Rumors are swirling that Alabama football and Miami are in negotiations to open the 2021 season in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
The last time Alabama football lined up across the field from an ACC team, it didn’t end well. Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide were defeated in a slight comeback effort during the 2016 national title game, and you can bet that hasn’t left his mind.
Moreover, he’s had to listen to college football fans knock the SEC and dub the ACC the nation’s new superior conference. This comes just two years after he defeated Clemson in the title game to continue the Saban dominance of the college landscape.
How else can he silence his doubters? How about by opening the 2021 season against an up-and-coming ACC foe in the annual Chick-fil-A kickoff game. According to reports, Alabama is in negotiations with Miami to open the 2021 season at Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga.
This just goes to show that Alabama isn’t afraid to start the season against anyone. Sure, the Crimson Tide may have an annual FCS opponent sprinkled into the late-season schedule, but Saban continues to show he has no fear.
In fact, the Crimson Tide are opening the 2017 season in the Chick-fil-A kickoff game against ACC foe Florida State. The Seminoles are considered a top-five team in the country and many believe it could be a foreshadowing of a playoff game.
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If this is true, Saban will play old SEC coach Mark Richt who had been with Georgia for over a decade before leaving and taking the job at his alma mater, Miami. That would be quite the way to kick off the 2021 campaign.