Alabama Football: Epic Coaching Battle Highlights 2014 Matchup vs. West Virginia

The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game has billed itself as the "Daytona 500 of College Football," after providing stellar matchups between out-of-conference foes on opening weekend since its inception in 2008. One of the two games in 2014 has a chance to be its best matchup yet.

The Chick-fil-A Bowl announced on Thursday that one of its two matchups in 2014 will feature the Alabama Crimson Tide versus the West Virginia Mountaineers. 

Color me excited.

It's hard to predict the specific personnel that will take the field for the two teams three seasons from now, but assuming the coaches stay in place, the game has the potential to be a classic.

Alabama head coach Nick Saban's track record speaks for itself. Nationally, his Crimson Tide defenses have finished in the top five in total defense in each of the last four seasons. In a sport where one bad game could skew the numbers, that statistic is incredible.

On the other side of the field, West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen has established himself as one of the premier offensive minds in college football.

In his first season as West Virginia's head coach, his Mountaineers averaged 469.5 yards per game and put up 533 yards on an LSU defense that finished second in the nation in total defense in 2011.

But it wasn't just a one-year wonder for Holgorsen. In stops as an offensive coordinator at Texas Tech, Houston and Oklahoma State between 2007-2010, Holgorsen's offenses finished no worse than No. 3 in the country in total offense.

That's scary.

Assuming both head coaches stay in place, the 2014 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game between Alabama and West Virginia should be fun to watch.

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