitzes, which he couldn't because of Tua (instead relying on a few dog blitzes). You'd be trying to entirely run against Clemson, their specialty, and the best rush defense since 2011 Bama in YPC. I think we would have seen a similar result offensively for Bama as last year, where Alabama really struggled to move the ball down the field (averaging 3.4 ypc and 5 yards per pass - instead taking advantage of field position and capitalizing on mistakes by Clemson - like the pick six and the pick on Clemson's own 20).

So yeah, I think Jalen going in for 5-6 plays last night could have added some interesting wrinkles at times. However, if you just put him in at halftime, I don't think there's any way they're even getting to the redzone consistently. That means they wouldn't be making Trevor Lawrence march 90 yards downfield, but more like 50 and 60. I think the blowout would have been worse with Jalen, maybe 57-16 or so.