The Alabama Crimson Tide begin their quest for a third-straight National Championship at the Georgia Dome, an arena they have opened many seasons at. The top-ranked Tide are looking for a historic three-peat of the BCS title, expectations that the players are not concentrating on. Instead, Alabama and Nick Saban are focused on Virginia Tech and the Frank Beamer defense.
Saban continues to stress taking the season one game at a time and eliminating all of the external distractions that come with expectations and their No. 1 ranking. Quarterback AJ McCarron is keeping the mindset that this current team has proven nothing yet. What other teams did in the past is simply in the past.
The past is certainly impressive for the Tide. The team has won 49 games and three National Championships in the last four seasons. Alabama returns with elite runner TJ Yeldon who is already in contention to win the Heisman. He is in charge of the run game after Eddie Lacy left for the NFL. Wide receiver Amari Cooper will lead what might be the best receiving corps Alabama has had in years.
Virginia Tech is not going down without a fight. The team is looking to bounce back after a season that saw their 10-game win streak come to an end. The Hokies barely snuck into the Russell Athletic Bowl game after winning their final two games of the season.
Logan Thomas returns under center. He struggled last year, completing just 50 percent of his passes. However, he did rush for 524 yards and nine touchdowns last year. The offense is suffering from multiple injuries. Running back Tony Gregory is having surgery. Lineman Mark Shuman is out 4-6 weeks with an injured knee.
Alabama leads the series against Virginia Tech 11-1. The last time the two teams met was in the Georgia Dome in 2009 where Alabama won.
