Alabama Advances: No If's or And's; Just Kicking Butts

Not many games are over after one quarter with a 0-0 score.

But this one was.

The Crimson Tide defense put up a wall that the ancient Chinese or Hadrian would've admired and then just waited for their offense to find the soft spots.

It was inevitable.

And to think the alleged smart money's waiting until later in the week to see if the line shifts from 'Bama -7 to -7½.

If Clemson doesn't figure out a consistent way through or around that Tidal Wall, a hook will be the last item Vegas mavens will need to check after the pigskin leaves the tee.

The beatdown was so thorough that, like Clemson in the Orange Bowl, Alabama's special teams also got into the act:

When Alabama gets on a roll, they're nothing short of relentless.

There's clearly no 'Bama rust from the holiday layoff.

Clemson's got 10 days to design a game plan based on probes and quick strikes. It's what they do, which makes for the sort of title clash everyone's been expecting see but for Oregon wetting the bed year after year.

It's also fortuitous, because as the Spartans can attest, trying to match Alabama power-for-power right now doesn't work.