Saban had a mess on his hands with the staff going into that game... Locklsey was leaving (though he wasn't an issue)... Gattis was leaving and was mentally checked out, Enos was looking for an exit, Kuligowoski was nothing more than a warm body and his group overall reflected such, Lupoi's head was spinning and he was looking for an exit... etc. And that was just on the staff. Was a rare instance where Saban just couldn't manage things like he normally did because so many coaches were pulling in different directions.
...and Clemson likely had Bama's signs/signals. LOL