Alabama arrives at Mercedes-Benz Stadium for clash with Miami

The No.1 Crimson Tide is perfect in Kickoff Classics in Atlanta; has several players set to make first start in Alabama uniform.

Edwin Stanton | Sep 4, 2021

ATLANTA – The Alabama football team has arrived in Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Saturday for the 2:30 p.m. CT kickoff with the Miami Hurricanes in the Kickoff Classic. The game will be televised by ABC.

Miami is a newcomer to Kickoff Classic games, while Alabama is playing in its seventh. The Crimson Tide is 6-0 in the Classic in Atlanta, and defeated Duke 38-3 the last time it was in Atlanta for the Classic in 2019.

This is the first meeting between the Hurricanes and Crimson Tide since the 1993 Sugar Bowl, which Alabama won 34-13 to claim the national title.

Unlike 1993, Alabama is the favorite (19.5 points).

Several Alabama players are expected to make their first career start for Alabama today: Bryce Young (QB), Jameson Williams (WR), Cameron Latu (TE), Javion Cohen (OL), Henry To’oTo’o (LB) and DeMarco Hellams (DB).

Honorary captains for the game are 2020 Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith for Alabama and NFL Hall of Famer Michael Irvin for Miami.

Alabama and Miami are meeting for the 18th time in the all-time series. The Crimson Tide has won 11 of the last 12 meetings, with the one loss coming in the Sugar Bowl on Jan. 1, 1990 by a score of 33-25.

In their most recent matchup, the Crimson Tide defeated the Hurricanes 34-13 on Jan. 1 1993, which was also a Sugar Bowl pairing.