Alabama Vs. Clemson: Football Games Are Won And Lost In The Trenches

If we learned anything from the Alabama vs. Clemson game, then it should be that games are won and lost in the trenches.  Although, I picked Clemson to beat Alabama, I was not the least bit surprised to see this happen.  I had doubts about Clemson due to the fact that they had 4 new starters and were very inexperienced on the offensive line, while Alabama returned 5 of their top 6 defensive linemen from last year.  I must admit, I bought into the hype surrounding the skill positions.  The lesson to be learned here is that an offense is only as good as its offensive line.  Write it down and do not forget it.  Just remember, a defense with a good defensive line, and mediocre athletes at all other positions will beat the offense with a poor offensive line, and absolute studs every else.

The thing that did surprise me, though, is that Alabama's offensive line dominated Clemson's defensive line.  I expected Clemson to win that battle, and that was why I picked Clemson to win that game.  I found out after the fact, though, that Alabama's offensive linemen combined for a total of 94 starts, which ranks 12th in I-A football.

Just remember, though, no matter how much talent a team has, it is going to be an uphill battle if you get dominated on both sides of the trenches.

This fact should lead to a logical conclusion: teams that have questionable offensive or defensive lines will be overrated more often than not.  These weaknesses may not be apparent during the first week because it is typical to start the season off with an easy team, but weakness in the trenches will come back to bite teams in the back when they play against better competition.  So what teams entered the season with questions in the trenches, and what games could be determined in the trenches?

1. Georgia vs. SEC

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