As the summer days tick off the calendar, we are starting to see the beginning of the college football season on the horizon. Although the Bama-FSU game is already sold out, the hype machine rolls on. The below Fast Facts have been supplied by the fine folks at the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game.
2017 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game
Florida State vs. Alabama / Saturday, Sept. 2 at 8 p.m. ET on ABC
AT A GLANCE
- The Florida State-Alabama game could be the Greatest Opener of All Time, featuring the highest two ranked teams to ever play on the season’s opening weekend. It’s possible this game could be #1 vs. #2 – which has never happened. Since 1950, the highest-ranked openers to-date are #1 Oklahoma vs. #4 UCLA in 1986 and #1 Nebraska vs. #4 Penn State in 1983.
- The matchup will represent five of college football’s last eight national champions when the Seminoles and Crimson Tide clash in what will be the first college game to be played in the new state-of-the-art Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
- Florida State (78 wins) and Alabama (86 wins) are the two winningest programs in college football since 2010.
- Alabama has won its past 15 season openers and Florida State has won its past six.
- Florida State and Alabama have the nation’s longest streak of being ranked in the final AP Top 25 Poll dating back to 2010.
- Florida State and Alabama have met four times dating back to 1965, with the most recent meeting (2007) resulting in a 21-14 Seminole win. The Crimson Tide hold a 2-1-1 series advantage over the Seminoles.
- This will be Alabama’s fifth appearance in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game, where the Crimson Tide currently hold a 4-0 record. It will be the first time Florida State has opened the season in Atlanta.
- The ACC won 10 of the 14 games played between the two Power 5 conferences last season, including a 4-1 mark in the postseason. Florida State is 53-69-7 all time against the SEC, but is 9-1 since Jimbo Fisher took over as head coach in 2010. In comparison, Alabama holds a 22-4 all time mark against the ACC, but lost its most recent meeting in last year’s College Football Playoff National Championship against Clemson.
PAYOUT: The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game has distributed a cumulative $51.9 million in team payouts, boasting an average of $4.7 million in total team payouts per game, which is higher than 27 bowl games last year.
TOP TEAMS: The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game has attracted teams with national rankings of No. 1, No. 2, No. 5 (twice), No. 6, No. 7, No. 9, No. 14, No. 16, No. 18 (three times), No. 19, No. 22, No. 24 (twice) and No. 25 (twice).
ATTENDANCE: Since its creation in 2008, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game boasts an average attendance of 67,645 -- higher than the attendance of 35 bowl games last year.
VIEWERSHIP: The 2016 Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game featuring Georgia vs. North Carolina pulled a total viewership of 3.5 million viewers, bringing the all time total to more than 47.4 million viewers who have tuned in to watch Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games.
EPIC BATTLES FOR THE OLD LEATHER HELMET
2008 (9) Clemson vs. (24) Alabama - Alabama 34-10: Jumped 11 spots in the polls leading to a No. 1 ranking and a BCS bowl.
2009 (5) Alabama vs. (7) Virginia Tech - Alabama 34-24: Solidified as the nation’s top team, starting national championship run.
2010 (16) LSU vs. (18) North Carolina - LSU 30-24: National rankings boost started a 7-game streak and eventual 11-2 season.
2011 (5) Boise State vs. (19) Georgia - Boise State 35-21: Led Broncos to a 12-1 finish and top-10 final ranking.
2012 (25) N.C. State vs. Tennessee - Tenn. 35-21: First matchup since 1963, Vol QB Tyler Bray passed for 333 yds and 2 TDs.
2012 (24) Auburn vs. (14) Clemson - Clemson 26-19: Started 11-win season, and win over (8) LSU in the Chick-fil-A Bowl.
2013 (1) Alabama vs. Virginia Tech - Alabama 35-10: Two-time defending Nat. Champion wins in first meeting since 2009.
2014 (18) Ole Miss vs. Boise State - Ole Miss 35-13: Led Rebels to the Chick- fil-A Peach Bowl vs. (6) TCU.
2014 (2) Alabama vs. West Virginia - Alabama 33-23: Set pace for a 12-2 season, SEC Championship and Playoff appearance.
2015 (6) Auburn vs. (25) Louisville - Auburn 31-24: Tigers opened 24-0, then held off the Cards in their 2nd meeting all time.
2016 (13) Georgia vs. (19) UNC - Georgia 33-24: Bulldogs secured Kirby Smart’s first victory as head coach at Georgia.
FUTURE MATCHUPS:
- 2018 - Auburn vs. Washington
- 2019 - Alabama vs. Duke
- 2020 - West Virginia vs. Florida State
- 2020 - Georgia vs. Virginia
RECORD BY CONFERENCE:
SEC (9-2), Mountain West (1-1), ACC (1-7), Big 12 (0-1)
RECORD BY TEAM:
Alabama (4-0), Auburn (1-1), Boise St. (1-1), Clemson (1-1), Georgia (1-1), Louisville (0-1), LSU (1-0), North Carolina (0-2), N.C. State (0-1), Ole Miss (1-0), Tennessee (1-0), Virginia Tech (0-2), West Virginia (0-1).
#CFAKickoff
Poll
Do you have tickets?
This poll is closed
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20%
Heck Yeah!!!
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4%
No, but I’ve got a guy...
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13%
No, I’ll have to look on the secondary market.
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61%
Sadly, I cannot make it to the game.