Photo by: Fox Sports
Alabama and Florida State were two of the four teams featured in the inaugural College Football Playoff last season. Both programs are reportedly set to open the 2017 season against each other inside the Atlanta Falcons new stadium, according to Palm Beach Post reporter Tom D’Angelo.
BREAKING: Sources: #FSU #Alabama game in Atlanta to open 17 season set. Agreement in place. Story to come. pic.twitter.com/5Yum0Ux3iv
— Tom D'Angelo (@tomdangelo44) June 19, 2015
ICYMI: Story on #FSU–#Alabama game set for '17 in Atlanta. Programs to make $4 million to $5 million each for game.http://t.co/g7WbA1q8aO
— Tom D'Angelo (@tomdangelo44) June 20, 2015
It will be the fifth time that the Crimson Tide opened a season in Atlanta since 2008.
Alabama won its last four season openers in Atlanta, including a 33-23 victory over West Virginia in 2014. Alabama is 2-1-1 all-time against Florida State. The two schools last met in 2007, when the Seminoles ousted the Tide 21-14.
An Alabama-Florida State matchup would pin head coach Nick Saban against his former assistant Jimbo Fisher, Florida State’s head coach.
Fisher, 49, served on Saban’s staff at LSU from 2000-04 as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. The Tigers won a national championship in 2003, and Saban left for the National Football League two years later. Fisher remained at LSU until 2007, when he joined Florida State’s staff as an offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
Fisher has been the head coach of the Seminoles since 2010. Florida State won a national championship in 2013. Alabama will open the 2015 and 2016 seasons at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas against the Wisconsin Badgers and Southern California Trojans.
Stephen M. Smith is a staff writer and columnist for Touchdown Alabama Magazine, Pick Six Previews and SB Nation. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @ESPN_Future.
