Alabama Returns to the Practice Field After Two Days Off [VIDEO]

The Alabama football team practiced for roughly two hours Tuesday afternoon in full pads at the Thomas-Drew Practice Fields with the first game of the season just 11 days away. Following practice, head coach Nick Saban and the rest of the team took part in the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.

Today’s workout marked the 20^th of 28 practices leading up to the season opener against West Virginia on Aug. 30, at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta. The Chick-fil-A Kickoff game is slated for a 2:30 p.m. (CDT) start on ABC/ESPN2.

ESPN debuted its ESPN Grade on Tuesday with Alabama at No. 1. The ESPN Grade is calculated by combining a team’s ranking in The Associated Press and the USA Today Coaches polls, then adding its position in a top 24 sorted by football graduation rates. Only teams receiving a vote in either the AP or Coaches polls are ranked in the ESPN Grade.

The Crimson Tide is second in both the AP and coaches poll while ranking 12^th in graduation rate at 73 percent for a total score of 16. UCLA was second at 17, Ohio State third at 18, Oregon fourth at 20 and Stanford fifth at 23.