Alabama v. Virginia Tech September 5 in Atlanta

By Erik Stone

10 Weeks....that's all that's left between now and the much-anticipated beginning of the 2009 College Football season.

On the evening of September 5 about 73,000 fans will gather at the Georgia Dome for the season-opening tilt between Alabama and Virginia Tech, two teams that many across the nation will watch very closely. Alabama will begin the 2009 season in the same building where it began the 2008 season, but the expectations will be much different. Sure there were a lot of people that felt the Crimson Tide would be improved after limping home to a 7-6 finish in 2007 and barely getting by Colorado in the Independence Bowl, but the consensus among many was that Clemson, their opponent was a much better time and a favorite in the ACC under Tommy Bowden and would have little trouble with Bama. We all know what happened....Alabama blasted the Tigers 34-10 and went on to begin the season 12-0 and return to the Georgia Dome for the SEC Championship game which they lost to eventual National Champion Florida. As for Clemson, the Tigers had a hangover for several weeks after that game and it eventually led to Bowden's resignation. Bowden was replaced by Bama alum Dabo Swinney, who did a nice job in getting the team to rebound for a berth in the Gator Bowl which they lost to Nebraska. Certainly not the destination that Clemson fans had in mind, but it seems the Tigers are now headed in the right direction.

This year, Alabama coming off an appearance in the Sugar Bowl and bringing in another top-notch recruiting class under coach Nick Saban will be mentioned as a National Championship contender even though they'll have to replace the graduated John Parker Wilson at Quarterback. They still have many weapons returning including Julio Jones on offense and Terrence "Mount" Cody on defense. The Tide knew they could have very well been in Miami last year playing Oklahoma for the National Championship had Tim Tebow not willed the Gators to victory in the fourth quarter. Florida has Tebow and many starters back from the National Championship team but they showed they can be beaten, especially in their last two games, so Alabama coming back to the Georgia Dome on December 5 for the SEC Championship Game is a pretty good bet, especially if they can weather challenges from their top two SEC West pursuers, Ole Miss and LSU. Meanwhile, what do we make of Virginia Tech? The Hokies have been a very consistent program under longtime coach Frank Beamer who will one day be in the College Football Hall of Fame. They've been to a bowl game every year since 1993 and have played in the last two Orange Bowls, winning last season over Cincinnati. Some will say that Virginia Tech is overrated and plays in the weak ACC and that was spelled out two years ago when they came back to beat Matt Ryan and Boston College in the ACC Championship Game after losing at home to the Eagles in the regular season. Then, they were flat in the Orange Bowl against an opportunistic Kansas team that was having a season for the ages, but still a team the Hokies should have handled.

Looking at this game right now, a lot of people will say Alabama will win in a blowout, which could happen, but I think Frank Beamer will have Virginia Tech ready for this game and will prepare his players as best he can. He knows what's at stake here because a game like this can be the launching point for bigger things to happen later in the season. We may well see the road to Pasadena have its beginning point in Atlanta this year and come back through "the ATL" before the season is said and done.