ESPN's College Football Coverage Continues with Debut of ABC's Saturday Night Football, Opening Weeks for ACC and SEC Matchups
· ABC's Saturday Night Football Presented by Capital One Debuts Sept. 12 with Top-Ranked Clemson at Wake Forest
· Opening Weeks of ACC and SEC Play Set
· Four Conference Championship Games Slated for ESPN Networks this December
ESPN's industry-leading coverage of college football, which includes a total of nearly 325 games across all ESPN networks this fall, continues with the debut of ABC's Saturday Night Football Presented by Capital One on Saturday, Sept. 12, as 2019 ACC champion and preseason No. 1 Clemson travels to Winston-Salem to take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons at 7:30 p.m. ET.
The second week of Saturday Night Football is guaranteed to be another ACC showdown, with either Virginia at Virginia Tech or Miami at Louisville taking the primetime SNF spot. Both matchups are slated for ABC in either the afternoon or primetime window.
ACC Play to Kick Off Across ESPN Networks
In addition to ACC action on two straight Saturday Night Football showcases, ACC Network will kick off its second college football campaign on Thursday, Sept. 10 with a non-conference matchup featuring UAB at Miami at 8 p.m. ACCN will also have a tripleheader on Saturday, Sept. 12 with Syracuse at North Carolina (noon), Austin Peay at Pittsburgh (4 p.m.) and Western Kentucky at Louisville (8 p.m.). The network will carry seven games in the first two weeks of the ACC season, with more information available here.
Opening Weeks of SEC Showdowns Set for ESPN, SEC Network
The opening weekend of SEC play (Saturday, Sept. 26) sees a full slate across ESPN and SEC Network, including preseason No. 3 Alabama on the road at Missouri at 7 p.m. on ESPN. SEC Network will spotlight the opening weekend of the SEC football season with an SECN tripleheader, including Kentucky at No. 11 Auburn (noon), No. 4 Georgia at Arkansas (4 p.m.) and No. 25 Tennessee at South Carolina on SEC Saturday Night (7:30 p.m.). On SEC Network Alternate, Vanderbilt ventures to No. 13 Texas A&M for a 7:30 p.m. matchup. In total, SEC Network will telecast eight games on SEC Network and SEC Network Alternate in the first two weeks of the 2020 campaign. In addition, a marquee matchup on ESPN is scheduled for Sat, Oct. 3, as Auburn travels to 2019 SEC runner-up Georgia to battle between the hedges at 7:30 p.m. For more on the first few weeks of the SEC TV schedule, please visit SECSports.com.
Four Big 12 Battles on ESPN Networks to Begin 2020 Season
On Sept. 12, ESPN networks will showcase the Big 12's start to the season, with No. 14 Texas, No. 15 Oklahoma State, No. 24 Iowa State and Texas Tech all slated to play. Iowa State hosts Louisiana at noon on ESPN, Oklahoma State will match up against in-state foe Tulsa on ESPN or ESPNU (7:30 p.m.) and Texas Tech kicks off at 8 p.m. against Houston Baptist on Big 12 Now on ESPN+.
In addition, the 14th-ranked Longhorns are set to open the season on Longhorn Network, as they host UTEP at 8 p.m. LHN will have studio coverage surrounding the Longhorns' 2020 debut on The Forty, including the return of Texas GameDay and Texas GameDay Final. For more details on LHN's college football programming, please click here.
Additional programming highlights include:
· AAC: The first American Athletic Conference football game to air live on ESPN+ is set for Sat, Sept 12, as South Florida hosts The Citadel at 1 p.m. The AAC is a mainstay in ESPN's linear programming this fall as well, including on Thursday and Friday nights. Nearly a dozen AAC games will be carried across ESPN networks, highlighted by two crucial conference contests on Thanksgiving Friday in UCF at South Florida and Memphis at Tulane.
· Sun Belt: Key Sun Belt showdowns are set for midweek matchups in primetime on ESPN, with the first slated for Wed, Oct. 7 (Louisiana at Appalachian State)
· C-USA: Nearly 40 Conference USA games are set for ESPN networks this fall, with three contests scheduled for ESPN3 in primetime on C-USA's opening weekend
Conference Championship Matchups Slated for ESPN Networks
This December, ESPN networks are scheduled to air the following conference championship games: American Athletic Conference, Atlantic Coast Conference, Big 12 and Sun Belt. All dates, times and networks will be determined at a later date.
Additional college football programming updates will be forthcoming, and the schedule is subject to change. Please continue to check @ESPNPR and ESPN Press Room for more information.
