That's the question on every Hokie fan's mind, as the Alabama Crimson Tide was finally officially installed on Sunday as Tech's opponent in the Music City Bowl.

I have beefed up my Links Page with lots of Alabama Crimson Tide links.  I wasn't able to find a really good free site, finding instead several pay sites.  I did locate a couple of decent message boards, most of which came from HokieCentral message board posters who linked to them.

I don't know about you, but I'm loving this matchup.  Alabama is a tradition-laden team that has taken the Hokies to the woodshed many times in the past, mostly back in Alabama's glory days.  The Tide and the Hokies have met 10 times, with Bama winning all of them.

The last time these two teams played, Alabama won, 31-7 in 1979.  The Tide laid many other whippings on the Hokies, most of them in the late '60's and '70's, when Tech and Alabama used to be regular sparring partners.  Here's what I was able to track down in my VT media guide for past games:

1. 1932:  Alabama 9, Tech 6 (away)
2. 1933:  Alabama 27, Tech 0 (away)
3. 1952:  Alabama 33, Tech 0 (away)
4. 1968:  Alabama 14, Tech 7 (in Birmingham)
5. 1969:  Alabama 17, Tech 13 (home)
6. 1970:  Alabama 51, Tech 18 (in Birmingham)
7. 1972:  Alabama 52, Tech 13 (away)
8. 1973:  Alabama 77, Tech 6 (away)
9. 1978:  Alabama 35, Tech 0 (away)
10. 1979:  Alabama 31, Tech 7 (away)

Without a doubt, what will motivate this year's Hokie team more than any other single factor will be revenge for that 27-0 blanking the Tide put on Tech back in 1933.

Just kidding.

No, what will motivate the Tech players is the need for respect, a good finish to a sometimes-tough season, and the need for a bowl win.  After winning two straight bowls in 1986 and 1993, the Hokies have gone 1-3 in their last four bowls, with the one win, of course, being the 1995 Sugar Bowl.  If the Hokies lose yet another bowl, making it four out of the last five, the whispers are going to start that Tech can't win bowl games.

Alabama posted a 7-4 season this year, with wins over BYU, Vanderbilt, Mississippi, ECU, Southern Miss., LSU, and Auburn.  Their losses were to Arkansas, Florida, Tennessee, and Mississippi State.  The Tide and the Hokies only have one common opponent:  ECU, which Tech waxed 38-3, but which Alabama had to hang on to defeat 23-22, in a game that saw the Crimson Tide return a blocked extra point 90 yards for what proved to be the winning points.

For details on the Tides season and scores, see their USA Today Page.

The Crimson Tide is coming off of probation and scholarship reductions, so their program is a little down right now, but not much.  Alabama is a young team that went 4-7 in 1997.  Regardless, the Tide is not the type of powerhouse Tech has faced in recent bowl losses to Tennessee (1994), Nebraska (1996), and North Carolina (1997).

This is a golden opportunity for Tech to post a much-needed bowl win against a respectable, big-name opponent.  It is also a chance for Tech to impress a new set of fans, much like the Hokies impressed Texas fans in the 1995 Sugar Bowl, and it's no small point that the fans in question are from the SEC, a conference that Tech has sighted in the corner of its eye as a possible future all-sports home.

College football fans in the state of Alabama already know that Tech can whip UAB (37-0 last year and 41-0 this year).  Now they get to find out how the Hokies match up against their storied Alabama Crimson Tide program.

In other news, the Tech ticket office reported at the end of the day on Friday that the Hokies have sold 9,000 of their allotment of 12,000 tickets.  Message board reports indicate that Hokie fans are also wearing out the phones at the Music City Bowl ticket office, and estimates of the number of tickets that Hokie fans have purchased directly from the Music City Bowl stand at somewhere around 4,000.

That's 13,000 Hokie fans so far, and now that the opponent has been announced, the remaining 3,000 tickets will probably go pretty fast.  A number of fans have asked me if I'm going to do a ticket drive similar to last year's Gator Bowl ticket drive, and the answer is, probably not.

Although the tickets purchased for last year's ticket drive went to charity, the primary motivation for last year's ticket drive was Tech's lagging Gator Bowl ticket sales.  The HokieCentral ticket drive gave ticket sales a much-needed shot in the arm.

This year, tickets to the bowl game are more scarce, because Nashville is close, Tech fans are excited about the game, and the stadium is small.  So I won't be doing a ticket drive this year, because I would prefer that tickets remain available for Hokie fans who plan on going to the game.

As the game approaches, I'll have more detailed comments, and a preview.  Till then, congratulations to the Hokies on an exciting matchup in a fun bowl.

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