Georgia Dome Is Sweet Home Alabama

ATLANTA -- This felt like something big, and it was. In fact, this was larger than even Alabama's solar system of a nose guard Terrence Cody. This was the Crimson Tide proving for a second consecutive year that the Atlantic Coast Conference is wonderful at picks and rolls, but not so much at blocking and tackling -- at least not when matched against the Southeastern Conference elite.

This also was Alabama showing that it has the stuff to smash-mouth its way to prominence all season after wearing down an impressive Virginia Tech bunch near the end on Saturday night at the Georgia Dome.

It's just that Virginia Tech isn't Alabama, because Alabama was playing for Bear Bryant, the SEC and a national championship.

"You've got to understand that team on the other side is about as good as it gets," said Virginia Tech coach Frank Beamer after a 34-24 loss that was more dominating for Alabama than the final score. For one, the Crimson Tide outgained Virginia Tech in total yardage, 498 to 155. For another, Alabama botched its blowout chances with several missed opportunities in the red zone and inopportune penalties.

So Alabama coach Nick Saban had it about right by saying, "One of the things I liked about us in this game is that we had to keep responding. This team kept responding better to adversity than maybe we ever have."

Now consider something else that bodes well for Alabama the rest of the way: It just prospered inside the loud, stuffed and colorful Georgia Dome, which was spending a second consecutive year hosting the equivalent to a Bowl Championship Series game during the first weekend of the college football season. Said Beamer, reflecting on the 74,954 screamers who made this the fourth-largest crowd in the dome's history, "The atmosphere was fantastic. With the crowd noise making it hard to hear, you can't beat it."



That's true. And those in charge of what officially is called the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game were omniscient enough for a second consecutive year to pit Alabama against somebody huge. Well, somebody allegedly huge.

Despite entering last season unranked, Alabama proved that traditional ACC power Clemson was a fraud during the first Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game ever with a 34-10 blasting of what supposedly was the nation's No. 9 team. So, with a No. 5 preseason ranking this time, Alabama sought to do the same on Saturday night against what supposedly was a No. 7-ranked Virginia Tech team.

Virginia Tech is legitimate, though. As a result, everything that is intriguing about a championship-caliber game was on display for the longest time before a nationally televised audience.

Thrilling plays on offense: Early in the evening, with Alabama looking for a spark, Darius Hanks dove with outstretched hands on a dead sprint to keep a scoring drive alive for the Crimson Tide with a 35-yard catch.

Jarring plays on defense: After Alabama's Roy Upchurch raced 26 yards toward the end zone with a potentially game-changing dash in the third quarter, Virginia Tech defenders stripped and then recovered the ball in the red zone.

Opportunistic plays on special teams: Virginia Tech's Dyrell Roberts zipped down the sidelines for a 98-yard kickoff return.

Unique plays from their head coaches: Saban kept teasing the Virginia Tech defense with wildcat plays, starting with the first play of the night when he placed running back Mark Ingram behind center.

Costly plays: There was that anti-Beamer Ball moment in the first quarter when Virginia

Tech punt returner Ryan Williams muffed away a punt deep in his own territory despite signaling for a fair catch.

There were more examples of each of the above -- much more, but here's all you need to know about the evening's competitive flair: There were five lead changes in the first half that led to Virginia Tech taking the skinniest of 17-16 from near the end of the second quarter into early in the fourth quarter. Then, just like that, Alabama exploded, along with its already ear-shattering followers chanting, "SEC, SEC, SEC." Over the game's final 12 minutes, the Crimson Tide outscored their tiring foes 18-7 with much of what will make Alabama lethal throughout its SEC schedule and beyond.

There was lots of speed, and there was lots of hitting, and there was lots of coaching, which all will lead to lots of winning.

Terence Moore is a national columnist and commentator for FanHouse. He is a frequent panelist on "Rome Is Burning," an ESPN show hosted by Jim Rome, that is seen Monday through Friday at 4:30 PM ET. Moore spent more than three decades working for major newspapers, including 26 years as an award-winning sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He resides in Atlanta.