We're three days away from the kickoff of Alabama's season opener on the road against Florida State. There's a storm brewing, both in the atmosphere and for the Seminoles, as the Crimson Tide gets ready to roll into Tallahassee to make an early statement.
It's not Florida State's fault that they are the next team on the schedule. All postering by them aside, the majority of the 'Noles faithful know what they are up against with Alabama coming in. They may want to point toward the Tide's slipups as a sign of something more, but they - along with the rest of the nation - are about to find out it was nothing more than a blip on the radar.
The standard hasn't changed in Tuscaloosa. Alabama's main goal for this season is to win a National Championship. The first stop on the road to a potential title is at Doak Campbell.
Let's get bold.
Bold Predictions for Alabama's matchup against Florida State.
Tommy Castellanos finishes with under 50 total rushing yards
On paper, Tommy Castellanos and new FSU OC Gus Malzahn are a match made in Heaven. Saturday afternoon's going to produce a heat on the Boston College transfer that feels like anything but Heaven.
Castellanos brought it on himself. He made comments this offseason to question Alabama's place without Nick Saban, providing extra motivation for a team that was already chock-full of it.
Malzahn will try to use Castellanos' legs early and often. He will look at the film from last season and assume his QB can have the same success on the ground that Diego Pavia and Jackson Arnold had. Tide DC Kane Wommack knows that's coming, and he's got the horses this year to stop it.
Alabama will have one of the best defenses in the country this season. They will announce that to the nation on Saturday in Tallahassee by completely stifling Castellanos in his FSU debut.
Josh Cuevas scores Alabama's first TD of the year
The tight ends are likely to play a major role in this game as Alabama looks for weak points in Florida State's 3-3-5 defense led by new DC Tony White. In that alignment, the seams are usually where it's open to attack, which means Alabama's tight ends are going to be key.
Josh Cuevas flashed last season and should take on the leading role now that CJ Dippre has moved on. He'll be a nice safety valve for Ty Simpson in his first start, and with Ryan Williams and the rest of Alabama's WRs taking up so much of Florida State's attention, Cuevas could be in line for a big game.
Look for him to break wide open in the first quarter and for Simpson to throw a strike for a touchdown.
Dijon Lee records an interception in his first career game
Whether or not 5-star freshman CB Dijon Lee actually starts on Saturday isn't yet known, but even if he doesn't, he's going to play a lot. Florida State will probably make the mistake of trying to attack the true freshman CB when they see him on the field.
Lee has exceptional size and ball skills at 6-foot-4 and makes life tough for opposing QBs and WRs. If Castellanos decides to test him, Lee is going to pass that test.
Look for the Seminoles to throw a jump ball Lee's way at some point on Saturday and for the freshman to make the first of many career interceptions.