Saban said. “I never really ever got comfortable with what we needed to do to win this game.”
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Translation. Clemson is a really good team and deserved to win. Saban wasn’t surprised. When he went for it on fourth down in the first half from deep in his own territory I knew that he knew he was in trouble.
I agree. To me, the telling thing was going for it on 4th and 1 on his own 35 IN THE FIRST HALF. That is out of character for him and it tells me that he knew he was over-matched.
Overall, I think Clemson has better personnel, particularly on defense. The secondary was capable of covering Bama's very good receiving corp. Up front, Clemson was able to hurry Tua while creating a chess-match of disguised coverages downfield. Coach Venables (?? sp) deserves a big bonus for his defensive game plan. Very impressive performance for Clemson on defense.