ESPN College GameDay panel makes Clemson-Alabama picks

This game may very well come down to Kelly Bryant hitting the deep ball, says Jesse Palmer.

by TigerNet Staff - Mon Jan 01 12:10:03 GMT-04:00 2018

ESPN's College GameDay had an extra panel to break down the Sugar Bowl matchup of Clemson and Alabama and make their picks.

Joey Galloway is picking Clemson: Kelly Bryant dealing with the multiple looks he will get from the Alabama defense - in a season where Alabama isn’t as dominant upfront, they have to give different looks. Now that Nick Saban has been given 29 days in the lab. 29 days to figure this out and give them multiple looks and different coverages, how well will Kelly Bryant deal with what he sees and getting the ball to his guys? And realize you don’t always have to make a play. Sometimes throwing the ball away is as good as making a play at times. I’m going to go with Clemson winning this game because Kelly Bryant gets it done. Because Dabo Swinney has had a couple times dealing with this Nick Saban defense.

Jesse Palmer is picking Clemson: Nobody had bigger shoes to fill this year than Kelly Bryant replacing the legendary Deshaun Watson. I’ve been so impressed in his first year. His running ability. His leadership. Very, very accurate throwing short and intermediate. When I think of the last two national championship performances, Deshaun Watson’s virtuoso performances - he was accurate throwing downfield. My concern is Kelly Bryant only completing 27 percent of his throws when the ball travels more than 20 yards downfield. He’ll have opportunities to go deep. Clemson with Ray Ray McCloud and Deon Cain have to hit those shots. Clemson runs as many go (routes) as any team in the country and I think Kelly Bryant makes throws tonight. Because of (Clemson’s) d-line, I’m taking Clemson.

Booger McFarland is picking Clemson: I think this game Kelly Bryant has to throw for over 300 yards in order for this team to win. He’s only done it once in his career. With that being said, I’m going to other side of the ball, the defensive line. They have four guys who will be drafted in the first two rounds. Those four guys have to dominate and I think they will. Because of that, I’m going with the Clemson Tigers. They’ve had the best team all year when they’ve been healthy and they’re healthy again.

Chris “the Bear” Fallica picked Clemson: