Oregon-Auburn season-opener to be ABC’s Saturday Night Football primetime opener

EUGENE, Ore. – Oregon’s marquee season opener against SEC foe Auburn in the 2019 AdvoCare Classic at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, will kick off ABC Saturday Night Football’s 14th season it was announced on Wednesday morning. The game will begin at 4:30 p.m. PT.

It will be the second meeting between the two programs and the first since the 2010 national championship game. The Ducks have not opened a season away from Autzen Stadium since 2011 when they took on LSU at AT&T Stadium.

Highlighted by Heisman hopeful quarterback Justin Herbert, Oregon returns a combined 17 positional starters, which ranks tied for fourth nationally, from the 2018 club that produced a 9-4 season under first-year head coach Mario Cristobal that was capped with three consecutive wins, including a victory over Michigan State in the Redbox Bowl. The Ducks will also usher in a consensus top 10 recruiting class.

Both Oregon and Auburn were mainstays in 2019 preseason top 25 rankings distributed right after last season. Oregon found itself as high as No. 10 in the ESPN ranking. If the Ducks land in a preseason poll, it will mark the 10th time in 11 seasons that they have opened the season ranked.

The game will also be Oregon’s first against an SEC opponent since it defeated Tennessee, 59-14, at Autzen Stadium during the 2013 season.

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