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Wilson, Alabama crush Clemson in upset

Aug 31, 2008 - 5:34 AM ATLANTA (Ticker) -- Nick Saban began his second season at Alabama with a bang. The most critical season in Tommy Bowden's 10-year tenure at Clemson started off with a resounding thud.

John Parker Wilson threw for 180 yards and two touchdowns as the unranked yet superior Crimson Tide blew out the ninth-ranked Tigers, 34-10, on Saturday.

Alabama (1-0) dominated from the start, jumping out to a 13-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 23-3 bulge at the half.

"I'm obviously very proud of our team," Saban said. "Finishing the game has been our motto for the season. The game tonight epitomized that."

Wilson, who completed 22-of-30 passes and also ran for a score, engineered three first-quarter scoring drives thanks in large part to a tenacious defense that set up the offense with great field position.

"We came out with a different mindset, really," Wilson said. "(We) really wanted to take care of the ball. Making good decisions was the big focus today. I think we did that today, took care of the ball. We didn't put ourselves in any bad situations, and the way our defense is running that's all we had to do."

Alabama stifled the Tigers' attack all night, holding Clemson (0-1) to 189 yards of total offense, including zero yards on the ground.

Bowden and the Tigers entered the season with expectations at an all-time high. In search of their first Atlantic Coast Conference title since 1991, Clemson brought back an offense full of firepower, making it the overwhelming preseason favorite in the ACC. None of that mattered in the Georgia Dome in the season opener.

Clemson's two-headed rushing attack of James Davis and C.J. Spiller, who combined for over 1,800 yards and 13 touchdowns last season, were held to a combined 22 yards on eight carries.

"We got whipped about every way you can get whipped," Bowden said. "We haven't been physically beaten that bad in 3 years."

The Tigers did not fare much better on the defensive side of the ball, allowing 419 yards of total offense. Mark Ingram ran for 97 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries, and Glen Coffee added 90 yards on 17 carries for Alabama.

Leigh Tiffin kicked a pair of field goals to give Alabama a 6-0 lead, and Wilson found the end zone on 1-yard sneak to put the Crimson Tide ahead, 13-0.

After the Tigers got on the board with a 33-yard field goal by Mark Buchholz, Wilson found Nick Parker for a 4-yard touchdown strike. Tiffin kicked his third of four field goals, this one from 34 yards, to give Alabama a 20-point advantage.

Spiller returned the second-half kickoff 96 yards to cut the deficit to 23-10, but the Tigers were unable to build any momentum.

"Coach has been stressing that he wants us to finish games and he wants to have a dominating mentality," Alabama senior safety Rashad Johnson said. "And I think everyone took that attitude when we went out on the field. That's what we tried to display. We want to dominate our opponent, and I think we did a great job of doing that."

Wilson found freshman Julio Jones, the No. 1-ranked wide receiver recruit in the country, for a 4-yard touchdown and Tiffin added a 26-yard field goal to conclude the scoring.