Bama, UGA football openers set

Reigning national champion Alabama will have a late afternoon kickoff to begin its 2013 season, while Georgia will open in prime time.

It will be the late show for Vanderbilt.

ESPN on Tuesday revealed its schedule for six early-season games involving Southeastern Conference teams, including the Chick-fil-A Kickoff between Alabama and Virginia Tech and the Cowboys Classic pitting LSU and TCU on Aug. 31. The Crimson Tide and Hokies will play at 5:30 Eastern on ESPN, marking the first time the Kickoff Classic hasn't started at night, while the Tigers and Horned Frogs will follow at 9.

The ABC prime time game on Aug. 31 will be Georgia's trip to Clemson, which will start at 8. The Bulldogs finished tied for fifth in the final Associated Press poll for the 2012 season, while the Tigers were 11th.

ESPN will open its broadcast schedule Thursday, Aug. 29, with South Carolina hosting North Carolina at 6 p.m. That matchup was recently announced, but added Tuesday was a 9:15 kickoff on ESPN between Ole Miss and Vanderbilt in Nashville.

The Commodores opened last season on a Thursday in Nashville as well, falling 17-13 to South Carolina.

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