Although Alabama is a favorite to make the College Football Playoff this year, Nick Saban’s Crimson Tide had a rather frustrating performance to start the season in Atlanta.

Blake Sims’ debut as starting quarterback wasn’t perfect, but he’s not the only Tide player to struggle in that very

same position. Let’s take a look at the last three starting quarterbacks in their season-opening games with the Crimson Tide.

Greg McElroy earned the starting quarterback position as a junior during the 2009 season. Like Sims, McElroy’s first start came in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game against the Virginia Tech Hokies. The No. 5 Crimson Tide defeated the Hokies 34-24. Here is a quick snapshot of key stats under McElroy’s leadership from that game in the Georgia Dome.

• Total Yards: 498 (230 passing; 268 rushing)

• C/ATT: 15/30 (50 percent), for an average of 7.7 yards

• First Downs: 22

• Third Down Conversions: 6-17

• Turnovers: 2 (1 interception)

• Time of Possession: 37:02

AJ McCarron had an even easier matchup for his first game as Alabama’s starter. To start the 2011 season at home, McCarron started against Kent State in Bryant-Denny Stadium. He led the Tide to a convincing 48-7 win over the Golden Flashes, but faced some key struggles along the way. Here are the stats from McCarron’s first game as starting quarterback.

• Total Yards: 482 (299 passing; 183 rushing)

• C/ATT: 14/23 (61 percent), for an average of 9.8 yards

• First Downs: 24

• Third Down Conversions: 2-10

• Turnovers: 5 (2 interceptions)

• Time of Possession: 29:53

Finally, we have Blake Sims. A fifth-year senior with a smattering of on-field experience. He won the hard-fought battle against Jake Coker and led No. 2 Alabama against unranked West Virginia in the Georgia Dome this past Saturday. Like the two championship-caliber quarterbacks before him, Sims helped the Tide to a season-opening win (33-23) against the Mountaineers and posted the following numbers:

• Total Yards: 538 (250 passing; 288 rushing)

• C/ATT: 24/33 (72 percent); for an average of 7.6 yards

• First Downs: 30

• Third Down Conversions: 9-16

• Turnovers: 1 (1 interception)

• Time of Possession: 37:47

With all the criticism of Sims’ performance (and new offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin’s coaching ability), you might be shocked at these statistics. Sims had more passing yards than McElroy in 2009. A higher completion percentage than both McElroy and McCarron. More first downs and more third-down conversions.

Despite the score, it looks like Blake Sims’ first game was statistically on par with both previous quarterbacks. And just in case you forgot, both McElroy and McCarron led the Tide to National Championship wins in 2009 and 2012. Let’s

hope that Sims shares the same fate.