Chickfila Kickoff vs. North Carolina 2020

[WFE12 9,191]

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The 2020 Chick-fil-A Kickoff will feature a record three games over the course of seven days with an Auburn-North Carolina matchup serving as the finale.

The Tar Heels and Tigers— who will face off on Sept. 12, 2020— join the two previously announced games in the 2020 Chick-fil-A Kickoff between West Virginia and Florida State on Sept. 5 and Georgia and Virginia on Sept. 7.

The first two Kickoff games will occur during college football’s opening weekend while Auburn and North Carolina will play each other during Week 2.

“We thought it was something unique to do in Week 2 and (Auburn and North Carolina) thought it made a lot of sense and they wanted to come play in Atlanta,” Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and President Gary Stokan said Thursday to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s a good recruiting base for both schools, a lot of alumni here and donors, and so to have three games in a week we thought was something unique to celebrate the capital fo college football.”

The third 2020 Kickoff game will be the first time in 19 years the Tigers and Tar Heels face each other on the football field, barring the two teams don’t meet up in the postseason over the next two years. 

In the teams’ seven overall meetings, the Tar Heels hold a 4-2 series record, winning the last game 16-10 in the 2001 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

“The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is an exciting opportunity for our team to take on an outstanding Auburn program in what is always one of the top events of the college football season,” North Carolina Head Coach Larry Fedora said in a statement. “The chance to play on a national stage in a world-class facility like Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta will be a tremendous experience for our fans and everyone associated with our program.”

The Tar Heels will be looking for the program’s first win in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game after losing in their only two appearances at the Georgia Dome. North Carolina, ranked in both matchups, fell to LSU 34-24 in 2010 and then to Georgia in 2016.

Auburn will make it’s fourth Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game appearance in 2020 after losing to Clemson 26-19 in 2012 and defeating Louisville 31-24 in 2015. 

Before their 2020 matchup with North Carolina, Auburn will face Washington this September for the team’s third appearance in the Kickoff Game.

“The Chick-fil-A Kickoff game has established itself as a premier season opener in college football and we look forward to being a part of it again in 2020 against a very good North Carolina program,” Auburn Head Coach Gus Malzahn said in a statement. “It’s always great to play in Atlanta in front of a big crowd of Auburn fans.”

The SEC and ACC have faced off 10 total times in Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games since the game’s premiere in 2008. The SEC hold a 9-1 record over the ACC in those games.

What makes the SEC-ACC matchups in Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games so successful is not just the tradition of the Peach Bowl being an SEC-ACC matchup or the ease of scheduling SEC and ACC teams over other conferences, but the presence of SEC and ACC alumni in the Atlanta area who show up in droves for the Kickoff Games.

“It makes more sense for us (to schedule an SEC-ACC games) because we have No. 1 and No. 2 alumni bases of all the SEC and ACC schools living in Metro Atlanta,” Stokan said. “And so we have great local crowds and people can drive here easily. And Atlanta’s kind of the New York of the South. People can drive here easy and there’s shopping and things like the College Football Hall of Fame to do.”

Broadcast details and kickoff times for all three games will be released at a later date.

https://www.ajc.com/sports/auburn-north-carolina-face-off-2020-chick-fil-kickoff-game/WHOTDbQj46IrxxWOd1lmiJ/

 

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"The notoriety and popularity of Auburn continues to rise, and we are excited to once again be a part of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game in 2020," added Auburn Director of Athletics Allen Greene. "This nationally televised game puts Auburn front and center of the college football stage. Gary Stokan and his staff do an outstanding job of putting on a first-class event and we look forward to filling Mercedes-Benz Stadium with orange and blue."

http://www.auburntigers.com/news/2018/7/12/football-auburn-to-play-north-carolina-in-2020-chick-fil-a-kickoff-game.aspx

 

[ValleyTiger 2,894]

Cool with the matchup, but absolutely despise these off campus games.

[CR 2,427]

Season ticket holders, thanks for your support of AU Football. To show our appreciation we're scheduling another great OOC game that won't be included with your season ticket. We have the best game-day atmosphere in the country but we will continue to sell some home games for  more money from Chik-fil-A. War Eagle!!!

 

[AUsince72 11,084]

28 minutes ago, CR said:

Season ticket holders, thanks for your support of AU Football. To show our appreciation we're scheduling another great OOC game that won't be included with your season ticket. We have the best game-day atmosphere in the country but we will continue to sell some home games for  more money from Chik-fil-A. War Eagle!!!

 

Unfortunately AU's as guilty as anybody when it comes to the almighty dollar.

TV $ > Stadium $

[Tiger 8,817]

I, for one, am glad that we successfully scheduled a brand name while simultaneously avoiding said brand name being a true playoff contender.

 

*knocks on wood* 

[weathergeakal 283]

The real question is what QB starts this game

[Brad_ATX 13,654]

I'm sorry, but how can they call this a kickoff game if it's happening in Week 2?

[AUsince72 11,084]

16 minutes ago, Brad_ATX said:

I'm sorry, but how can they call this a kickoff game if it's happening in Week 2?

Same goes for this year's game too.

