The entire college football world is looking forward to Saturday, Sept. 2 and that gaze is largely directed at the 8 pm ET time slot. Teams across the country are excited to kick things off on opening weekend but, in Atlanta, the Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida State Seminoles will do battle in front of a national television audience.
If Alabama and FSU aren't the two best teams in the country, they are certainly close and one Crimson Tide player is already saying it is "one of the biggest games" of the year for the program. Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports brings word from Alabama defensive back Minkah Fitzpatrick.
This is probably going to be-if not the biggest-one of the biggest games for us besides the playoffs and championships.
It might seem obvious that this game would be huge for both sides but, given Alabama's national profile and the fact that this is a non-conference match-up, it is a noteworthy comment. Nick Saban, though, wasn't willing to go quite as far.
"The consequence of the game is you really find out where your team is. Even if you lose, I think it really helps your prepare for the difficult games you have in the conference down the road."
A loss in non-conference play likely won't single-handedly sink either Alabama and Florida State in the College Football Playoff picture. What it will do, though, is eliminate any margin for error for one side or the other and that seems pretty "big" in and of itself.
