THREE STORYLINES
1. Can the Crimson Tide be stopped? Alabama was crowned national champ in each of the past two seasons and three of the past four. They return 13 starters from last season's 13-1 team and several standouts, including quarterback A.J. McCarron (25-2 as a starter), running back T.J. Yeldon and wide receiver Amari Cooper on offense and Ed Stinson, C.J. Mosley and Adrian Hubbard on defense.
2. Which Logan Thomas will show up? If it's the 2011 version, who passed for more than 3,000 yards, with 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, the Hokies might have a chance. If it's the 2012 version, who didn't crack 3,000 yards and threw 18 touchdowns with 16 interceptions, the Hokies won't have a chance.
3. Dome-aloosa. Alabama is 4-1 in the Georgia Dome under Nick Saban, including 2-0 in Chick-fil-A Kickoff games and 2-1 in SEC Championship games. One of the Chick-fil-A wins was a 34-24 victory over the Hokies in 2009 that kick-started Alabama's national championship run. The Tide are 6-2 in domes under Saban.
MATCHUP TO WATCH
Alabama's defensive line vs. Virginia Tech OTs Jonathan McLaughlin and Laurence Gibson. McLaughlin is a freshman, and Gibson has played sparingly, which isn't a good combination when going against what was statistically the best defense in FBS last season. The Georgia Dome figures to be filled with loud Tide fans, which will make hearing the snap count more difficult for the two tackles and could result in a few false-start penalties.
TWEET OF THE WEEK
“Roll Tide” is a perfectly acceptable response to any question a teacher asks you today” — @senor_sparkman 2h (Alabama fan Sam Sparkman)
