The Alabama Crimson Tide and the Louisville Cardinals will open the 2018 season in Orlando, ESPN has reported.
The matchup is set for Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018 at Orlando Citrus Bowl Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Alabama and Louisville have met three times on the gridiron and the Tide lead the series 2-1. In their last meeting on Jan. 1, 1991 in the Fiesta Bowl, Louisville won 34-7.
Alabama has played in three straight season-opening kickoff games and recorded victories in each: 41-14 over Michigan in Arlington in 2012, 35-10 over Virginia Tech in Atlanta in 2013, and 33-23 over West Virginia in 2014, also in Atlanta.
The Crimson Tide also have matchups set this season vs. Wisconsin and in 2016 vs. USC, both in Arlington, Texas. Then in 2017, Alabama faces Florida State in the first of two Chick-fil-A games in Atlanta that season.
Louisville jumps into the season-opening neutral-site fiesta in September when they take on Auburn in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta. The Cardinals are also set to play Purdue at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Sept. 2, 2017.
Alabama hasn’t played a home-and-home non-conference series against a team from a power conference since facing Penn State in 2010 and 2011. Additionally, the Crimson Tide have no such future series scheduled.
Louisville plays in-state rival Kentucky home-and-home on an ongoing basis. The Cardinals will also see Notre Dame rotate on to their schedule for a series in 2019, 2020, and 2023.
Football Schedules