College Football Stories

Let’s head to Atlanta, Georgia, for the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff game on August 30th, 2008. Nick Saban was beginning his second season season as the head coach at Alabama. His Crimson Tide team was ranked No. 24 in the AP Poll to begin the year. The Tide’s opponent were the ninth-ranked Clemson Tigers, led by 10th year man Tommy Bowden. Saban’s team was a 4.5 point underdog in this match-up.

Alabama

The 2007 season was not kind to Alabama. The Tide finished 7-6 overall, 4-4 in the SEC, and unranked. Bama started out 3-0 before suffering back-to-back losses to Georgia and Florida State. The Tide bounced back for three straight wins to get to 6-2 before taking on Saban’s former team, the LSU Tigers. A back and forth affair ended with LSU coming out on top 41-34 after a wild fourth quarter.

Alabama dropped the next three games to make it four straight losses to end the regular season. Auburn beat the Tide for the sixth consecutive year. One week prior to the Iron Bowl was the most shocking loss of all: a 21-14 home humiliation at the hands of the Louisiana-Monroe Warhawks of the Sun Belt Conference. It would be irresponsible to say that Saban was on the hot seat entering year 2, but then again, this is Tuscaloosa, Alabama, that we’re talking about. The Crimson Tide faithful wanted to return to the head of the college football table, and Saban was built up to be the man to do just that.

Among the Tide’s top returners was senior quarterback John Parker Wilson. He was joined in the backfield by running backs Glen Coffee and Terry Grant. His returning pass catchers included wide receiver Mike McCoy and tight ends Nick Walker and Travis McCall. The offensive line was anchored by all-conference left tackle Andre Smith. The defense returned five starters, most notably linebacker Rolando McClain and cornerback Kareem Jackson.

More importantly than any of the returning players was the new crop of recruits showing up on campus. Alabama signed the top-ranked recruiting class in the country. This class included wide receiver Julio Jones, running back Mark Ingram, defensive end Courtney Upshaw, defensive tackle Marcell Dareus, offensive tackle Barrett Jones, and many others. These players would lay the foundation for Alabama’s resurgence to the mountaintop of college football.

Clemson

The Tigers were expected to compete for the ACC Championship in 2008, after narrowly missing out on the conference title game the three previous seasons. Bowden had a 69-42 record in nine seasons at Clemson. His teams went to bowl games in eight of those nine years, and finished in the AP top 25 four times. However, Clemson fans expected more, and this roster appeared to be the one that could deliver results.

The Tigers started the 2007 campaign 4-0 and notched a big win over a ranked Florida State team on Labor Day night. After rising to No. 13 in the polls, Clemson sputtered in the middle of the season and dropped back-to-back games against Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech. The Tigers still had a path to the ACC title game before a late season loss to Boston College doomed their chances. Clemson battled Auburn in a classic Chick-fil-A Bowl, where they fell 23-20 in overtime to those other Tigers.

Clemson’s 2008 offense was led by ACC pre-season offensive player of the year Cullen Harper at quarterback. His supporting cast was headlined by running backs James Davis and C.J. Spiller, nicknamed “Thunder” and “Lightning”. Fortunately for Alabama, this game would be played indoors at the now demolished Georgia Dome, but we’ll get to that. The Tigers had major question marks on the offensive line, due to youth and inexperience. In game number one, that inexperience would ultimately be the Tigers undoing.

Pre-Game

In his pre-game remarks, ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit spoke highly of the speed and athleticism that Clemson had on offense. He believed it was the best collection of offensive talent that Tommy Bowden’s teams have had during his decade at Clemson. Herbstreit named Davis and Spiller among the best running back duos in the nation.

The meeting in Atlanta was the first match-up between the two schools since 1975, a 56-0 Alabama victory. Prior to the 2008 game, Alabama was 11-3 against the Tigers all-time. In those eleven straight Bama victories, the Tide outscored Clemson 356 to 44. Clemson coaching legends Frank Howard and Danny Ford both played at Alabama, as did Bowden’s wide receivers coach Dabo Swinney.

First Quarter

Bama received the ball first to start the game. Wilson and company took the field after a decent kick return by return specialist Javier Arenas. The first drive featured four straight runs from Coffee to move the chains. Freshman phenom Jones picked up a first down on his first career target. Fellow blue-chip freshman Ingram carried the ball twice. After holding the ball for over five minutes, the Tide struck first after kicker Leigh Tiffin nailed a 54-yard field goal. Alabama led 3-0 with 9:43 remaining in the first quarter.

