The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the Louisville Cardinals will play in the 2023 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl officially announced on Wednesday.
The game will be played at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday, Sept. 2, 2023. The game will be televised by either ESPN or ABC.
“Hosting teams from the ACC has been a long-standing tradition for the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game,” said Bob Somers, Peach Bowl, Inc. chairman. “We’re thrilled to have the opportunity to host another ACC conference opener in our game in consecutive seasons.”
Georgia Tech and Louisville have each played in one Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game previously. The Yellow Jackets lost to Tennessee in 2017, 42-41 in double-overtime, and the Cardinals dropped a 31-24 decision to Auburn in 2015.
“Louisville with Coach Satterfield and Georgia Tech with Coach Collins are two teams on the rise in the ACC and with their successful recruiting classes, they should be competing for divisional championships in 2023,” Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and President Gary Stokan said. “We’re looking forward to another compelling matchup when the two programs meet to open the season in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.”
Georgia Tech and Louisville have only met twice on the gridiron. The Yellow Jackets defeated the Cardinals this past season, 46-27, to extend their series advantage to 2-0.
“This is another tremendous opportunity for our student-athletes to experience playing in one of the premiere football facilities in the country,” said Vince Tyra, Louisville director of athletics. “Our fans will be equally excited about returning to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium to open ACC action in 2023 after opening up our 2021 season with Mississippi in the same facility.”
“We’re proud to add another Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game to our six-year series of home games at Mercedes-Benz Stadium,” Georgia Tech Athletics Director Todd Stansbury said. “In addition to the excitement that playing in one of the world’s best sports venues affords to our student-athletes and fans, being a part of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game gives us the chance to display our program, our institution and our city to what is always a large national television audience. We thank Peach Bowl, Inc. and AMB Sports + Entertainment for the opportunity and are looking forward to bringing Georgia Tech football to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.”
Future Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games
- 2021 – Alabama vs. Miami, FL (Sept. 4)
- 2021 – Louisville vs. Ole Miss (Sept. 6)
- 2022 – Oregon vs. Georgia (Sept. 3)
- 2022 – Clemson at Georgia Tech (Sept. 5)
- 2023 – Louisville vs. Georgia Tech (Sept. 2)
- 2024 – Clemson vs. Georgia (Aug. 31)
Football Schedules
This is an ACC conference game. I thought they were using it as a way to draw in non-conference opponents.