ACC & Big 12 Week 2 Preview: Georgia & Notre Dame Meet In 1980 National Championship Rematch
In the second week of the college football season, members of the Florida Citrus Sports Team Selection Committee are making visits throughout ACC and Big 12 country, meeting with fans across both conferences in advance of the Camping World Bowl on December 28.
No. 13 Auburn at No. 3 Clemson – 7:00 p.m. on ESPN
Auburn (1-0, 0-0 SEC) heads to Death Valley to face the defending national champion Clemson Tigers (1-0, 0-0 ACC) in the back end of a home-and-home series. Last season, Auburn held their Tiger counterparts to their fewest points of the season (19) but were only able to manage 13 points, themselves, and ultimately fell in the season opener. The Tigers enter this year’s contest coming off of a 41-7 home victory against Georgia Southern, while Clemson took care of Kent State 56-3. Auburn leads the all-time series 34-14-2, but Clemson has won the past three meetings.
No. 15 Georgia at No. 24 Notre Dame – 7:30 p.m. on NBC
Georgia (1-0, 0-0 SEC) heads South Bend, where it will face Notre Dame (1-0) for the first time since the 1981 Sugar Bowl, which saw the Bulldogs crowned national champions thanks to a 17-10 victory. That memorable win came thanks to two rushing touchdowns from third-place Heisman finisher and game MVP Herschel Walker, a freshman on the 1980 Bulldogs team. Both squads enter this year’s game riding a wave of momentum after of season-opening wins and are looking to bounce back after respective down seasons last year. The Fighting Irish are coming off a 4-8 campaign, their worst since 2007. Meanwhile, in Kirby Smart’s first season at the helm in Athens, Georgia finished 8-5, capped off by a 31-23 Liberty Bowl victory over TCU.
No. 17 Louisville at North Carolina – 12:00 p.m. on ESPN
The Cardinals (1-0, 0-0 ACC) travel to Chapel Hill to face the Tar Heels (0-1, 0-0 ACC) in an interdivision conference matchup. The two programs have not met on the gridiron since 2012 and have only squared off seven times previously, with Louisville holding a slight 4-3 advantage. Reigning Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson racked up 485 yards of offense (including 107 on the ground) and led the Cardinals to a 35-28 win last week over Purdue in Indianapolis. In their season opener against Cal, the Tar Heels took a 24-21 lead into the fourth quarter but were outscored 14-6 in the final frame, their only fourth-quarter offense coming on a one-yard touchdown run as time expired on a 35-30 defeat.
Here are the rest of the ACC and Big 12 games our selection committee members will attend:
Wake Forest (1-0, 0-0 ACC) at Boston College (1-0, 0-0 ACC) – 1:00 p.m. on ACC
Northwestern (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) at Duke (1-0, 0-0 ACC) – 12:00 p.m. on ESPNU
Iowa (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) at Iowa State (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) – 12:00 p.m. on ESPN2
Other ACC and Big 12 games being played this week:
No. 11 Oklahoma State (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) at South Alabama – 8:00 p.m. on ESPN2 (Friday)
Charlotte (0-1, C-USA) at No. 19 Kansas State (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) – 12:00 p.m.on TBD
East Carolina (0-1, 0-0 AAC) at West Virginia (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) – 12:00 p.m. on ESPN2
Jacksonville State (0-1, 0-0) at Georgia Tech (0-1, 0-0 ACC) – 12:30 p.m. on ACC
Wake Forest (1-0, 0-0 ACC) at Boston College (1-0, 0-0 ACC) – 1:00 p.m. on ACC
*Pittsburgh (1-0, 0-0 ACC) at No. 4 Penn State (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) – 3:30 p.m. on ABC
Delaware (0-0, 0-0) at No. 18 Virginia Tech (1-0, 0-0 ACC) – 3:30 p.m. on ACC
*No. 23 TCU (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) at Arkansas (1-0, 0-0 SEC) – 3:30 p.m. on CBS
Indiana (0-1, 0-1 Big Ten) at Virginia (1-0, 0-0 ACC) – 3:30 p.m. on ACC
San Jose State (1-1, 0-0 MWC) at Texas (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) – 3:30 p.m. on Longhorn Network
Middle Tennessee (0-1, 0-0 C-USA) at Syracuse (1-0, 0-0 ACC) – 3:30 p.m. on ACC
Central Michigan (1-0, 0-0 MAC) at Kansas (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) – 4:00 p.m.
Marshall (1-0, 0-0 C-USA) at NC State (0-1, 0-0 ACC) – 6:00 p.m. on ACC
UL-Monroe (0-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) at No. 10 Florida State (0-1, 0-0 ACC) – 7:00 p.m. on ACC
No. 5 Oklahoma (1-0, 0-0 Big 12) at No. 2 Ohio State (1-0, 1-0 Big Ten) – 7:30 p.m. on ABC
UT San Antonio (0-0, 0-0 C-USA) at Baylor (0-1, 0-0 Big 12) – 8:00 p.m.
Miami (1-0, 0-0 ACC) at Arkansas State (0-1, 0-0 Sun Belt) – CANCELED (Won’t be rescheduled)
*Will be scouted on behalf of the Citrus Bowl due to game being played at a Big Ten or SEC campus.
All times listed are Eastern Time Zone (ET), and all games are on Saturday unless otherwise listed.