Read Sports Geek and Bleacher Fan’s argument for what the best game of the weekend is.
After nearly eight months of pain and suffering, college football is back!!! Finally!!! Kickoff weekend is here and I could not be more excited. I was excited for the two games last night (South Carolina-North Carolina State and Boise State-Oregon). But, those two games were a big letdown for me. The four teams combined to score 37 points! Not very good at all and definitely not very exciting! Some teams may have that in the first half this weekend (Florida???). The most exciting thing to happen last night was after the Boise State-Oregon game! Anyway, that is over and done with (unless you are a running back for Oregon), and now we can focus on the upcoming weekend. After looking over the strong slate of games, I believe that the matchup between #5 Alabama and #7 Virginia Tech is the most intriguing.
The matchup is featured in the the second annual Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game that takes place at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, Georgia. Perhaps more than any other game this weekend, this game has two teams that have not only a realistic shot at BCS game, but also a possible BCS championship bid in sight – even if it is somewhat of a long shot!
Virginia Tech, the reigning ACC champion, comes into the game ranked in the top 10 in almost every single poll. The buzz in and around Blacksburg is that this could be the Hokies’ best team since 1999. That was Michael Vick’s freshman year. But, Virginia Tech is inexperienced at running back after the season ending injury to stud running back Darren Evans. The ACC really needs a win from Virginia Tech. The ACC has taken a hit across the country, even from readers of this website, and a win by the Hokies would go a long way to start rebuilding the image of the ACC. No one has consistently stepped up to challenge the Hokies in the conference in recent years. If Virginia Tech wins, they would likely ascend into the top five, and would once again be relevant in the national championship picture early in the going.
The Crimson Tide jumped back on to the national stage last year with an impressive season, though it was dampened somewhat with season ending losses to Florida in the SEC Championship game and to BCS buster Utah in the Sugar Bowl. But, head coach Nick Saban, love him or hate him, has to be commended in how quickly he has brought the Crimson Tide back to superiority. The Tide will be replacing a quarterback and have new starters on the offensive line, but they return nine starters from the defense, including the very bulky Terrence “Mount” Cody!
You can bet the Georgia Dome will be filled mostly with Saban Nation, though Virginia Tech historically also travels well. To add to the buzz, ESPN’s College Gameday will be on the scene at nearby Centennial Park. With a primetime showing, the game will be a major draw on television. If you want to pick one game out to watch Saturday, then you cannot go wrong with a battle between Frank Beamer and Nick Saban! Enjoy the game!!!
I got to thinking later….wasn’t Frank Beamer a serious candidate to coach at Alabama before Shula got the job?