Anyone think USC has a chance of beating Clemson tonight? (Hollywood: 2013, university)

[ClemVegas]

Ole Miss's offense actually wasn't good this year and I think Mizzou's QB is overrated. Ole Miss scored 3 points at home against MSU. How is that is a good offense?

SEC fans always say ACC is terrible but the reality is the SEC has essentially been a one team conference since Saban got there. SEC east has been really bad the past years and the SEC west was down this year.

I don't know anybody can watch teams like Florida and Kentucky and think ACC teams could not beat them. Kentucky needed a special teams touchdown to score 14 points or so to stay in the game with Missouri who did not score much in that game.

Clemson did shut down Syracuses offense. I was at that game. Do you even watch Clemson games outside of the one with SC? Cuse only scored 23 points in that game and one of their TDs was after a fumbled punt return by Clemson.

Clemson is the only team this year to win at Texas AM....Kentucky and LSU lost there and those are ranked SEC teams. LSU had 7 overtime tries at a win there. I think those two teams both gave up 40 plus points in the overtime periods and those are not great teams on offense.

SC was down by 28 in the 4th quarter until it scored a touchdown with about 6 minutes left. I don't think that is good example to make the case that SEC is a better conference.

Alabama didn't play anybody out of conference. If you say ACC is terrible then that hurts Alabama's case to be in playoffs because they played the worst team in ACC this year.

Ohio State played TCU and Oklahoma played UCLA. Neither TCU or UCLA were good this year but those are better wins than against Lville or Colorado State.

SC's defense the past few years has been worst than most of the ACC defenses that Clemson has played. Teams like Wake and BC have been giving Clemson a tougher test on defense.

Tenn has historically been one of the strongest programs in the SEC but it has lost 5 out of 7 to Vanderbilt and in 4 of those games Tenn allowed 38 points or more.

[ClemVegas]

It looks like Clemson could hang with Alabama based on the SEC title game so far using the transitive property of sports.

Clemson won at Texas AM early season (w/ Kelly Bryant at QB).

LSU lost to Texas AM.

LSU beat UGA by 20.

UGA has been able to move the ball on Bama's defense and has held Bama to only 7 points. Alabama's defense isn't getting much pressure on Fromm.

[m1a1mg]

Originally Posted by ClemVegas

It looks like Clemson could hang with Alabama based on the SEC title game so far using the transitive property of sports.

Clemson won at Texas AM early season (w/ Kelly Bryant at QB).

LSU lost to Texas AM.

LSU beat UGA by 20.

UGA has been able to move the ball on Bama's defense and has held Bama to only 7 points. Alabama's defense isn't getting much pressure on Fromm.

[e66330]

Originally Posted by ClemVegas

Why do you assume Clemson is going to play Alabama? Right now it looks like Clemson would get ND in the first round if Clemson makes the playoffs. You seem to assume they will beat ND, but why wouldn't ND beat Clemson if SC having 500 yards of offense means a better team would beat Clemson. I think Oklahoma, Ohio State and UGA can all beat Alabama if they play well.

What's Clemson offense going to do to Alabama? Who has Alabama played with a dynamic pass offense with a great running game.

Deshaun Watson has the best 1st and 3rd best QB statistics in title game history and that was against Alabama defenses were touted as historically good.

Trevor Lawrence broke Waton's records in the state of Georgia.

Clemson gave up a lot of yards against Pitt two years ago and then beat Alabama for the title and that was despite losing the turnover margin by 2. I think this Clemson defense is better than the title team defense.

Clemson's defense shut down Syracuse's QB Dungey and Finley at NCSU and those are two QBs that will have a shot at the NFL.

I remember both of the years with Watson, a lot of people were predicting Alabama would 'pistol whip' Clemson even though Watson has a lot more talent than the two Alabama QBs Clemson faced.

I think the key to beating Alabama is more about stopping the run and not turning the ball over. If Clemson is able to force them to win by being one dimensional like SC was against Clemson, I like CLemson's chances.


One of the starters on defense didn't play at all in the SC game....his backup is the one who got the interception.

Because that's the way it has been , period .

[ClemVegas]

Originally Posted by e66330

Clemson gave up over 500 yards passing to South Carolina , in Clemson , against the starting "D" for the most part . What's Tua going to do against them ?

What did Tua do against Georgia?

He was 10 out of 25 for 164 yards and 2 interceptions against a defense that gave up 30 plus to LSU. He also had -21 yards on the ground.

Fromm had 300 yards on 25 out of 39 passes and 3 touchdowns.

Do you think Fromm is better than Lawrence?

[e66330]

Tua didn't do much . Take away the TD pass to Waddle and he did almost nothing . He lacked the accuracy he has displayed all season long .


Fromm has played Bama before so he had a little knowledge on how to play against them . Lawrence won't have that . Fromm is also a little sturdier than Lawrence . All that being said . Georgia's O-Line is more stout than Clemson's in my opinion . And that means nothing , the game is played on the field .


This started while discussing the Clemson "D" . They played better against Pitt , so what . ND will challenge them and Alabama has the best coach . If and when they play , Clemson may be a double digit underdog going into the game . But then again , Oklahoma may have something to say about . That's why they play'em !


Have a good week !

[ClemVegas]

Originally Posted by e66330

Tua didn't do much . Take away the TD pass to Waddle and he did almost nothing . He lacked the accuracy he has displayed all season long .


Fromm has played Bama before so he had a little knowledge on how to play against them .

