Championship-caliber contest gets season started with bang
On one sideline will be Nick Saban and Alabama, the nation’ s top-ranked team, which has reached the College Football Playoff each of the series’ three years and is determined to win it all after last January’s heartbreaking loss to Clemson in the title game.
On the other will be Jimbo Fisher and Florida State, armed with a lethal defense and playmakers across the board, believing the ACC is their conference to own again with Deshaun Watson in the NFL.
Future Sunday stars dot each team’s roster, with two premier sophomore quarter backs—J alen Hurts for t he Crimson Tide, Deondre Francois for the Seminoles — and two of the sport’ s best defensive backs, Derwin James for Florida State and New Jersey’s Minkah Fitzpatrick for Alabama.
It’s no wonder organizers of the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff Classic, featuring No .1 Alabama against No. 3 Florida State, have dubbed Saturday’s showdown in Atlanta’s new MercedesBenz Stadium — the site of January’ s national championship game — the “G.O.A.T.,” as in greatest of all time.
“It almost feels like a National Championship game in Week 1 ,” ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit said on a conference call.
Alabama, a seven-point favorite, frequently has been involved in similar opening weekend non-conference matchups, facing ranked programs such as Michigan, USC, Clemson and Wisconsin in recent years. Each time, Saban’s team has been prepared, and has yet to lose an opener in his 10 seasons. The Crimson Tide made quite a statement last year, hammering then-No. 20 USC, 52-6, en route to an undefeated run to the national championship game.
But Alabama never has started a season with an opponent like this.
“This one stands apart, because Florida State truly is an opponent that can push them, challenge them and reveal where they are vulnerable more than others Saban has taken on,” said ESPN’s Chris Fowler, who will call the game.
There’s never been a game on opening weekend quite l i ke t his, the first meeting of preseason top-three teams since the
Associated Press began ranking teams before the 1950 season. The previously highest-ranked opening weekend contests came in 1983 (No. 1 Nebraska vs. No. 4 Penn State) and 1986 (No. 1 Oklahoma vs. No. 4 UCLA).
“This is probably going to be — if not the biggest — one of the biggest games for us besides the playoffs and championships,” Alabama’s Fitzpatrick told CBSSports.com.
Florida State could give Hurts trouble, with a loaded defense that returns nine starters, including the multi-talented James, who is coming off a serious knee injury that cost him almost all of last season, and ball-hawking cornerback Tarvarus McFadden, who had eight interceptions a year ago, tied for most in the country.
Francois will be asked to carry the load, at least early on, as his talented, but inexperienced, playmakers find their way, after losing the leading rusher (Dalvin Cook) and receiver (Travi s Rudolph) from last year. Francois impressed as a freshman a year ago, throwing for 3,350 yards, 20 touchdowns with just seven interceptions and completing 58 percent of his passes. But he also was under co ns t a nt dure ss , sacked 36 times, the most in the ACC — and that figures to be one of the show- down’s big storylines. Can the Florida State offensive line give Francois enough time to throw against Alabama’s typically dominant front seven?
Either way, it’s unlikely the result will do much damage to the loser’ s playoff hopes, barring a blowout. Both teams will remain favorites in their re s pect ive conferences, and considering both programs likely will remain in the top 10 all season, a defeat at a neutral site wouldn’t be looked down upon by the committee.
“That’s not meant to deflate the hype,” Fowler said. “It’s great both programs took on the challenge of this game.”