It's difficult to take anything away from the Tide leading into Saturday's match with Oklahoma. They play D, regardless of what the talking heads say, and their offense is a force nobody can contain. They truly are THAT good.
Oklahoma is a team that isn't accustomed to being pushed around as they were, and they took it to heart by responding with, uh, less than sportsmanlike conduct. Yet, and here is the thing, in their actions they exposed something completely unexpected with the Tide: a lack of discipline? Yup.
There is a way to take any team down. This Bama team is with little argument one of if not the best of all time on the field. Of all opportunity to defeat this giant, it was shown late. The key:
"Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall"
What I witnessed from OU was more than half expected. A group of kids facing the first real defense they faced all season. Still, they believed. They fought gallantly. In the face of certain destruction, they fought all the way to the end- and when their efforts within the binding agreement of rules failed them, they got 'chippy' as the announcers continued to refer to it. The smart ass Heisman winner mocked Tua after they entered the end zone for the first time with his imitation of Tua's prayer. The OU Offensive lineman decided pushing after the play was warranted. It went on- and it escalated. But what happened next is REALLY what caught my attention.
Bama responded in like.
I don't sit on a pedestal pretending to be above while casting judgement. Questioning the integrity and/or temperament of kids playing a physical game and in the heat of competition isn't really something to hold against someone anyway if I were to take that tone. Unless it DOES enter the realm of the game. And in this regard, I saw a glaring gap in the Crimson Armor. Pride.
If I were Clemson, I would have taken a huge note of what I witnessed between the plays. I would have noticed the cheap shots Bama issued against the Sooner's when they thought they could get by with it. I would have taken careful notice of the mechanics to elicit those responses. I'd imitate the hell out of them early and often. I'd 'target' players of consequence, who without causes BamBam to play like a mortal squad of young-ins. I'd take Bama out of their comfort zone from the opening whistle by owning the role of bad boys.
Why is this even a contemplation? Because Clemson can't beat the Bama team we've seen all season. They have a real and present opportunity to beat the team we saw in the last of the second quarter against OU, most the third quarter and into the fourth. And the how's? It ain't got nothing to do with football.
