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Alabama-Duke Scheduled For Chick-fil-A Kickoff In 2019
Alabama and Duke will meet in the Chick-fil-A game to kick off the 2019 season. The Crimson Tide are quite comfortable in Atlanta, while the Blue Devils are familiar with ACC territory.
December 6, 2016
Alabama and Duke will meet in the Chick-fil-A game to kick off the 2019 season. The Crimson Tide are quite comfortable in Atlanta, while the Blue Devils are familiar with ACC territory.
Alabama is guaranteed to return to its second home in 2019.
The Crimson Tide will play Duke to kick off the 2019 season in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, it was announced Monday.
The reigning national champions, who are currently No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings and should stay there when the new standings are released on Tuesday night, have played nine times in Atlanta since 2008. The Tide have just one setback during that stretch, which was in the SEC title game against Florida in that same season. Victims of Alabama in Atlanta have included Clemson, Virginia Tech (twice) and West Virginia in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff, and Florida (twice), Georgia and Missouri in the SEC championship game.
Nick Saban’s squad is scheduled to play in the Peach State at least once this season, as it will compete against Florida in the SEC championship game on Dec. 3. There is also a strong possibility that the Tide will play in the Peach Bowl on Dec. 31 in one of the CFP semifinal games.
The Tide are already scheduled to play in Atlanta to start next season in the Chick-fil-A game against Florida State. The visit in 2019 will be Alabama’s sixth appearance in the game, which is more than any other team, and will mark the first ever football game to be played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Meanwhile, Duke will be making its first appearance in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff. The Blue Devils played Texas A&M in the Georgia Dome in 2013, which was one of the more memorable Chick-fil-A Bowls we have seen. Johnny Manziel and the Aggies claimed a 52-48 win in that game. They also play Georgia Tech annually, having lost this year’s game in Atlanta, 38-35.
While Alabama doesn’t need any more help recruiting, a high-profile game in metro Atlanta and the state of Georgia as a whole can never hurt the Tide. In fact, it could only increase the widening gap between them and every other program in the country.
Alabama-Duke is scheduled for Aug. 31, 2019, with the time and TV network yet to be determined.