Clemson’s first possession ended abruptly after freshman running back Jamie Harper fumbled on the Tigers’ second snap. The Tide took over at the Clemson 31-yard line after linebacker Cory Reamer recovered the loose ball. After Wilson found Walker for a gain of 14-yards, Alabama ran Coffee and Ingram to get the ball down inside the five-yard line. Clemson’s defense stiffened and Tiffin was forced to kick a short field goal. The Crimson Tide led 6-0 with 7 minutes to play in the first period.

The Tigers’ next drive was almost as short as the first one. Davis ran twice for one total yard, and Harper missed WR Tyler Grisham badly on a third-and-long pass attempt. Arenas returned the Dawson Zimmerman punt for 20-yards past midfield. Ingram was featured heavily on the Tide’s next drive as he showed his speed and toughness while carrying the ball. Coffee took the ball down inside the 1-yard line after two tough rushes. Wilson took a QB sneak into the end zone for the first touchdown of the year for Alabama. The Crimson Tide led 13-0 with less than three minutes left in the opening quarter.

Clemson’s offense finally showed life after WR Jacoby Ford took a slant 47-yards down to the Bama 25-yard line. Bowden was pulling all the tricks out as he had Davis take the direct snap and hand off to Spiller, who gained a first down to the 10-yard line. The drive stalled after Harper took a huge sack on second down. Clemson was forced to settle for a 33-yard field goal from kicker Mark Buchholz. Bama led 13-3 early in the second quarter.

Second Quarter

On the Tide’s next possession, Wilson engineered a 14-play, 83-yard drive lasting more than eight minutes. He found his favorite target Walker four times for 30 yards, including a 21-yard gain on third down. Ingram and Coffee carried the ball for 27 combined yards. Wilson added three yards on the ground to convert a third down to get the ball to the 4-yard line. He found Walker for a touchdown to make it 20-3 with six minutes remaining until halftime.

Clemson went three-and-out on their next drive after a personal foul on first down backed the Tigers up to their own 14-yard line. Harper threw incompletions on the next two downs and Clemson was forced to punt. Zimmerman’s kick only went 25-yards and Alabama took over with excellent field position. The Tigers’ defense finally stepped up, however, forcing a long field goal attempt by Tiffin. The kick was no good and Clemson got the ball back with under four minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Harper found receivers Grisham, Ford, and Aaron Kelly for completions to pick up a couple of first downs. On second down from the Alabama 39-yard line, Harper’s pass intended for WR Nelson Faerber was deflected and intercepted by Tide defensive back Marquis Johnson. With less than two minutes left in the second quarter, Wilson and the Alabama offense drove 48-yards deep into Clemson territory to tack on three more points with Tiffin’s third field goal. Running back Roy Upchurch had 33 total yards on four touches during the drive. Alabama led 23-3 after thirty minutes of play.

Walking into the locker room at the half, Clemson looked deflated and defeated. It was evident by the body language of the coaches and the players that they had no idea what hit them, and no clue as to how to crawl back into the game. Alabama’s lines of scrimmage were dominating the pre-season ACC favorite. In the ESPN interview at the break, Bowden told sideline reporter Lisa Salter that Bama was simply tougher and more physical than his team to this point in the game.

At halftime, Bama was out-rushing Clemson 126 to 7. The Tide had the edge in time of possession, holding the ball for more than 21 minutes. The Tigers’ offense could not stay on the field, and the defense was incapable or unwilling to take on blocks or wrap up.

Third Quarter

Clemson’s team and fans finally had something to cheer for after C.J. Spiller took the opening half kickoff 96-yards to the house to make it a 23-10 score. The Tigers appeared to be turning the tide after forcing a Bama punt on the ensuing drive. Taking over at their own 26-yard line, Davis ran for two-yards on first down. Harper’s pass to Grisham on third-down only gained three yards and the Tigers punted the ball–and any momentum they may have seized–back to the Crimson Tide.

Bama’s next drive was the back-breaker for Bowden and his Tigers. The Tide went 67-yards on 14 plays, holding onto the ball nearly seven minutes. Jones picked up a first down early in the drive with a 9-yard catch. Coffee carried four times for 23 yards, Walker converted a third-and-six with a 12-yard catch, and Ingram picked up another first-down with a four-yard catch. The drive culminated in the first of many touchdown catches for Julio Jones in the Georgia Dome. Alabama led 31-10 after Ingram converted the two-point conversion.

