Alabama, Florida State Will Play 2017 Season Opener in Atlanta

The 2017 college football season is set to open with a bang, as the Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida State Seminoles have agreed to start their seasons against each other in Atlanta, according to Tom D'Angelo of the Palm Beach Post.

The matchup was confirmed on July 9 by the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Twitter.

It will be the first time the two schools will have met in the regular season since 2007, when Florida State won, 21-14. The game will reportedly be played in the new Atlanta Falcons stadium, which is currently being built, according to Michael Casagrande of AL.com.

Few programs have had more success in recent years than Alabama and Florida State. Alabama has won three of the last six national titles and reached the first inaugural College Football Playoff this past season, while Florida State won the 2014 BCS National Championship Game and reached the playoff last year as well.

It's hard to imagine a much better way to start the season than with these two powerhouses facing off. Given the strength of these programs in recent years and the vaunted recruiting prowess of head coaches Nick Saban and Jimbo Fisher, it will hardly be shocking if these schools both find themselves in the top five of the rankings when they meet.