2009 College Football Season Kicks Off Thursday

First Week of Season to Include 28 Games in Five Days and College GameDay from Atlanta as Part of Dick’s Sporting Goods Kickoff Week

ESPN will kick off the 2009 college football season with the second annual Dick’s Sporting Goods Kickoff Week (Thursday, Sept. 3 to Monday, Sept. 7), featuring extensive studio programming and 28 games over Labor Day weekend, including Labor Day, across ABC, ESPN  and SportsCenter.

As part of Kickoff Week, ESPN will provide extensive studio coverage, including College GameDay Built by The Home Depot originating from Atlanta – site of the ABC Saturday Night Football telecast pitting #5 Alabama vs. #7 Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A College Kickoff Game Presented by Southwest Airlines Sept. 5 at 8 p.m.

• College GameDay, entering its 23rd season, will air every Saturday at 10 a.m. on ESPN during the college football season beginning Sept. 5. This year will mark the 16th consecutive year College GameDay will consistently originate from the site of one of the day’s best games or most compelling storylines. Chris Fowler will return as host for his 20th season with analysts Lee Corso, who has been affiliated with the show since the first year, Kirk Herbstreit, who joined in 1996, and Desmond Howard, entering his fourth season.

The first week of game coverage will feature 28 telecasts in five days across ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN360.com, ESPN Classic, ESPN Radio and ESPN Mobile TV. In addition to #5 Alabama vs. #7 Virginia Tech, highlights include:

• The Pac-10’s #16 Oregon will look to avenge a 37-32 loss last year against defending WAC champion #14 Boise State, which finished the regular-season undefeated, Thursday, Sept. 3, at 10:15 p.m. on ESPN.
• ESPN will televise the first college football game from Dallas’ new Cowboys Stadium pitting #20 BYU against #3 Oklahoma on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7 p.m. BYU won the only meeting between the perennial powers 31-6 in the 1994 Copper Bowl.
• An ABC telecast Saturday, Sept. 5, at 3:30 p.m. will feature a #13 Georgia at #9 Oklahoma State. Georgia, 34-3 against non-conference opponents with head coach Mark Richt, will open against a top-10 ranked team for the first time since 1967. Oklahoma State has won 15 straight non-conference games at Boone Pickens Stadium.
• The fifth annual The MEAC/SWAC Challenge from Orlando will pit MEAC defending champion South Carolina State against 2008 SWAC title winner Grambling State for the first time since 1994 on Sunday, Sept. 6, at 2 p.m. on ESPN2.
• A special Monday night college football telecast (one week before ESPN’s Monday Night Football kickoff) will feature Miami at #18 Florida State on Sept. 7 at 8 p.m. on ESPN. It will mark the first time the intrastate ACC rivals have played on Labor Day since 2006, which was ESPN’s most-viewed college football game ever – regular and postseason – with 6,330,000 households (based on a 6.9 rating).
• Other ranked teams in action include:
• #6 Ohio State against Navy Saturday, Sept. 5, at noon on ESPN;
• #8 Mississippi at Memphis Sunday, Sept. 6, at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN;
• #11 LSU at Washington Saturday, Sept. 5, at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN;
• #12 California against Maryland Saturday, Sept. 5, at 10 p.m. on ESPN2;
• #15 Georgia Tech against Jacksonville State Saturday, Sept. 5, at 1 p.m. on ESPN360.com;
• #21 North Carolina against The Citadel Saturday, Sept. 5, at 6 p.m. on ESPN360.com.