PHOTOS: Alabama Football Returns to Practice, Washington Prep Begins

The University of Alabama football team returned to the practice field on Friday afternoon, working a nearly two-hour session in shells inside the Hank Crisp Indoor Practice Facility.

It was the first time the Tide has seen the field since securing the school’s 26th SEC Championship in Atlanta on Dec. 3. This marks the first of seven bowl practices before Christmas and 11 sessions overall prior to the College Football Playoff Semifinal against Washington in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on Saturday, Dec. 31. The game will air live on ESPN at 2 p.m. CT, with the trio of Joe Tessitore, Todd Blackledge and Holly Rowe covering the action.

The Pac-12 champion Washington Huskies enter the College Football Playoff Semifinal with a 12-1 overall record and an 8-1 mark in conference play. Washington earned its berth in the playoffs following a 41-10 victory over No. 8 Colorado in the Pac-12 Championship Game on Dec. 2. The Huskies are led by head coach Chris Peterson, who has a 27-13 record in his third season with the program and an 11-year career record of 119-25 at Boise State and Washington.

The Crimson Tide and Huskies will meet for the fifth time in the history of the two schools, with Alabama winning each of the previous four contests. The most recent meeting was in the 1986 Sun Bowl where the Tide came away with a 28-6 victory.