Alabama vs Clemson Questions

[81usaf92]

I know these questions will be asked in the summer, but I'm going to be away from the computer until a week or two before the game, and I wanted to know the answers if you had to speculate today.

1. Do you think the game will pretty much be a Bama home game?

2. Can McClain and Rashaad be as good of field generals on Defense as Demeco Ryans and Roman Harper?

3. Do you think CNS will use Terrence Cody right out the door?

4. Do you think our offense will be better?:mad2:

5. Do you think we will stop Thunder (Davis) and Lightning (Spiller), and their quarterback Harper?

:BigA:

 

[bayoutider]

I know these questions will be asked in the summer, but I'm going to be away from the computer until a week or two before the game, and I wanted to know the answers if you had to speculate today.

1. Do you think the game will pretty much be a Bama home game?

I believe Bama travels better than Clemson so I will say yes

2. Can McClain and Rashaad be as good of field generals on Defense as Demeco Ryans and Roman Harper?

I hope they try to be

3. Do you think CNS will use Terrence Cody right out the door?

I have to believe he will be in the rotation from game one on

4. Do you think our offense will be better?:mad2:

Yes I do but that is just my opinion

5. Do you think we will stop Thunder (Davis) and Lightning (Spiller), and their quarterback Harper?

:BigA:


I doubt we will stop them but I hope we can slow them down and deny them any big plays resulting in scores. What I hope is we put Clemson in a position where they have to play catchup. Maybe they will think we will be an easy win or all they have to do is show up. I don't predict a win but I also don't predict losses.

 

[InsaneMustang]

1. Do you think the game will pretty much be a Bama home game?
No I do not. Clemson fans are excited about this game, and they're going to have a top 15 team most likely. They will travel, they are passionate fans too.

2. Can McClain and Rashaad be as good of field generals on Defense as Demeco Ryans and Roman Harper?

Yes

3. Do you think CNS will use Terrence Cody right out the door?

He will play whoever is best at each given position.

4. Do you think our offense will be better?

It would be hard for it to be worse

5. Do you think we will stop Thunder (Davis) and Lightning (Spiller), and their quarterback Harper?

We are notorious for not giving up big games to people. We'll give a team just enough to win sometimes. We did an OK job on McFadden/Jones last year and I think both of those guys are more talented than Davis and Spiller. And we should be better on the D-line this year...

 

[crimsonbleeder]

1. Do you think the game will pretty much be a Bama home game?

No. I think it will be pretty much 50-50. Clemson fans are pretty passionate and it's not very far for them to travel. Heck, I bet Atlanta itself has plenty of Clemson alums...

2. Can McClain and Rashaad be as good of field generals on Defense as Demeco Ryans and Roman Harper?

I think they'll be better than either of them. The question is not if but when? They were very close by the end of the year last year, and if they pick up where they left off they'll be VERY good field leaders...

3. Do you think CNS will use Terrence Cody right out the door?
If he can get in football shape for the SEC by then, he'll be in the rotation, I believe.

4. Do you think our offense will be better?:mad2:

I really think we will be AMAZINGLY better this year. I already know that JPW honestly feels more confident and knows the playbook better than at any time during his tenure. Coach Mac will tranform this offense.

5. Do you think we will stop Thunder (Davis) and Lightning (Spiller), and their quarterback Harper?

Who?

 

[gmart74]

atlanta is a short 2 hour drive from clemson. they are excited about the game and will be there in full force. it will be at least 50% clemson fans. tons of clemson grads are in atlanta. i know we travel well, but i would be shocked if we outnumbered clem fans. should be about even is my guess.

with a crappy o-line, i am not worried about stopping their offense.

 

[IHateUT]

1. Do you think the game will pretty much be a Bama home game?

No. Clemson fans follow their team like an SEC school would.

2. Can McClain and Rashaad be as good of field generals on Defense as Demeco Ryans and Roman Harper?

Yup.

