Earlier today, Auburn and Clemson announced a home-and-home football series that kicks off with a Sept. 3, 2016 match-up on the plains.
The ACC-SEC contest adds to an impressive list of non-conference college football games that are currently scheduled for the opening Saturday of the 2016 season.
If this list of games doesn’t see any casualties, it will be a monster day of college football! Go ahead and request the day off if you work weekends, and don’t plan Fall weddings.
Clemson at Auburn
Clemson opens the 2016 season at Auburn and then the series moves to Death Valley in 2017. The two schools have played four contests since 2007, two in Atlanta and two on campus.
Alabama vs. USC
Alabama and USC will square off in the Cowboys Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. Alabama and USC haven’t met in the regular season since a 1978 contest in Birmingham. The Crimson Tide lead the overall series 5-2 and won the last meeting 24-3 in the 1985 Aloha Bowl.
LSU vs. Wisconsin
While it would be nice to have seen LSU and Wisconsin play home-and-home, we get the next best thing — a college football game at historic Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Lambeau also seems like the perfect spot for the first ESPN College GameDay of the season. The two schools also open the 2014 season at NRG Stadium in Houston.
UCLA at Texas A&M
Texas A&M has been criticized for their lackluster non-conference scheduling since moving to the SEC, but they did have to scramble to add some late opponents. The Aggies stepped up to the plate by scheduling a series with UCLA and a 2015 opener vs. Arizona State.
Notre Dame at Texas
Notre Dame and Texas are slated to meet in Austin in 2016 after kicking off a four-game series in 2015 in South Bend. The two schools are also supposed to play in 2019 and 2020, but the two games may be moved.
Arizona vs. BYU
The third opening-day neutral-site game features Arizona and BYU squaring off at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale. The three-game series will also see the two schools meet in 2018 in Tucson and 2020 in Provo.
Houston vs. Oklahoma
Although not officially announced, two sources confirmed that the Houston Cougars will take on the Oklahoma Sooners in the AdvoCare Texas Kickoff at NRG Stadium in Houston. The Sooners and Cougars have met twice previously, and neither contest was close. OU trounced UH 40-14 in the 1981 Sun Bowl in El Paso, TX and 63-13 in 2004 in Norman.
Other Sept. 3, 2016 Games
Fresno State at Nebraska
Rutgers at Washington
Louisiana Tech at Arkansas (at Little Rock)
Additional Kickoff Games TBA
Nashville is planning a kickoff classic game featuring an SEC team beginning in 2016.
In addition, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game for the 2016 season has not yet been revealed. It usually features an ACC-SEC match-up, and it was rumored last year that the 2016 game would be Georgia-Florida State.
Florida State has also been rumored to be in talks to play in a neutral-site game in Orlando in 2016.