Alabama vs. FSU: 5 x-factors for the Crimson Tide to beat the Seminoles
By John Buhler
The Alabama Crimson Tide will take on the Florida State Seminoles on Labor Day weekend. Here are five x-factors for the Crimson Tide to roll on Saturday.
In what will absolutely be the biggest college football game of Labor Day weekend, the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide will face the No. 3 Florida State Seminoles on Saturday. Kickoff from brand-new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will be at 8:00 p.m. ET. ABC will have the national broadcast.
While the Chick-Fil-A Kickoff in Atlanta has become the gold standard for getting the college football season off on the right foot, the neutral site affair typically doesn’t have two bona fide blue-bloods at the peak of their power squaring off in Week 1. Outside of rivalry week in November, how often does No. 1 play No. 3 during the regular season?
Alabama will be favored in this game and every game the Crimson Tide will play in this year. With the way Nick Saban recruits and is able to reload his imposing defense, his SEC program should always get the benefit of the doubt.
In the neighboring state, Jimbo Fisher has his Florida State program back to where it was under the peak Bobby Bowden years. Florida State’s rise to national prominence once again might make the ACC the best conference in college football this year. However, the Crimson Tide are the Crimson Tide. Here are the five x-factors to help Alabama beat Florida State on Labor Day weekend.
5. Don’t let the ACC quicksand overtake the team
Let’s face it. Alabama comes into this Chick-Fil-A Kickoff game with all the pressure, not Florida State. It is Alabama that is coming off a loss in the national champion to the Seminoles’ ACC Atlantic rival Clemson Tigers. Alabama has won three straight SEC Championships, but only one national title to show for it.
Should Alabama lose to both ACC blue-blood programs in back-to-back games, you better believe that the fine folks in Birmingham will be in the rare form on The Paul Finebaum Show come Tuesday. Not to say Alabama fans will want to run Saban out of town, but this is a rabid football fan base with insane expectations if there ever was one.
But let’s pump the brakes for a second. Alabama has had several months to get ready for this game. While a loss to Florida State wouldn’t be shameful in any capacity, it’s not like Saban’s program wants to take back-to-back L’s to ACC schools. If that happens, then the tide has turned on the Tide and the SEC may not get a team into the College Football Playoff sadly.
It all comes down to which team is better prepared to play 60 minutes of exciting football on Saturday. Alabama is an insanely well-coached program. The Crimson Tide don’t ever succumb to quicksand anyway. Just take care of business and execute at a high level and Alabama should be fine.