ESPN announces TV schedule for first week of college football

College football fans can finally start making travel plans, because game times for the first weekend of the season have finally been announced.

We may still be 98 days from the Thursday night kickoff game, but on Thursday, ESPN announced the TV schedule for the first weekend of the college football season.

There are some monster games on this year’s opening weekend, but two of those games stand above the rest.

The Florida Gators are leaving the state of Florida for a non-conference regular season game for the first time since 1991. 26 Years! And Florida lost that game at Syracuse 38-21. The Gators will travel to Arlington, Texas, also known as Jerry World, to take on the Michigan Wolverines in a neutral-sited showdown. Michigan beat Florida 41-7 in the 2016 Buffalo Wild Wings Citrus Bowl.

The Gators and the Wolverines will be the first ABC game at 3:30 p.m. on Sept. 2.

The other heavyweight bout will be between the Alabama Crimson Tide and the Florida State Seminoles. Although the Atlanta Falcons are scheduled to play in a preseason game a week prior to this contest, this will be the first official game in the brand new, state-of-the-art Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta.

This game will be the main event of the Saturday schedule, kicking off at 8:00 p.m. on ABC.

Here is every SEC team’s week one matchup. Only four team’s game times have yet to be announced. All times Eastern Standard Time.

Thursday, Aug. 31

• Florida A&M at Arkansas (in Little Rock)

  • 8:00 p.m. (SEC Network)

Saturday, Sept. 2

N.C. State vs. South Carolina (in Charlotte)

• 3:00 p.m. (ESPN)

Florida vs. Michigan (in Arlington, Tex.)

• 3:30 p.m. (ABC)

Kentucky at Southern Miss 

• 4:00 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

Appalachian State at Georgia

• 6:15 p.m. (ESPN)

Alabama vs. Florida State (in Atlanta)

• 8:00 p.m. (ABC)

Vanderbilt at Middle Tennessee State 

• 8:00 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)

BYU vs. LSU (in Houston)

9:30 p.m. (ESPN)

More from Southbound and Down

• Texas A&M vs. Auburn: Line, Prediction, TV Channel & Live Stream for SEC Football
• 3 Up’s, 3 Down’s from Georgia’s 24-14 Win Over South Carolina
• Ole Miss Football: Looking back at the Rebels career of Zedrick Woods
• Alabama vs. Ole Miss: Line, Prediction, TV Channel & Live Stream for SEC Football
• “Horns Down” will not be a Penalty in the SEC

Sunday, Sept. 3

• Texas A&M at UCLA

  • 7:30 p.m. (FOX)

Monday, Sept. 4

• Georgia Tech vs. Tennessee (in Atlanta)

  • 8:00 p.m. (ESPN)

Yet to be announced:

• Georgia Southern at Auburn, TBD

• South Alabama at Ole Miss, TBD

• Charleston Southern at Mississippi State, TBD

• Missouri State at Missouri, TBD