This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2017, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A potential matchup of preseason No. 1 vs. No. 2 between Alabama and Florida State will be ABC's first Saturday night football game of the 2017 season.
ESPN/ABC announced Thursday its opening-weekend schedule, along with the Saturday prime-time games for the first three weeks of the season.
The Crimson Tide and Seminoles, both likely to be ranked near the top of The Associated Press preseason Top 25, will meet at the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on Saturday night, Sept. 2.
ESPN's first showcase game of the opening weekend will be Ohio State at Indiana on Thursday, Aug. 31 at 8 p.m ET. The Buckeyes will also be in prime time in week two when they host Oklahoma on Saturday, Sept. 9.
Miami at Florida State will be the ABC Saturday night game on Sept. 16.
Other games highlighting the opening Labor Day weekend include:
• Utah State at Wisconsin on Friday night, Sept. 1, on ESPN.
• Michigan vs. Florida at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, at 3:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, Sept. 2, on ABC.
• BYU vs. LSU at NRG Stadium in Houston at 9:30 ET on Sept. 2, on ESPN2.
• West Virginia vs. Virginia Tech at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland, on Sunday night, Sept. 3, on ABC.
• Georgia Tech vs. Tennessee in Atlanta on Monday night, Sept. 4, on ESPN.