ATLANTA -- For most of three quarters on Saturday night, No. 1 Alabama couldn’t pull away from No. 3 Florida State in their season opener at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
Whenever Alabama quarterback Jalen Hurts tried to run outside, Seminoles safety Derwin James or someone else was waiting for him.
When Tide running backs Bo Scarbrough and Damien Harris tried to run up the middle, there was practically nowhere for them to go.
With the Crimson Tide and Seminoles locked in a heavyweight battle in the first college football game played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Alabama went back to the recipe that has helped it win four national championships under Nick Saban -- defense and special teams -- in a 24-7 victory over FSU.