National Championship - Clemson vs. Alabama

[Mavric]

[Landlord]

Should be a great game but unfortunately Bama is just too damn good in games like this.

[Mavric]

This has to be a joke. Right???

 

[Enhance]

^^That's pretty unacceptable. In that case, a governing body like... I don't know... the NCAA perhaps... should step in equalize the situation.

 

As far as the game is concerned, Clemson's got a great shot, but it's hard for me to pick against Alabama.

[Moiraine]

What makes it really stupid is there's usually nothing to study for during week 1. Certainly not enough to limit practice for the national championship to 4 hours. Make it 8 hours. That leaves plenty of time to do whatever joke of a homework assignment a professor will give in the 1st week.

[Creighton Duke]

Nothing to see here. No real reason to watch. Alabama is going to pound them.

[Creed]

I was actually impressed with Clemson against OU and give them a shot against Bammer. They say mobile QBs give Bama trouble and lord knows Conner Cook is not mobile. But the way bowl season is going, I say Bama 45 Clemson 10

[BigRedBuster]

This has to be a joke. Right???

 

Good friggen lord.

 

Even when the NCAA starts moving in the right direction, they still screw it up and have rules that give one team an advantage.

[killer cacti]

This has to be a joke. Right???

 

100% Accurate.

 

Don't think it'll make the difference in our team winning or losing, but you still would like to see both teams get the same opportunity for practice.

[Coqui]

Nothing to see here. No real reason to watch. Alabama is going to pound them.

The difference between Clemson and MSU is that Clemson has a secondary.

 

If they can stop Henry, they win.

 

MSU's issue was, while they could stop Henry, they couldn't stop the other aspect of the offense.

[killer cacti]

Nothing to see here. No real reason to watch. Alabama is going to pound them.

 

We've been the underdog a good bit of the season. Just where we want to be.

[DrunkOffPunch]

The game will be decided by whoever has better line play on both sides, just like last year.

[beorach]

Who ya got?

 

I thought Oklahoma would beat Clemson but I'm hoping the Tigers can keep Alabama from adding to the luster of their current dynastic form.

 

Here are the average z-scores for all the categories, with the ones calculated considering all FBS games first and just games between P5 teams second (without SOS adjustment through the games played ahead of the CCG weekend):

 

Pass D

Alabama: 1.21 and 0.92

Clemson: 1.48 and 1.24

 

Pass O

Alabama: 0.12 and 0.10

Clemson: 0.86 and 1.14

 

Rush D

Alabama: 2.11 and 2.06

Clemson: 0.93 and 0.83

 

Rush O

Alabama: 0.65 and 0.71

Clemson: 0.64 and 1.12

 

Scoring D

Alabama: 1.79 and 1.43

Clemson: 1.10 and 0.66

 

Scoring O

Alabama: 0.43 and 0.38

Clemson: 0.96 and 1.27

 

Total D

Alabama: 1.66 and 1.53

Clemson: 1.51 and 1.47

 

Total O

Alabama: 0.26 and 0.32

Clemson: 1.05 and 1.50

 

Turnover Margin

Alabama: 0.43 and 0.17

Clemson: -0.10 and -0.52

 

By my rough calculations, Alabama has played a tougher schedule. Given that Clemson has also had a tougher time with turnovers, I wouldn't consider the Tigers a good bet. On the other hand, I feel like their better offense (insofar as we can believe it's better, based on the stats over the course of a whole season against a different level of competition yadda yadda) could give them a chance if they get a fast start and avoid mistakes.

 

p.s. - Taking Notre Dame out of the equation has to explain the Clemson differences, to a large extent.

[Lyons in the Sea of Red.]

Bama, sadly.

[AR Husker Fan]

I have to figure Bama as well. That front seven - man. They can get pressure with just four, and drop the rest into coverage. If that happens, and they maintain their lanes to keep the QB from scrambling, it could be a looooong night for Clemson.