[gr82b4au 5,568]

36 minutes ago, Tiger said:

I, for one, am glad that we successfully scheduled a brand name while simultaneously avoiding said brand name being a true playoff contender.

 

*knocks on wood* 

hahaha... Everyone knows that NC will bring in some hotshot juco QB that will make them a playoff contender by the time we play them. 

I don't understand why teams are not jumping at the chance to play us. Whenever we play an OOC team lately they always end up being very good/elite. 

[Tiger 8,817]

4 minutes ago, gr82b4au said:

hahaha... Everyone knows that NC will bring in some hotshot juco QB that will make them a playoff contender by the time we play them. 

I don't understand why teams are not jumping at the chance to play us. Whenever we play an OOC team lately they always end up being very good/elite. 

I swear Dabo owes us part of his paycheck

[keesler 5,923]

It's weird how at the time AU schedules these marque OOC games, the teams are middling.....but by the time we actually play them they're championship contenders.  Clemson is the first opponent .....then we got killed by Oklahoma in a bowl game and they proceeded to make the CFP following season and now we get to open with a Washington team who made the '16 playoffs.

For years Auburn has been head-to-head and in the national spotlight in prime time games with some of the best teams in football today - it's high time AU wins these big time match-ups and make it to the CFP!

 

[gr82b4au 5,568]

4 minutes ago, keesler said:

it's high time AU wins these big time match-ups and make it to the CFP!

 

Yep. Gus has proven that he can beat the elite teams in the SEC on a given Saturday. Heck we beat the number 1 team twice in 3 weeks last year. 

The problem is that we have not beaten a single OOC opponent worth a darn in forever (2010). We beat Clemson and Oregon that year on the way to winning the national title. Since then we have lost several bowl games and regular season games against good teams. And this year we start against Washington who will be very good. It will be super tough. 

[Win4AU 4,052]

I’m just shocked we’re not playing Clemson again.  It will be 3 years without playing Clemson barring future CFP or bowl game.  I thought they were our permanent opponent from the SEC East East.  Maybe we can set them back up in 2021 just in time for Dabo’s Departure to Bama so he can own Auburn some more.  

[oracle79 3,569]

Big name, no game.  That is how you schedule OOC opponents.

[The Plainsman 948]

Let's set up a hoops game with them too, same season.  

[gr82be 14,401]

I like the way the schedule is made for November 2020. Georgia will have to be the 7th with UMass and Alabama A&M on the 14th and 21st respectively. Then UAT on the 28th. Longer "break" between the Dogs and Tide. 

[fishepa 1,897]

I like this matchup, we need revenge.

[AU64 10,122]

6 hours ago, gr82be said:

I like the way the schedule is made for November 2020. Georgia will have to be the 7th with UMass and Alabama A&M on the 14th and 21st respectively. Then UAT on the 28th. Longer "break" between the Dogs and Tide. 

Strategic scheduling is underappreciated.     Fortunately most of our fans don't get a voice in preparing the schedule or Auburn would be playing the previous season's top ten in order of how they finished the season.     

I like this as an opening game....big name school from a top conference ...and odds are pretty good we will win that one. 

[Win4AU 4,052]

3 minutes ago, AU64 said:

 

I like this as an opening game....big name school from a top conference ...and odds are pretty good we will win that one. 

Correct me if I’m wrong but this will be Auburn’s 2nd game of the season.  Hopefully warm up with a nobody and get some rhythm going.  I’m interested to see who the QB will be for this game Malik, Gatewood, or Nix?

[Beaker 2,457]

Let's get the AD to sched Norte Dame for a home-home series.   I do not fear them at all.  And they rarely turn out to be worthy of their ranking.  

Medium risk - HIGH reward

[RunInRed 16,360]

 

[WFE12 9,191]

8 hours ago, Beaker said:

Let's get the AD to sched Norte Dame for a home-home series.   I do not fear them at all.  And they rarely turn out to be worthy of their ranking.  

Medium risk - HIGH reward

How soon you forget that teams we schedule are much better teams at the time we face them.

[GwillMac6 20,607]

On 7/12/2018 at 3:06 PM, Tiger said:

I swear Dabo owes us part of his paycheck

PART?! He became a made man in college football because of that 2011 victory vs us. It put him and clemson on the map truly. It sickens me we have lost to that flintstone named character every time since 2010 we have played them. The series vs them they got everything out of it and we got nothing. It did absolutely nothing for us.

[Tiger 8,817]

8 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

PART?! He became a made man in college football because of that 2011 victory vs us. It put him and clemson on the map truly. It sickens me we have lost to that flintstone named character every time since 2010 we have played them. The series vs them they got everything out of it and we got nothing. It did absolutely nothing for us.

Right! And in 2010 we really were lucky to come away with that win...

 

lol @ Flintstone named character

[McLoofus 35,182]

10 hours ago, GwillMac6 said:

PART?! He became a made man in college football because of that 2011 victory vs us. It put him and clemson on the map truly. It sickens me we have lost to that flintstone named character every time since 2010 we have played them. The series vs them they got everything out of it and we got nothing. It did absolutely nothing for us.

Maybe the 2017 edition taught our coach a hard lesson after 2016 failed to.