3. Do you think CNS will use Terrence Cody right out the door?

I believe that is in the hands of Terrence. Come in and perform and he'll play.

4. Do you think our offense will be better?

Depends on the run game.

5. Do you think we will stop Thunder (Davis) and Lightning (Spiller), and their quarterback Harper?

Yes. No. Yes.

 

[Bama323]

1. Do you think the game will pretty much be a Bama home game?

Ticket alotment was split evenly between the two schools, to I would suspect it will be fairly close to 50/50.

2. Can McClain and Rashaad be as good of field generals on Defense as Demeco Ryans and Roman Harper?

Possibly, Although both Ryans and Harper were Seniors their final year. I definitely think they both have the potential to be All SEC this year.

3. Do you think CNS will use Terrence Cody right out the door?

Impossible to answer at this point.

4. Do you think our offense will be better?

Yes, two reasons: The offensive line should be much better than it has been the past few years. A good offensive line will allow us to better diversify our game plan and to open up holes so that we can have a successfull running game, which is critical if we are going to beat Clemson. Also, I think Coach McElwain's experience will help our offensive output next season. However, Clemson returns most of it's defense from last year, so it's not going to be easy by any stretch.

5. Do you think we will stop Thunder (Davis) and Lightning (Spiller), and their quarterback Harper?

I'm not sure that it is possible to completely stop these two backs. The best we can probably hope for is to contain them enough so that our offense can score more than their offense. Their quarterback is not bad in his own right, which means they will present problems because of their balanced attack. We will need to cause some disruptions with their new OL to be able to contain their offense successfully. They had to replace 3 or 4 starters on the OL from last season

 

[CaliforniaTide]

1. Do you think the game will pretty much be a Bama home game?
I'm sure the tickets are split 50/50 so it may not be as much of a home game. If they weren't split 50/50, I would maybe expect more Alabama fans simply because I think we have more people than them.

2. Can McClain and Rashaad be as good of field generals on Defense as Demeco Ryans and Roman Harper?
I'm sure they'll be better than last year. Let's let them be themselves and prove themselves. It'll be the first game for us, so we make look a little shaky at first.

3. Do you think CNS will use Terrence Cody right out the door?
CNS will start and use whoever is most ready. If Cody's conditioning isn't up to par, I doubt that we'll use him a lot. Also, because he's so big, we may not be using him all the time and throw as many D-linemen at the Clemson O-line as we can to stay more rested.

4. Do you think our offense will be better?
It should be better, but we'll just have to wait and see. Clemson has had some serious D-linemen drafted high recently and I don't see why they wouldn't have another plug-in "star" ready to go. Also, it's the first game for the offense so the first few series may not be a good barometer for how good/bad our offense is.

5. Do you think we will stop Thunder (Davis) and Lightning (Spiller), and their quarterback Harper?
I think we'll be able to limit them, but they are darn good players. We limited McFadden and Jones last year and still almost lost the game (although that's maybe the offense's fault more than the defense). Harper will real well when he can sell the playaction and just have a vacation in the backfield before he can throw the ball. Their O-line will be inexperienced and we need to exploit that as much as possible to get to the RBs and Harper.

 

[RT3413]

1. Do you think the game will pretty much be a Bama home game?

Nope. The game will be 50-50. I was at the FSU game last year and it was the same way and this is closer for both schools. MIGHT be 55-45 but regardless not a big difference.

2. Can McClain and Rashaad be as good of field generals on Defense as Demeco Ryans and Roman Harper?

McClain showed that capability last year in spots so I think he can step up. Rashaad has some big shoes to fill but I think our DBs this year are better and will require less so he may get credit for this.

3. Do you think CNS will use Terrence Cody right out the door?

I actually doubt this. TC has a lot of weight to lose to play in a CNS defense and that's going to be a struggle. Plus, with the speed backs (see below) I think they're going to try to the ends, meaning we'll need a lot more speed on the line. He'll see plenty of action as the year goes on, but I would expect to see him mainly in short and goal-line situations.

