Florida State and Alabama will face off on Sept. 2 in what many are dubbing the greatest season opener in college football history. The teams enter the contest ranked No. 3 and No. 1 respectively, meaning the contest will feature the two highest ranked teams in recent history.
Joining The Daily Nole to talk about the contest is Al.com’s Alabama beat reporter, Michael Casagrande. Below, we discuss which match-ups to watch for, how FSU can rattle the Crimson Tide, and more:
Alabama is obviously the favorite to win the national championship as we enter 2017. What are your predictions for the Crimson Tide this year?
Casagrande: I things set up well for Alabama to make another run back to the playoffs. The SEC West isn’t as rough as it has been, leaving the schedule a little less challenging after Week 1. The annual showdown with LSU is in Tuscaloosa, where the Tigers last beat the Tide in 2011. The game to watch after Florida State will be Auburn on the final week of the season. It’s not at all impossible to think Alabama and Florida State could be in that final group of four come December.
We’ve all heard about Jalen Hurts, Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris. Aside from those three, who is one player FSU fans should look out for on Sept. 2?
Casagrande: Calvin Ridley remains the best playmaker in the passing game with freshmen like Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs making preseason noise. In the running game, I’d expect to see a decent amount of Najee Harris, considered among the best high school running backs last year who has had a big preseason.
Florida State’s defense had tons of trouble defending spread offenses and up-tempo passing attacks in 2016. How do you expect new offensive coordinator Brian Daboll to go after FSU’s secondary?
Casagrande: Alabama’s used a fair amount of tempo and it sounds like that’s not changing under Daboll. (Head coach Nick) Saban said after the second scrimmage they look best on offense when using tempo. In the past, they’ve sprinkled that in with more traditional pace to keep the opponent guessing. It’ll be interesting to see how sharp that is on Week 1 when the rhythm can take time to establish.
Many fans will point to Deondre Francois vs. the Alabama secondary as the main battle to watch. Which match-ups are you confident in? Which position groups for Florida State do you think have the potential to give the Crimson Tide fits?
Casagrande: There certainly appeared to be issues with the secondary in the Alabama secondary when Hurts was able to hit three passes for 50-plus yards. Attacking inexperienced corners could be a good plan for FSU. I’ll be interested to see how Alabama’s retooled pass rush replaces Tim Williams, Ryan Anderson and Jonathan Allen. Opposing quarterbacks had limited success with the deep ball last year mostly because they didn’t have time to throw the ball.
Finally, give us a prediction. Who comes out on top in Mercedes-Benz’s football debut?
Casagrande: I think it should be a good game and nothing would surprise me too much. That said, I’d give Alabama a slight advantage to win a game by a touchdown or less.
Thanks again to Michael Casagrande for taking the time to preview the contest with us. For all things Alabama, visit Al.com and follow him on Twitter.
Josh Mixon covers Florida State athletics for The Daily Nole. He previously served as a editor and reporter for FSU athletics for Armchair All-Americans. You can find him on Twitter @JoshMixon10.
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