as I am not sold on Bama. I'm not saying Clemson is better than the SEC's best, or that they'll compete for a national title. But on paper they are way better than Alabama. And until they get on the turf, that's all we have to go by. Four starters lost on the line (some sources say only three), but they bring back a center with All-ACC talent and two other linemen who saw a lot of action last year. As with any school, it's all about who you return and replace with, not who you lose. Clemson is on the verge of being a team that simply reloads like most powerhouses.
And it's not hard to like a team that returns 15 starters. They were close to being relevant on a national scale last year, and this year I think they'll be even closer, and BCS ready. They retained almost every bit of offensive production they had last year and practically everyone on defense that saw action, with the exception of three guys. I'm not sold, nor do I have any reason to be sold on Tommy Bowden as a great head coach (other than his name), but it'll take a massive **** job to screw up a 10-win season for the Tigers this year. They don't even have to play Va Tech...at least not in the regular season.