4. Do you think our offense will be better?

Yes, because of the O-Line. But it's all up to JPW - if he keeps his head in the game he can be a real difference maker. But if he lets himself get away then who knows.

5. Do you think we will stop Thunder (Davis) and Lightning (Spiller), and their quarterback Harper?

In the words of Craig Kilborne, you can't stop them you can only hope to contain them. We need to focus on closing in the sides and stopping them before they get to the outside. If we can do that, I think we can hold them down. But as McFadden and Jones were both tough backs the Clemson guys are more Terry Grant-style runners. If we force them to the middle we can hold them to 1-2 yds per carry.

 

[bamar]

clemson travels well close to their fan base. i believe our defense will be better this year, with a full year under their belt. we will mis gilberry big time, but, i expect the overall def line to be stronger, and better. linebacking will have at least one freshman starting, and i expect a fast, aggressive secondary this year.

again, offensively, it is up to the line. if they are better, the offense will be real good. clemson is a slow starting team, and harper the qb had a good year last year, he does not have a big arm. not very mobile as well. this will be a very close fun game to start the season. whichever team wins, gets a big leg up on the season.

 

[BamaLaw]

... it will be at least 50% clemson fans. tons of clemson grads are in atlanta. ... should be about even is my guess.
...

I must disagree with the part of your comment where you state "it will be at least 50% Clemson fans." I agree that "it should be about even"; however, I would say it will be at most 50% Clemson fans. I just don't see Bama fans dumping their tix to this one. Therefore, no way will Clemson have more than 50%. I don't know about Clemson's fan base; however, Bama fans have a knack for getting their hands on "impossible" tix. If the crowd in the GA Dome is tilted in favor of either fan base, I'd put my money on the Bama fans having the edge. Neither fan base will have a pronounced majority; however, I like the Bama fans' chances of having a bit more.

Regarding our defense and its chances...I believe something I've heard from within the program: that we are going to have "An Alabama Defense" this year!

I don't believe we'll totally stop Clemson's weapons; however, I do believe we will be able to contain them well enough to give our offense a chance. And as far as offensive expectations, as has already been said, it would be difficult for the offense to be any worse. I certainly expect substantial improvement on both sides of the ball.

 

[Boclive]

1. Do you think the game will pretty much be a Bama home game?

No. It is truly a neutral site. No advantage for either team.

2. Can McClain and Rashaad be as good of field generals on Defense as Demeco Ryans and Roman Harper?

Rolando is SO young. I just want him to be more consistant. Johnson needs to be the #1 safety in the league. If he is not that or close to that who else do we have back there?

3. Do you think CNS will use Terrence Cody right out the door?

Coach Saban will get the most out of him that he can get. He'll use him if he's ready, when he's ready, to the extent that he's ready. When and how much he plays is speculative. I doubt he's in on third and long very often.

4. Do you think our offense will be better?

No. Where have we improved on offense other than maybe the new offensive coordinator? If we ARE improved offensively, McElwain is the reason.

5. Do you think we will stop Thunder (Davis) and Lightning (Spiller), and their quarterback Harper?

Yes. I'm glad McFadden and Jones are gone from Arkansas, though. If Clemson gets a score or two, Spiller probably gets loose on the outside once or twice.

I think BAMA might lose 4 games but I've got them winning this one by at least two scores.

 

[RollTide1224]

The key to beating Clemson will be to stop Davis and Spiller on their first few attempts. If they get little gain on their first 10 carries Bowden will completely abandon the running game. This would give us a much better chance of winning because every time he does this they end up losing. We will also have to be ready for their screen plays and not give up huge yardage on them.

Clemson will definitly have just as many fans as we will.

We need to stay at least close in the game with them and then we can count on Bowden doing something dumb and losing the game. It's absolutely certain that Saban will outcoach him we just need to execute.