The onside kick (which was legal) AND the interception Watson threw (that led to a touchdown for Bama) were the two big things that led to the Bama win.
As far as Lawson, given the fact he was only flagged once for lining up in the neutral zone but was actually lined up in the neutral zone 3 times within the first two series, I’d call that a wash. Lol!!
Clemson’s defense didn’t get enough stops and, in my opinion, Watson didn’t have enough support and was basically asked to beat Bama by himself. Yes, there were plays and some series where other offensive players did well but as a whole, Watson was asked to carry the team on his back and that’s a tall order against a team like Bama. That young man had one hell of a game. One for the ages, if you will. That said, you can’t discount the interception.
Bama won the turnover battle and the special teams battle. Those two “wins” are what sealed the National Championship for Bama.
In the future, where every stranger poses a potential threat, knowing the predator mindset is the only safe haven.
To correct you orange and purple types…The 2014 onside kick was a penalty. The Gamecocks called for a fair catch and were interfered with while trying to make the catch. You were not screwed. UNC was screwed and you were not. Any kickoff is a live ball. The kicking team can legally recover the ball as long as it goes 10 yards. Somehow the Gamecock player knew to call for a fair catch and Clemzzzon was given a penalty for interference with the fair catch. Now quit saying you were screwed by the Cox:wink:
CRM is correct for once! In fact, you don’t even have to signal a fair catch. If the receiving team has a player that is in position to catch the ball, the kicking team has to give him the opportunity to catch it, fair catch or not. Just like a punt. Last night Clemson did not have a guy in that position!!
This is why most on sides kicks are kicked down into the ground hoping for the big bounce up. Cannot signal fair catch and a player can be hit before the ball gets to him in that case.
Blown coverages.
Lawson in the neutral zone to go from 3-16 to 2-5. Then Henry breaks for a long TD.
Not kicking it to the end zone all night, 95 TD return
Watson Int., that led to a TD.
Trev Thompson not putting his hand up for the fair catch on the onside kick.
I think we made a little more than 4 mistakes. The 53 yd. and 51 yd. TD by Howard alone counts as 2 HUGE mistakes. Makes you wonder if Thompsom just threw his hand up and we started on the 45 what the outcome would have been.
Or if Mack didn’t pull his other hamstring and covered the 2nd half.
All I know is Gallman is an absolute animal, and those 2 may be competing next year for the Heisman. If Gallman played under any other QB, he would be the star, but Watson takes a lot of that shine. Whats the new nickname for those 2 going to be?
Next year:
Watson
Gallman
A. Scott
M. Williams
Renfrow
Leggett
Holy Cow!
Boulware, Big Mack, Wilkins, Bryant, and Lawrence coming in to cover the D side.
Line coaches are doing phenomenal. Let Watson and Gallman get perfect in the offseason. Fire Dan Pearman, and get STs out of the gutter for once. Get a kick off guy that can boot it. Just hand out a scholarship, and let Huegel handle FGs. Teasdale is a phenomenal punter, just a few holes to correct.
Go Tigers!
P.S. I correct what I said about getting screwed in 2014. The returner threw his hand up at the last second and we caught the ball in the air. Trev just needed to fair catch it last night. Gutsy move for Saban, but he obviously saw our guys turn and run 1 too many times on kickoffs and figured he would catch us sleeping. He was so frustrated with the night, and this was his coaching hail mary. Hats off to the coach.</font id=“orange”>
I was disappointed that CU abandoned the game plan that got them there. How many jet-sweeps did they run. how many WR screen did they run? both were bread and butter plays that got them to the NC.
Didn’t matter. We had 550 yards against the best defensive front, ever suposedly.
Good match up, well played, very few penalties. Injuries cannot be prepared for, and Clemson took a major hit to their secondary with the early loss of Alexander. Alabama could have been on the receiving end of a critical injury to a dominant player, but they did not. What set up Clemson for the loss was the fact that they didn’t have a kicker who could blast kickoffs into the seats inside a domed stadium. That’s a 6 point differential in a 5 point ball game. The game is such that without limiting the opposing team to an automatic spot on the 20 yard line on all kickoffs, you get exposed. At this level all teams have a “burner” who can “take it to the house”. The ONLY way to neutralize that is by kicking the ball out of the end zone. Clemson was screwed by Lakip, and his penchant for smoking weed. He’ll probably make some NFL team, and earn a good living in spite of his poor judgement and selfish behavior. Huegal is a good kid, and a great story, but he doesn’t have an NFL leg. It was a nagging shortcoming throughout the year. Especially in the game last night. I hope he can improve on his kicking strength by next year, but in the meantime Dabo needs to be recruiting a Lou Groza replica.
I was disappointed that CU abandoned the game plan that got them there. How many jet-sweeps did they run. how many WR screen did they run? both were bread and butter plays that got them to the NC.
Try again...
“Living’s mostly wasting time and I’ll waste my share of mine”
Not sure what you are going for here.
CU killed teams ALL YEAR with those 2 plays. I don’t think they ran either one last night.
I think what Loon is saying, is that when you put up 550 yards of offense against Alabama, it's hard to blame the coach for not running the right offensive plays.
There is no question that Clemson lost the game on “mistakes”.
Not covering the tight end for TWO touchdowns
Interception
Not lining up right during the onside kick. This was a coaching problem. Alabama had seen them do it and decided to exploit this weakness.
Those were just a few. If they would have corrected ANY of those mistakes, it might be a different outcome.
Quite honestly, if you had told me Clemson would score 40 points, I’d have said they win handily. It wasn’t lack of offense that cost them the game. Giving up 4 TD’s of 50+ yards and 2 special teams mistakes did them in. Watson was superb and the offense played well enough to win.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”, but really, who cares?
Quite honestly, if you had told me Clemson would score 40 points, I’d have said they win handily. It wasn’t lack of offense that cost them the game. Giving up 4 TD’s of 50+ yards and 2 special teams mistakes did them in. Watson was superb and the offense played well enough to win.
“Apathy is the Glove into Which Evil Slips It’s Hand”, but really, who cares?
Agree 100%!!
No matter how much it hurts, how dark it gets, or how far you fall…you are never out of the fight.
Identifying and exploiting a weakness on the onside kick. This is what makes Saban a great coach. It is the small things and attention to detail that he demands of his staff and his players. I’ve never seen a coach that is so hard on his players when they are blowing an opponent out. He does not allow them to get sloppy and always tries to keep them mentally sharp.
I was just looking at my sons autograph Clemson hat with Watson and Gallman signatures and forgot that it also had Bradley Pinion #92 and Spencer Shuey #33. Man what a difference those two could have made last night.
This hat is now going in a shadow box with Watson’s SI cover and Gallman’s.
In fact, you don’t even have to signal a fair catch. If the receiving team has a player that is in position to catch the ball, the kicking team has to give him the opportunity to catch it, fair catch or not. Just like a punt. Last night Clemson did not have a guy in that position!!