Newly named, “the most powerful coach in sports”, Nick Saban, in his second year at Alabama, take his #24 ranked squad to the Georgia Dome to take on the Clemson Tigers in the Chick-Fil-A College Kickoff. Whether or not you agree with the Forbes Magazine assessment of Saban, the fact is he can coach, he can recruit and he turns out winning teams and Clemson will need to be at the top of their game to upend the Crimson Tide.
The Tide will once again have QB John Parker Wilson (3rd year) directing the offense with his third offensive coordinator in three years. Whether his inconsistent play is a product of the carousel of coaches or just because he’s an average player, experience against top notch talent should have prepared him for almost everything he sees this season. Junior RB Glen Coffee has replaced last year’s top ground gainter Terry Grant as the #1 back and should get the bulk of the carries. LT Andre Smith and C Antoine Caldwell are both Outland Trophy candidates and ‘Bama is expected to produce a hard-hitting rushing attack that’s been missing for years. The Tide lost it’s three top receivers from a year ago and heralded recruit, Julio Jone will show his wares against the ACC’s #1 ranked pass defense from last year. That’s a tough assignment for anyone and especially for someone playing in his first college games. The Tide will have to control the trenches if they hope to upset the Tigers.
Defensively, Alabama has a couple of studs in All American S Rashad Johnson and LB Rolando McClain. Big questions remain about it’s interior defensive line play and inexperienced cornerbacks. Clemson has the weapons to attack on the ground and in the air and will give this unit a good test for the upcoming season.
Saban’s team lost six games last season, all by less than a touchdown per game. I dont’ think they will lose six games this season however, on paper, Clemson appears to have the edge.
The underchieving Clemson Tigers are picked by many to be be the top team in a weakened Atlantic Coast Conference and the first Saturday of college football will give us an indication if they are up to making a run at the conference title. Head Coach Tommy Bowden remains in charge despite late season collapses in 2000 and 2006. I’m not sure the Clemson faithful will cut him any slack if this years team underachieves again. Clemson returns some big names on offense including RB’s James Davis and CJ Spiller along with 2007 ACC Player of the Year, QB Cullen Harper. Clemson returns seven starters from last years offense but, there are questions if the offensive line can gel into a cohesive unit.
Clemson’s defense, ranked in the top 10 nationally last year, should once again be top notch despite having to replace half of its linebacking corps. The defensive line is deep and the Tigers rotate players to remain fresh. The matchup of DE Ricky Sapp against All American Tide LT Andre Smith will showcase a couple of future NFLers.
Preseason rankings have the Tigers around #9 and a victory over the Saban’s Crimson Tide may just provide the momentum for the Tigers to reach their potential. Bowden also produced one of his best recruiting classes as the Clemson head coach so expectations are high for this team. To play for the ACC title may just keep Bowden as the head coach at Clemson for a while longer.
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