By Matt Smith
SouthernPigskin.com

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Part of striving for perfection is focusing on one opponent at a time. That’s why the Crimson Tide’s attention is strictly on the Hokies, not the much-hyped Sept. 14 trip to Texas A&M, the team who rendered perfection impossible for the 2012 Tide with an upset win in Tuscaloosa.

When you’ve won three of the past four national titles, it’s difficult to achieve things that you haven’t already done so previously.

For the Alabama senior class, their hands sport a pair of national title rings, or in the case of fifth-year seniors like quarterback AJ McCarron and guard Anthony Steen, three. However, McCarron and Steen didn’t see the field for the 2009 Crimson Tide – the last Alabama team to navigate a perfect season.

Both of Alabama’s last two national titles under head coach Nick Saban required overcoming home losses in November and getting a bit of luck from upsets in other conferences to climb back into the top two of the BCS Standings by the first weekend in December. Senior linebacker C.J. Mosley would prefer that the Tide keep their destiny under their own control.

“It’s always a goal – being perfect,” Mosley said. “We don’t like having to wait on two or three different teams to lose a game to get back to where we want to be.”

McCarron’s desire for perfection was never more evident than in last year’s BCS Championship Game. Late in the game, with the Tide leading Notre Dame 42-14, McCarron and center Barrett Jones were seen yelling at each other after a delay of game penalty, with Jones shoving his quarterback. Even with the game long decided, the minor mistake still irked McCarron.

“Nobody holds me to a higher standard than myself,” McCarron said. “I expect to be perfect. I know it’s not going to happen, but I expect it.”

That drive to complete a season with a zero in the loss column has fueled this group of seniors heading into a season in which the Tide are picked by most experts to win their third consecutive national title.

“It definitely bothers me,” Steen said. “I wish I could go back and play those whole games all over again.”

Each of the losses the past two seasons were particularly difficult pills to swallow. Four missed field goals against LSU in 2011 led to an overtime loss. Last season, Alabama was inside the Texas A&M 10-yard line trailing by five points late in the game before a McCarron interception ended the Tide’s quest for perfection.

The Tide players turned those negatives into positives, using it as fuel not only for this season but to ensure by the end of those past two seasons, they were back atop the mountain.

The Tide’s road towards a potential perfect season begins Aug. 31 against Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. The game is held in the Georgia Dome – the same place where Alabama won a memorable SEC Championship Game over Georgia last December en route to the national title.

It will be the fourth time in six years Alabama has opened with a marquee neutral-site opener, something in which Saban sees value for all involved.

“I think those neutral-site games from a business standpoint work out,” Saban said. “It’s great exposure for your program to play in different places in the country, especially against a good opponent.

Part of striving for perfection is focusing on one opponent at a time. That’s why the Crimson Tide’s attention is strictly on the Hokies, not the much-hyped Sept. 14 trip to Texas A&M, the team who rendered perfection impossible for the 2012 Tide with an upset win in Tuscaloosa.

“We’re all excited about [Texas A&M], but we’ve got to focus on Virginia Tech,” Steen said. “We can’t underestimate Virginia Tech because we could show up with our B or C game and lose. We’re just focusing on the first game, that first week.”

The goals are lofty at Alabama, mostly because most everything else has always been done. A three-peat – which would be college football’s first in over 60 years – is within the Tide’s grasp.

“I can’t explain how special that would be,” Steen said. “I know all the guys are thinking about it.”

Of course, it would be even more special if it caps off a 14-0 season – the “perfect” ending for a senior class like none other, even in the long, storied history of Alabama football.