If you're new at college football, you may be wondering why the Alabama Crimson Tide are playing the rookie Concrete Jungle Cats. The Tide won last year's BCS National Championship and have two or three times as many national titles as the Georgia St. Panthers have wins, depending on which Bama fan you ask.
↵Roll Bama Roll, our Alabama community, addresses the matter. For the Tide, it's an easy win and a week of rest for starting players. Most major college teams import small schools for wins at least two or three times per year.
↵What's in it for State? Well, lots of money, sure: $400,000 for the game, plus $35,000 for playing on a Thursday night. But more important in the long run is the burst of national face time. If a recruit is on the fence about playing for the Panthers or a nearby rival, seeing the Blue and White in prime time on ESPNU against the most successful college football program of the modern era will certainly have an impact.
↵For this first-year program, scoring a game in Bryant-Denny Stadium ten days before Cam Newton's Auburn Tigers is right up there with playing in the Georgia Dome, landing Bill Curry, or headlining ESPN The Magazine.