Fourth Quarter

For the remaining four minutes of the third period, the two teams traded punts after three-and-outs. The first Clemson possession of the fourth quarter was their best of the game, statistically. Clemson went 55-yards on 8 plays, aided by a penalty. Spiller gained 14-yards on a Harper pass for a first down. Davis moved the ball near the Bama red zone with a 6-yard run. Harper then found Kelly on back-to-back plays, but netted zero yards. On fourth-down, Harper was pressured and found TE Durrell Barry for a completion, but Barry was forced out of bounds short of the line to gain. Bama took over at their own 13-yard line with twelve minutes to go in the game.

The Tide marched 78-yards on 14-plays, draining nearly nine minutes of game clock. In typical Saban Death Star fashion, Alabama ran the ball 12 times for 44-yards to get Tiffin in position for his fourth field goal of the game. Ingram, Upchurch, and Grant all got carries on this drive. The only pass of the possession was a 24-yard completion to WR Mike McCoy on a third-and-nine. With 3:39 remaining, Alabama led 34-10.

Clemson played out the string and ran plenty of clock on their next drive. The final score of 34-10 felt more like 64-10. The very few orange-and-purple faithful remaining in the stands looked distraught and disheveled, and in utter disbelief of how poorly their team had performed. The Crimson Tide fans beamed with pride at the way their team had rallied around the “underdog” moniker (LOL). Alabama looked sharp, prepared, and motivated to put 2007 behind them for good. They were clearly the bigger and stronger team.

The box score gave a pretty accurate description of what happened that night. Alabama outgained Clemson on the ground 239 to 0. Zero net rushing yards given the weapons that Clemson had in the backfield that night was downright criminal. Alabama’s offensive line got whatever they wanted for three and a half hours. Spiller’s kickoff return score to start the third quarter was the only dash of optimism all night for the Tigers. Harper, the ACC pre-season player of the year, racked up a whopping 188 passing yards on 34 attempts. He threw an interception and took several costly sacks. He was under duress from the very beginning of the game.

The two young freshmen showed Tide fans what the future of the Alabama offense was going to be. Ingram had 17 carries for 96 yards while Jones caught four passes for 28 yards and a touchdown. Wilson was a formidable point guard from under center, Tiffin was a reliable kicker, and the defense was not going to pushed around. Bama’s strategy of holding onto the ball, suffocating opponents with size and power, and playing very technically sound on offense and defense would prove vital to their success in 2008 and beyond.

Aftermath

Clemson’s skill players may have outrun Bama’s defenders in a game of flag football or ultimate frisbee, but not in a sport that required shoulder pads and helmets. It was evident early on that these were two teams going in distinctly different directions. Bowden resigned after Clemson lost to Wake Forest on October 9th, 2008. Dabo Swinney was named interim coach and Clemson sputtered to a 7-6 finish and a loss to Nebraska in the Gator Bowl.

Alabama won every game in the 2008 regular season. They proved just how great they were in late September against the third-ranked Georgia Bulldogs. Bama jumped out to a 31-0 lead in Athens, Georgia, in the Bulldogs’ first-ever “blackout” game. The Tide held on for a 41-30 victory. Bama beat LSU in an overtime thriller in Saban’s first trip back to Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The Tide exorcised their final demons by defeating Auburn 36-0 in the Iron Bowl.

The Tide lost the SEC Championship game to Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators 31-20 in a match-up of No. 1 vs. No. 2 teams. Still reeling from the loss to Florida, Bama was upset 31-17 by Kyle Wittingham’s Utah Utes in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans. However, the foundation was set after the 12-2 record and No. 6 final ranking. The Alabama dynasty that was established in 2008 would wreak havoc on the college football world for the next 15 years.

Bama/Clemson Rivalry

The next showdown between these two teams would be on January 11th, 2016, in the College Football Playoff national championship game in Glendale, Arizona. The game was an all-time classic that Alabama won 45-40 over Dabo Swinney’s Tigers. The game was so good that the two schools decided to run it back in the next season’s championship game, one in which Clemson won in the final seconds of another thriller, 35-31. In the 2017 CFP, Bama handled Clemson 24-6 in the semi-final match-up in the Sugar Bowl. One year later, Clemson got revenge as the Tigers smoked the Tide 44-16 in Santa Clara, California, to win their second title in four years.

Interesting note: since 2016, the assistant coaches of the two staffs in the 2008 Chick-Fil-A kickoff have won a combined five national championships as head coaches. These include Dabo Swinney at Clemson in 2016 and 2018, Kirby Smart at Georgia in 2021 and 2022, and most recently Curt Cignetti at Indiana in 2025. Additionally, both Alabama offensive coordinator Jim McElwain and Clemson quarterbacks coach Billy Napier were named as head coach for the Florida Gators, in 2015 and 2022, respectively.