Alabama to face West Virginia in 2014 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game

By Kevin Kelley -

The Alabama Crimson Tide will face the West Virginia Mountaineers in the second game of the 2014 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, Chick-fil-A officials announced this afternoon.

Alabama and West Virginia will meet at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Saturday, Aug. 28, 2014. The game will be the first ever meeting between the two schools.

The match-up will be the second game of the 2014 Chick-fil-A Kickoff. Boise State and Ole Miss are set to meet in the first game on Thursday, Aug. 28.

“Alabama and West Virginia are consistently among the premier teams in the country and we’re thrilled to be able to host such a high profile game with representatives from the SEC and the Big 12,” said Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO. “This will be an epic blockbuster-type game the nation will anticipate for a long, long time and will continue our tradition of showcasing two top-ranked teams to open the season on Saturday night.”

“The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is an outstanding event and we look forward to opening the 2014 season in Atlanta,” said Nick Saban, Alabama head coach. “Gary Stokan and his staff do a great job in hosting this game and the atmosphere in the Georgia Dome has been like a BCS bowl game in our previous experiences there. The exposure for our football players and our program is tremendous and it is a great experience for our fans. This will be the sixth time we have played a non-conference game at a neutral site, and the fourth time at Atlanta.”

The 2014 contest will mark the fourth appearance for the Crimson Tide in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. Alabama defeated Clemson 34-10 in 2008 and Virginia Tech 34-24 in 2009. The Tide are set to face Virginia Tech again in Atlanta on Aug. 31, 2013.

“Playing in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is a great opportunity for our football program and will be an exciting event for our fans,” said Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia head coach. “Alabama is one of the top teams in college football history, and it will be a tough challenge for us.”

West Virginia will be playing in its first Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, but they have played in the Georgia Dome once before. The Mountaineers defeated the Georgia Bulldogs 38-35 in the 2006 Sugar Bowl in a game that was relocated to Atlanta due to Hurricane Katrina.

Listed below is the complete schedule of Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games scheduled through 2014:

  • 2012 – NC State vs. Tennessee (Friday, Aug. 31, 7:30 p.m. ET, ESPNU)
  • 2012 – Auburn vs. Clemson (Saturday, Sept. 1, 7 p.m. ET, ESPN)
  • 2013 – Alabama vs. Virginia Tech (Saturday, Aug. 31)
  • 2014 – Boise State vs. Ole Miss (Thursday, Aug. 28)
  • 2014 – Alabama vs. West Virginia (Saturday, Aug. 30)

Football Schedules

Comments (15)

This will be a great game. Big 12 vs SEC. offense vs defense. If only Bama could get an opening game with Notre Dame..

They don’t want any part of Alabama.
Alabama’s been trying to schedule them for years home & home.

Go ‘EERS!! I plan on being there. Bama is one of the all time greats. I’m hoping they take us lightly, like everyone else! (ie Georga Sugar ’07, Oklahoma Fiesta ’08, Clemson Orange ’12.)

This will be an interesting match up. I’m curious as to how it will turn out but WVU has 2 seasons to prepare.

During the past decade, WVU played a home and away series with Auburn and LSU. They were 1-1 with Auburn and 0-2 with LSU. Except for the 2011 game with LSU, the other 3 were close and competitive. Playing native son Nick Sabin who was born and raised in a coal-mining town just a few miles south of the WVU campus will generate a lot of hype and interest.

Go ‘Eers!!! Living in Alabama now I’m stoked to have my Mounties playing so close!!! :-)

@ BAMAMAN12…… Mountaineers dodge nobody!You are just making things up….Why would we NOT want to play Alabama??? The money involved would be great…… Talk to me the day after the game…..

This will be a non-competitive warm-up game for Alabama. They will beat WVU like a rented mule.

I have lived 35 miles from Morgan Town and have seen the WV team good and bad. This will be a great game. Let the teams talk on the field………………

I hope the Tide beats the beard off the mountaineer mascot. Roll tide, WVU needs to be in Division II. They have never been a football power.

I’m with the Alabama kid on this one. Let’s settle this on the field. You can attack us as a state all you want but don’t attack our university. We have more fight in us than you think. Just ask Texas and OU. To say we are a division 2 team is a cheap shot. Win or loose it will be with class. We will play our hearts out and if you want to know how big our hearts are than just watch the wvu baseball visits Moore, Oklahoma on YouTube. Maybe you will have a better idea (dung).