Alabama Crimson Tide vs Virginia Tech Hokies 2009

ATLANTA -- In methods and makeup, this appears to be a much different Alabama football team from the one that visited the Georgia Dome to open last season.

The ultimate goal, however, stayed the same.

"Just hit them in the mouth until they can't take it anymore," Crimson Tide linebacker Dont'a Hightower said.

Fifth-ranked Alabama dug deep Saturday night to overcome a deficit in the final quarter and secure a 34-24 victory over seventh-ranked Virginia Tech in the marquee matchup of college football's opening weekend.

The contest wasn't the defensive struggle many projected. It actually turned into a shootout with two stout yet tiring defenses in the fourth quarter, and Alabama clearly managed more firepower early and late.

The Crimson Tide dominated the statistics sheet, but needed a series of late game-turning plays to finally overcome its own mishaps and put away the defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Hokies.

"We knew we would have to earn it against these guys," Alabama coach Nick Saban said, "and we had to earn it. It was a tough game and it was probably a good thing our team had to go through that. ... This team responded to a lot of adversity in the game and overcame themselves."

"I've never been so happy after a start," quarterback Greg McElroy said.

What kind of Crimson Tide showed Saturday night?

Through the lens of last season, it was remarkably different. Alabama's defense is still solid. It's still punishing against the run, though susceptible to the big plays when it wasn't for most of last year.

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