We are just weeks away from the start of the 2017 season, and anticipation is growing for those week one matchups as the countdown clock on The Kickoff’s website moves closer to a brand new season of college football.
Although the first games will be played as early as August 26th, fans are excited for the first full-fledged Saturday game day on September 2nd, when games will include Alabama vs Florida State, Michigan vs Florida, and Virginia Tech vs West Virginia.
Clemson Head Coach Dabo Swinney, speaking at the Atlantic Coast Conference NCAA college football media day, said he would be rooting for his team’s conference rival, Florida State, over his alma mater, the Alabama Crimson Tide. Bama won a nation championship in 1992 when Swinney was a senior playing wide receiver.
Some of the other big “can’t miss” games on our calendar:
- September 9th will also have some major national title implications as we get to see Swinney’s Tigers (minus Deshaun Watson) against Auburn at Clemson, as well as Georgia at Notre Dame, Stanford at USC, Oklahoma at Ohio State, and Miami at Arkansas State.
- On September 16th, we get a rematch of the 2006 national championship game as new Texas Longhorns head coach Tom Herman takes on USC. That day, we’ll also get to watch Clemson travel to play Lamar Jackson and Louisville.
- October 7 sees Boise State tackling Wyoming.
- On October 14th, Auburn will try to beat LSU for a second straight year.
- Louisville and Florida State will collide on October 21st.
- On October 28th, Urban Meyer will seek to avenge Ohio State as the Buckeyes host Penn State. That’s also the day Florida and Georgia meet up to settle that rivalry for another year.
- Alabama will try to make it seven in a row when LSU travels to Bryant-Denny on November 4th. The Oklahoma at Oklahoma State game the same day could decide the Big 12 outcome and the AAC will get a major battle as USF’s Charlie Strong and Houston’s Major Applewhite face off.
Washington battles Stanford on November 10th. The winner of the ACC Atlantic may once again be decided at the Florida State/Clemson game on November 11th.
- On November 18th, Wisconsin hosts Michigan.
- Auburn may be all that’s standing in Alabama’s way when the Iron Bowl rolls around on November 25th, this game deciding who makes wins the SEC West in recent years.
- December 9th will see Navy trying to avenge last year’s loss to Army.
Of course, there should be many thrilling games this season, and The Kickoff will be there weekly, giving you our prognostications and revising the Kickoff Top 25 using our Power Ratings system. This fall’s editions will also contain an additional two pages of information in the email/pdf edition that should make those of you who bet on the outcomes happy. Tommy Duff, Editor of The Kickoff, recently detailed what new information will be contained in the added pages in a blog post.
Which games are you most excited about seeing this season? How do you expect your team to perform? Who do you think will be this year’s surprise story? And can anyone top Clemson or Alabama after back-to-back appearances in the title game? Let us know your thoughts on Facebook and Twitter now and all season long.
We’ll be bringing you weekly trivia questions on our Facebook Page and editions of The Kickoff. Those who answer correctly each week will become eligible to win a subscription in a random drawing. Twice a week, we curate the headlines that interest college football fans on our website in a feature we call “The Feed”.
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