The regular season started on September 1, 2011 and finished on December 10, 2011. The BCS National Championship Game was held in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans on January 9, 2012. The second-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide defeated the first-ranked LSU Tigers 21-0. In addition to its annual game with LSU, Alabama also played Virginia Tech, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Florida State, Michigan State, Arizona State, and Utah. These are the only six teams that Alabama has played during the regular season. The Crimson Tide is 2-4 against these opponents. Alabama's 2011 schedule was released in April 2010. The Crimson Tide will open their season at home for the fifth consecutive year against West Virginia on August 31. Alabama will then travel to Tuscaloosa for a non-conference game against Clemson on October 13. They will close out the regular season at Georgia on November 24. 2011 was the third consecutive season that Alabama went undefeated. They became the first team in NCAA history to accomplish this feat. Alabama won their first nine games by an average margin of victory of 35 points per game. They were ranked No. 1 in both the AP and Coaches' Polls when they concluded their season at 11-1. As expected, Alabama will play LSU in the all-important SEC East Division championship game on January 12.