Alabama players on Florida State: 'We are going to have a great battle'
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Rankings don’t matter. At least that’s what Alabama head coach Nick Saban and the rest of the top-rated Crimson Tide will tell you.
While that might be true, it’s hard to look at next week’s matchup between No. 1 Alabama and No. 3 Florida State without a little extra enthusiasm. After all, the two teams will square off in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff on Sept. 2 in what is being billed as the “greatest opener of all time.”
Thursday, Alabama began its game preparations for the Seminoles. While players are doing their best to treat the matchup like any other, holding back the excitement becomes harder every day.
“They got athletes all across the board,” Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans said. “I’ve been hearing a lot of things about them trying to be a dominate team by competing against people like us, the SEC... Just with that I feel like we are going to have a great battle coming up.”
Alabama has opened up at a neutral site the past five seasons, including the last two years against ranked opponents. In 2015 the Tide made easy work of No. 20 Wisconsin, beating the Badgers 35-17. Last season’s opener against No. 20 Southern California was even worse, with Alabama dealing the Trojans a 52-6 whipping.
However, the test waiting for Alabama inside of the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta next week figures to be much greater than anything the Tide has seen in recent years.
“They have talent just like us,” Alabama cornerback Anthony Averett said of Florida State. “They recruit well. They also have guys, a good line, a good running back, a lot of new faces, receivers, a good defense. They’re stacked just like us.”
While the two teams last met in 2007, isn’t hard to draw comparisons. Alabama and Florida State played three common opponents last season in Ole Miss, Clemson and Florida.
“Personally, I’ve been watching them for a while — even since last year when they were playing Ole Miss and I knew we were going to play them next year. I watched that game. I watched a few other games, too.”
Florida State began game prep for Alabama on Wednesday, giving them a day up on the Tide. After three weeks of playing against themselves, Alabama players relished the opportunity to do the same Thursday.
“It's been a long, hard-working offseason and we're ready to go to work,” Alabama outside linebacker Anfernee Jennings said. “Today we start our focus toward Florida State."