Franchise’s 14th Season Begins with Auburn vs. Oregon; LSU at Texas in Week 2

College Football Playoff National Champion Clemson Tigers Visit Syracuse in Week 3

ESPN Launches Storytelling Experience around College Football’s 150th Anniversary

ABC’s Saturday Night Football, college football’s premier weekly franchise since 2006, will feature a season-long slate of marquee matchups, beginning with a likely top 25, neutral site, non-conference showdown during ESPN’s five-day, multiplatform Kickoff Weekend. Then, the first Saturday in September, New Year’s Six winners from the SEC and Big 12 will clash and Week 3 features the College Football Playoff National Champions in their first road test of the season. New this year, all ABC Saturday Night Football games will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET.

ABC Saturday Night Football Begins Season in Arlington, Texas, for the Sixth Time

ABC’s Saturday Night Football’s 14th season begins with Auburn vs. Oregon on August 31 from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The Tigers and Ducks are expected to be ranked and both feature several marquee returning players, headlined by Ducks quarterback Justin Herbert. The SEC vs. Pac-12 contest will be a rematch of the 2010 season’s national championship game, which represents the only meeting between the two schools. This is the sixth time that ABC’s Saturday Night Football opened the season from AT&T Stadium.

Texas Hosts SNF for First Time Since 2013

In Week 2, ABC SNF will return to Austin, Texas, for the first time since 2013, as Texas hosts LSU on September 7 in a matchup of New Year’s Six winners from last season and a potential early season top 10 matchup. For the Tigers, the non-conference game will be their first visit to Austin since 1954 and is just the third meeting between the two schools since Texas’ victory on that date.

Clemson Faces First Road Test of Season, Returns to Syracuse, the Site of Tigers’ Last Regular Season Loss

The College Football Playoff National Champion Clemson Tigers open their road slate in Week 3, as their conference clash with Syracuse on September 14 will be aired on ABC’s Saturday Night Football. For the Orange, the ACC game will represent its second home appearance on SNF; with the previous occurrence in 2014. For the Tigers, they ride into the 2019 season on a 17 game regular season winning streak, with their last loss coming October 13, 2017, at the same site as this year’s game – against Syracuse at the Carrier Dome.

ABC to Televise Four Conference Championship Games

ABC will televise four conference championship games, beginning with the Pac-12 Championship game Friday, Dec. 6, at 8 p.m. which will represent the first time ABC has televised a Friday night conference championship game. The next day, the network will have a tripleheader of championship games featuring the ACC, American Athletic Conference and the Big 12, with game times announced at a later date.

ABC’s Saturday Night Football Adds to ESPN’s Early Season Slate

Today’s announcement continues to build upon ESPN’s 2019 early season slate. Previously announced, ABC’s Sunday night special during Kickoff Week features Houston at Oklahoma on September 1, which now joins Auburn-Oregon for back-to-back nights of prime time games.

Also announced earlier this year, The Camping World Kickoff featuring Miami vs. Florida has moved to Week 0, with the Hurricanes and Gators played Saturday, Aug. 24 (ESPN, 7 p.m.). ESPN’s complete early season slate will be announced in the coming weeks.

Throughout the 2019 season, ESPN will embark on a year-long, multi-platform storytelling experience celebrating college football’s 150th anniversary, which has already begun on ESPN.com and will ramp up on August 17.

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Media contact: Derek Volner at 860-384-9986; [email protected] and @DerekVolner