Hope...
Alabama 27
Clemson 17
Expect...
Clemson 24
Alabama 13
My expectation all goes back to Clemson is very good on offense where we are weakest on defense. The Clemson RBs are very shifty and speedy on the edge, where we are unproven (OLBers and DT/DE). They have a very experienced QB and receiving corp, and while we have great promise at several DB spots I will not believe we can pressure their QB until I see it. Tight coverage can last across the field for only so long.
Clemson is very, very good defensively and I think we will have some real problems there. And I think, if you look at Saban's history, his teams really do not score a lot of points against top tier teams.
I just think we will be trailing by a score moderately late and have to gamble a bit more than we would like and give up a semi-cheap big play.
If this game were played in October with both teams at full strength, I would say my hoped for score would be a solid choice.