Saturday night, No. 9 Clemson kicks off its much anticipated 2008 season with a Georgia Dome showdown against No. 24 Alabama.

Whether DeAndre McDaniel is on the field or not remains to be seen.

And the results could affect Tommy Bowden’s reputation.

Late last week, 13th Circuit solicitor Robert Ariail announced that McDaniel, a sophomore linebacker/safety, had been accepted into pre-trial intervention, a program that, if completed successfully, would erase charges of assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature brought against him by his now-former girlfriend, Abra Weeks.

Now, the fate most Clemson fans care about — does McDaniel play or sit? — lies in the hands of Bowden and Clemson athletics director Terry Don Phillips.

Bowden is expected to make his recommendation to Phillips early this week, and Phillips will either accept the decision or reject it and make his own call in the matter.

How will Bowden handle the matter?

And, more importantly, how much flak will he receive if McDaniel steps foot in the Georgia Dome Saturday night?

Bowden has lent his name to campaigns against domestic violence, including 2005’s “There Is No Excuse” campaign with South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier and South Carolina State coach Buddy Pough. In 2007, he was the keynote speaker at a meeting designed to raise money for an Oconee County battered women and children’s shelter.

McDaniel’s acceptance of PTI signals neither guilt nor innocence. But the initial police report files said Weeks accused him of punching her, choking her and throwing her down a stairwell at his off-campus apartment.

How does that square with his head coach’s beliefs and charity work?

Depends on whether or not McDaniel plays.

If McDaniel plays a down against Alabama, the prevailing thought will be that he hasn’t received much visible punishment for his actions. Women’s rights groups will have every right to rail against Bowden for the decision.

Bowden has shown in the past that he doesn’t worry about public opinion, though. Last December, he allowed middle linebacker Cortney Vincent to travel to Atlanta following an arrest on suspicion of DUI and practice with the team all week, but didn’t comment on his status until just before game time.

Vincent, a year-long starter, entered the Chick-fil-A Bowl with 1:30 left in the first quarter.

He was later booted from the program for other unrelated offenses, but that’s another story.

Bowden is comfortable disciplining players case-by-case, a right his program’s off-the-field record has earned him.

Over the past three years, Clemson players have been arrested six times (Vincent twice) for various criminal offenses ranging from DUI to marijuana possession to indecent exposure (defensive end Xavier Littleberry against an Orlando hotel maid).

By comparison, Alabama had four charges against its players this offseason alone, including armed robbery and former tailback Jimmy Johns’ cocaine dealing escapades.

I’m not saying Bowden’s decision on McDaniel will be right. But he’s earned some leeway in the matter.