Reigning National Champion Alabama and Virginia Tech will open the 2013 college football season August 31 in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta, Ga. Kick time has been set for 5:30 p.m. EST, and the game will be nationally telecast on ESPN.
The Crimson Tide will be playing in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff for the third time. Alabama defeated Clemson by a score of 34-10 to open the 2008 season and topped Virginia Tech, 34-24, in the 2009 opener in the Georgia Dome.
Under head coach Nick Saban, Alabama has played in four previous neutral site regular season games. The Tide lost to Florida State in Jacksonville in 2007 by a score of 21-14 and opened the 2012 campaign with a 42-14 win over Michigan in Dallas. Alabama will also begin the 2014 season in Atlanta with a matchup against West Virginia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff.
This marks the sixth straight year the college football season has opened on a national stage in Atlanta with two powerhouse programs in a BCS-style game.
“Any way you look at it, this is an epic game between two top programs led by two of the best coaches in college football,” Gary Stokan, Chick-fil-A Bowl president and CEO, said. “Add to that two of the best fan bases in the nation and an unopposed time slot on ESPN, and you have the makings of a battle of heavyweights the country will anticipate all summer long.”
The Crimson Tide-Hokies tilt is a rematch of their 2009 meeting in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game when No. 5 Alabama defeated No. 7 Virginia Tech 34-24 inside a sold-out Georgia Dome.
“The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game has quickly become the event fans look to as the official kickoff of the football season,” Ilan Ben-Hanan, ESPN’s vice president of programming, said. “We have had premier teams with some of the most passionate fan bases participate every year, and the 2013 matchup continues that trend. We know college football fans are already counting down the days.”
All tickets to the game are being sold through the University ticket offices. No tickets will be available through the Chick-fil-A Bowl office.
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