Date Time (ET) Game Network
Thu, Sep 10 8 p.m. UAB at Miami ACC Network
Sat, Sep 12 Noon Louisiana at Iowa State ESPN
Charlotte at Appalachian State ESPN2
Syracuse at North Carolina ACC Network
1 p.m. The Citadel at South Florida ESPN+
3:30 p.m. Georgia Tech at Florida State ABC
UTSA at Texas State ESPN2
Campbell at Georgia Southern ESPNU
4 p.m. Austin Peay at Pittsburgh ACC Network
7:30 p.m. Clemson at Wake Forest ABC
Tulsa at Oklahoma State ESPN or ESPNU
Tulane at South Alabama ESPN2
8 p.m. UTEP at Texas Longhorn Network
Western Kentucky at Louisville ACC Network
Houston Baptist at Texas Tech Big 12 Now on ESPN+
Fri, Sep 18 7:30 p.m. Houston at Memphis ESPN
Sat, Sep 19 Noon Navy at Tulane ABC
Austin Peay at Cincinnati ESPN
Louisiana at Georgia State ESPN2
Liberty at Western Kentucky ESPNU
Syracuse at Pittsburgh ACC Network
Boston College at Duke ESPN3
3 p.m. Stephen F. Austin at UTSA ESPN3
3:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Virginia at Virginia Tech ABC
3:30 p.m. or 7:30 p.m. Miami at Louisville ABC
3:30 p.m. UCF at Georgia Tech ESPN
Charlotte at North Carolina ESPN3
4 p.m. Florida Atlantic at Georgia Southern ESPN2
Troy at Middle Tennessee ESPNU
The Citadel at Clemson ACC Network
7 p.m. Central Arkansas at Arkansas State ESPN+
7:30 p.m. Louisiana Tech at Southern Mississippi ESPN2
Texas State at Louisiana-Monroe ESPNU
8 p.m. Wake Forest at NC State ACC Network
9 p.m. Abilene Christian at UTEP ESPN3
TBD Campbell at Coastal Carolina ESPN3
Thu, Sep 24 7:30 p.m. UAB at South Alabama ESPN
Sat, Sep 26 Noon Florida at Ole Miss ESPN
Kentucky at Auburn SEC Network
4 p.m. Georgia at Arkansas SEC Network
7 p.m. Alabama at Missouri ESPN
7:30 p.m. Tennessee at South Carolina SEC Network
Vanderbilt at Texas A&M SEC Network Alternate
10:15 p.m. Troy at BYU ESPN
Sat, Oct 3 Noon South Carolina at Florida ESPN
Missouri at Tennessee SEC Network
4 p.m. Ole Miss at Kentucky SEC Network
7:30 p.m. Auburn at Georgia ESPN
LSU at Vanderbilt SEC Network
Arkansas at Mississippi State SEC Network Alternate
Wed, Oct 7 7:30 p.m. Louisiana at Appalachian State ESPN
Thu, Oct 8 7:30 p.m. Tulane at Houston ESPN
Fri, Oct 9 7 p.m. Louisville at Georgia Tech ESPN
8 p.m. Campbell at Wake Forest ACC Network
Wed, Oct 14 7:30 p.m. Appalachian State at Georgia Southern ESPN
Thu, Oct 15 7:30 p.m. Georgia State at Arkansas State ESPN
Fri, Oct 16 7:30 p.m. SMU at Tulane ESPN2
Sat, Oct 17 Noon or 3:30/4 p.m. Auburn at South Carolina ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU or SEC Network
Noon or 3:30/4 p.m. Kentucky at Tennessee ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU or SEC Network
Noon or 3:30/4 p.m. Texas A&M at Mississippi State ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU or SEC Network
Noon or 3:30/4 p.m. Ole Miss at Arkansas ESPN or ESPN2 or ESPNU or SEC Network
3:30 p.m. LSU at Florida ESPN or ESPN2
7:30 p.m. Vanderbilt at Missouri SEC Network
Thu, Oct 22 7:30 p.m. Arkansas State at Appalachian State ESPN
Fri, Oct 23 7:30 p.m. Tulsa at South Florida ESPN
Thu, Oct 29 7:30 p.m. South Alabama at Georgia Southern ESPN
Sat, Oct 31 Noon Kentucky at Missouri SEC Network
4 p.m. Ole Miss at Vanderbilt SEC Network
7 p.m. Mississippi State at Alabama ESPN
7:30 p.m. Arkansas at Texas A&M SEC Network
Thu, Nov 5 7:30 p.m. SMU at Temple ESPN
Fri, Nov 6 7:30 p.m. Miami at NC State ESPN
Sat, Nov 7 4 p.m. Vanderbilt at Mississippi State SEC Network
7:30 p.m. Tennessee at Arkansas ESPN or SEC Network
Texas A&M at South Carolina ESPN or SEC Network
Sat, Nov 14 TBD Memphis at Navy TBD
Fri, Nov 20 7:30 p.m. Syracuse at Louisville ESPN
Fri, Nov 27 TBD Iowa State at Texas TBD
TBD Notre Dame at North Carolina TBD
TBD UCF at South Florida TBD
TBD Memphis at Tulane TBD
TBD Louisville at Boston College TBD
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