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Atlanta stakes worthy claim as 'capital of college football'

Nick Saban is preparing No. 1 Alabama for another big-time game at the Georgia Dome when the Crimson Tide faces No. 4 Washington on New Year’s Eve.

Alabama has been on the big stage in Atlanta quite a bit. In fact, a lot of college football’s big-time events are happening in Atlanta. That’s part of what Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl president and CEO Gary Stokan envisioned for the city 20 years ago. He wanted Atlanta to be the “capital of college football.”

That tie between Atlanta and Saban — which Stokan said started at the 2000 Peach Bowl with LSU and served as the groundwork for the Tigers’ 2003 national championship run — continued with Alabama at the first Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in 2008.