The first annual Chick-fil-A College Kickoff featured two traditional Southern football powers – one predicted to be at its highest point in 20 years, and the other struggling to regain its former glory. But after looking at the final score, you had to wonder which team was which.
Alabama hired Nick Saban prior to the 2007 season with hopes of recapturing its traditional place at the top of the SEC. Instead, the Tide limped down the stretch, losing their last four games and finishing a mediocre 7-6. In the past, such a season would be an exception for the Tide, but in recent years the Alabama faithful had almost come to expect such results.
This season, not much was supposed to change. Offseason arrests and injuries left the Tide extremely thin at key positions such as linebacker. The preseason polls picked the Tide either barely in the top 25 or out of it completely.
Clemson, on the other hand, came into the 2008 season as an almost unanimous pick to win the ACC and finish in the top ten nationally. Some even had the Tigers pegged as a darkhorse for the national title. The Tigers’ dynamic offense features future NFL draft picks at running back, wide receiver and quarterback.
Pregame suggestions by the national college football media had the “Daytona 500 of College Football,” as the game had been dubbed by Chick-fil-A Bowl executives, being a tightly contested game that Clemson would likely win due to their athletic playmakers on both sides of the ball.
Instead, it featured a smash-mouth philosophy by an old-school coach determined to win the game in the trenches.
THE SCENE
Aside from the sweltering Atlanta weather, an observer might think this was a bowl game from walking around the Georgia Dome Saturday afternoon. Eyeing the thousands of tailgaters camped out in the parking lots surrounding the venue, it would have been difficult to determine which team had more fans. Seemingly equal amounts of crimson and orange were prevalent in the festival-like atmosphere in downtown Atlanta. The scene would have been normal in December, but was definitely a strange site this early in the fall.
The Atlanta Sports Council hit a home run with the game, which had already been nicknamed “The Daytona 500 of College Football” by an excited Gary Stokan, President of the Chick-fil-A Bowl. Stokan thinks that this could be the beginning of an early-season tradition for Atlanta and the Dome.
“We think we’ve created the biggest and best celebration to start the college football season,” Stokan said. “We’re going to host this event every year capped off by a great matchup of two premier teams.”
Alabama and Clemson both helped get the game here in Atlanta, citing national exposure and recruiting possibilities as reasons for wanting to play in the Dome.
“For Alabama to be able to play in Atlanta is certainly something we look forward to,” Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban said. “It’s great for national exposure and great for recruiting.”
Alabama played a neutral site game last season against Florida State in Jacksonville and is thought to be returning to the College Kickoff for 2010 against Duke. Virginia Tech has already signed on for a game next season as part of the 2009 game but an opponent has not yet been named.
The early-season neutral site game could be a recurring trend throughout college football. From the beginning of college football in the United States until the 60s, many neutral site games were played. To this day, Florida-Georgia and Oklahoma-Texas are still played at neutral sites. Both games have their roots in the early days of the game.
THE GAME
Alabama dominated the line of scrimmage and the first half, rolling up 126 yards rushing and limiting Clemson’s vaunted offense to just seven yards.
‘Bama set the tone early, driving to set up a 54-yard Leigh Tiffin field goal. The Tide drove 27 yards in all of 10 plays to put Tiffin in position for what would be his career long and the third-longest field goal in school history. The drive mostly consisted of running between the tackles and dominating the line of scrimmage, which would set the tone for the rest of the game.
Offensively, the vaunted Clemson backfield could not get anything going in the first half. The only points came in the second quarter on a 33-yard Mark Buchholz field goal. The score was set up by the Tigers’ biggest gain from scrimmage of the night, a 47-yard completion to wide receiver Jacoby Ford down to the Alabama 25. The Tigers’ drive stalled after quarterback Cullen Harper was sacked for an 11-yard loss on second down from the 15.
Alabama dominated the lines of scrimmage all night. Superstar running backs C.J. Spiller and James Davis, blue-chip freshman Jamie Harper, and QB Cullen Harper combined to rush for exactly zero net yards.
‘Bama coach Nick Saban said that the Tide had prepared for trying to win the battle at the line of scrimmage.
“We thought the key to the game was not letting them run the ball and we would have to dominate the line of scrimmage on offense so that we could run it,” Saban said. “We were more physical than they were. Our offensive line played more physical than their front did.”
The final statistics pretty much told the story of the physical whipping ‘Bama laid upon the Tigers. The Tide kept possession for a whopping 41:13, to Clemson’s 18:47, rushed for 239 yards to Clemson’s zero, converted 11 of 17 third downs, and did not commit a single turnover.
“Third down was a big part of this game, too” explained Saban. “We were pretty good on third down [on offense] and our defense did a good job against them on third down.”
With this victory, Alabama now seems to have taken a huge step towards competing for championships again. The Tide have improved in a lot of areas, especially finishing the game and staying consistent. Saban seemed pleased with tonight’s performance but is wary of any overconfidence this win might cause.
“It’s one game,” said Saban. “Confidence can screw you up, or confidence can be a good thing. What our players need to understand, what our fans need to understand, what everybody needs to understand – it’s one game.”
It was just one game for Atlanta as well, but like Saban, Gary Stokan and the Chick-fil-A Bowl committee have to be pleased with the turnout and exposure their College Kickoff attracted on Saturday night. There are sure to be many more season-opening games like this at the Georgia Dome, and the world of college football and the city of Atlanta should certainly be excited about what the future holds for this event.
Black can be reached at sblack@scoreatl.com.
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