Lawrence won't have that . Fromm is also a little sturdier than Lawrence . All that being said . Georgia's O-Line is more stout than Clemson's in my opinion . And that means nothing , the game is played on the field .


This started while discussing the Clemson "D" . They played better against Pitt , so what . ND will challenge them and Alabama has the best coach . If and when they play , Clemson may be a double digit underdog going into the game . But then again , Oklahoma may have something to say about . That's why they play'em !


Have a good week !

When is Clemson not an underdog to Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State type of programs.

Clemson is really the closest thing that we've seen to a Rudy type team in college football.

I remember the pundits and fans saying during the Deshaun Watson that Alabama would pistol whip Clemson if they played in the playoffs.

That didn't seem like a good prediction given how many talented players Clemson had on offense and the Clemson offense played great against Alabama. I think it is possible Alabama could beat Clemson handily but I don't see a reason to predict that as the probable outcome.

It seems like Clemson is on 'upset alert' on ESPN every week.

I believe Alabama was a huge favorite to beat UGA and UGA really choked that game away like last season.

[Jandrew5]

Originally Posted by ClemVegas

When is Clemson not an underdog to Alabama, Oklahoma, Ohio State type of programs.

Clemson was a 3 point underdog to OSU in 2016 and OU in 2015. That's not Rutgers vs OSU or Kansas vs OU type of underdog. Clemson has already shown they can beat all of them. They seem to have not only beaten but destroyed OSU and OU lately.

Originally Posted by ClemVegas

Clemson is really the closest thing that we've seen to a Rudy type team in college football.

No they're not. Clemson and Dabo have done exactly what youre supposed to do: invest in the program, recruit outside your region, recruit players that fit your scheme, build your brand, pay your coaches, and establish a culture. Clemson has done all that right and therefore should be winning repeatedly. When Clemson started landing players left and right from Florida, the writing was on the wall in the direction the program was about to go in.

A rudy team would be somebody like Washington State. They finished 11-2 this year despite finishing in the mid 40's to mid 50's in recruiting lately and being last in the Pac 12 in revenue and I would presume investment. UCF is another big example. Everyone acts like they're kings of CFB now, but they were 6-7 two years ago.

Clemson hasn't lost more than 3 games in 7 years and has a 53-4 record over the last 4. That's not Rudy.

Originally Posted by ClemVegas

I remember the pundits and fans saying during the Deshaun Watson that Alabama would pistol whip Clemson if they played in the playoffs.

People say Bama will destroy anybody and everybody, even NFL teams. No one was calling out and putting down Clemson. Bama is the team of this era and Saban is the coach. Every other team and their success is measured against "what is Bama doing." Saban seems to have gotten like half of the SEC fired lately because they couldn't beat him, or at the very least emulate his success.

Clemson has been a darling the last few years. You act like it's been them against the world. Sports media loves Clemson since they've been able to overcome the Clemsoning meme. ESPN will mention Clemson any chance they get at the most random times. Ex-Clemson players are also beloved.

Originally Posted by ClemVegas

It seems like Clemson is on 'upset alert' on ESPN every week.

No they're not. ESPN loves Clemson, literally. Herbstreit wants his sons to go there. All 43 "experts" back in August predicted Clemson would be in the playoff come today, and they got more championship picks than any other team. Clemson going 12-0 was seen as almost a given by most everybody. Going less than 11-1 was seen as borderline impossible.

The only times it's been a headline was the A&M game, which is because of Jimbo Fever. Almost every A&M game this season has been an overreaction. That and the Syracuse thriller, but it was repeated that even if Syracuse pulled it off, Clemson would be fine in the end.

You make it sound like people have been foaming at the mouth at the opportunity to see Clemson lose over and over, but everyone has been well aware of what Clemson was bringing to the table this year.

Originally Posted by ClemVegas

I believe Alabama was a huge favorite to beat UGA and UGA really choked that game away like last season.

Bama was 11.5 favorites. Huge depending on who you ask. Not that huge to me. Vegas isnt sacrosanct, nor are the media. Many fans knew it'd be close and UGA wouldn't just lay down like they did with LSU.

[m1a1mg]

Great post Jandrew5. Clemson is a long way removed from Tommy Bowden.

[ClemVegas]

Show me all the people who are saying Clemson is going to whip Alabama because of how poorly Tua played.

If a Clemson QB played that bad in a big game, people def. would say Clemson is overrated. People say Clemson is overrated even when it wins a game by 21.

I'm not sure how a SC fan can talk trash about Tommy Bowden because he went 7-2 against SC. He is also the first Clemson coach to beat FSU and he did that several times. I think Clemson beginning to beat FSU on a regular basis under Bowden is the underlying reason why Clemson's recruiting trended up.

I don't think a program like Washington State can be described as a Rudy type story given it did not even win its conference the past two seasons despite the PAC 12 not getting a team to the playoffs. It rarely beats Washington.

Clemson has an overall losing record with most P5 universities due to Clemson being a small military college for half of its existence. Check out this website for Clemson's overall records against teams in football. http://mcubed.net/ncaaf/series/clem/index.shtml

It is also a much smaller university than most public universities. I think it is smaller than all of the SEC colleges except Vanderbilt and perhaps Miss State.

Clemson's 81 title team was probably the biggest cinderella story in college football history.

Also Hunter Renfrow could be described as a Rudy given he's a walkon and he gave Alabama fits the first two years in those playoff games. Renfrow is arguably the best WR in Clemson history in terms of the number of big plays in big games.