Alabama to get Mercedes-Benz 'gawking' over with before Saturday's game

The $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host its first college football contest Saturday night when No. 1 Alabama faces No. 3 Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
The $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium will host its first college football contest Saturday night when No. 1 Alabama faces No. 3 Florida State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.

Alabama and Tennessee rank 1-2 in Southeastern Conference football history when it comes to league championships.

The Crimson Tide and Volunteers will rank 1-2 as well when it comes to SEC teams playing in the new $1.6 billion Mercedes-Benz Stadium that was spearheaded by Atlanta Falcons owner Arthur Blank. This year's Chick-fil-A Kickoff lineup has No. 1 Alabama facing No. 3 Florida State on Saturday night and No. 25 Tennessee facing Georgia Tech on Monday night.

"The fans of all four schools are going to be in for a unique experience, because it's the greatest stadium in the world," said Gary Stokan, the CEO and president of Peach Bowl, Inc. "The halo board is bigger than Jerry Jones' board in Dallas, and it goes 360 degrees around the stadium. Give Arthur Blank all the credit in the world for what he's done, from the fan experience side to the food. You're going to be able to buy a Coke for a couple of dollars and get free refills.

"You're going to be able to buy Chick-fil-A for what you can buy it in the restaurant. There are not huge markups that you've experienced in the past with new facilities."

The two matchups between SEC and Atlantic Coast Conference teams would be intriguing even if they had been held in the Georgia Dome, which served as the home of the Falcons from 1992 until their run to Super Bowl LI this past January. The Georgia Dome also housed the SEC title game from 1994 to last year and began hosting big opening-weekend games for college football in 2008, so it had become a busy and familiar facility.

Mercedes-Benz is sure to become familiar down the road, but it is sure to amaze coaches, players and spectators alike Saturday and Monday. Will that add to the traditional concerns before a season kicks off?

"We're going to go over there on Friday, which we usually don't do," Alabama coach Nick Saban said Wednesday. "We've played in Dallas three times, which is kind of the same kind of awesome place, and we took the players over and let them walk around and do their gawking on Friday. Hopefully when the game comes, they'll be focused on the game.

"Mature competitors who have been in situations like this before handle this a lot better than young players, but hopefully our young players will show the maturity to be able to handle it as well."

Alabama has opened three seasons inside AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys that debuted in 2009 at a cost of $1.3 billion. Saban's Crimson Tide routed Michigan (41-14 in 2012), Wisconsin (35-17 in 2015) and Southern California (52-6 last year) in those openers, and they also lambasted Michigan State 38-0 in the Cotton Bowl national semifinal after the 2015 regular season.

Tennessee has not played at AT&T Stadium but did whip Virginia Tech 45-24 in the "Battle of Bristol" last September, when 130,045 ticketed attendees at Bristol Motor Speedway set a record for a college football game.

"Anytime your players have that type of experience and have the opportunity to play in that type of environment, that definitely helps," Volunteers coach Butch Jones said Wednesday, "but we have a lot of individuals who did not play in that game who will be playing in their first collegiate game. You have to rely on your older players to stay focused and kind of lead the way, but I do think you can draw the analogy from that."

Jones said the Vols would walk through Mercedes-Benz Stadium to get a feel for it but added that Georgia Tech practicing there for two hours Tuesday was "a great advantage" for the Yellow Jackets.

Auburn will be the third SEC program to play a Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Mercedes-Benz Stadium when the Tigers open next season against Washington.

"It's got a 100-yard bar," Stokan said. "You can walk all the way around the stadium. It's going to be a unique experience for the college football fan."

Harris to play

Heralded Alabama freshman tailback Najee Harris is going to be seen sooner than later this season.

"I don't think there is any question that he's done an outstanding job in his development here through spring practice and also fall camp," Saban said Wednesday. "Right now, he is going to have the opportunity to play in this game, and I think he'll make a significant contribution to our team throughout the season."

Harris joins a position group headed by juniors Damien Harris and Bo Scarbrough. Saban said Wednesday night that sophomore Josh Jacobs (hamstring injury) hasn't practiced this week.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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