Louisville and Alabama will reportedly kickoff the 2018 season on September 1 in Orlando, as indicated by ESPN’s Brett McMurphy .
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The Cards begin their second season this year as a member of the ACC in a neutral-site game against Alabama’s SEC rival Auburn.
2016 is also the start of Orlando hosting a neutral site college football season opener, with Florida State and Ole Miss slated to kick off the new tradition. In 2016, Alabama takes on USC in the same venue.
Alabama has played neutral site games in six of Nick Saban’s eight seasons, including the past three years (2012 vs. Michigan in Arlington, Texas; 2013 vs. Virginia Tech in Atlanta and 2014 vs. West Virginia in Atlanta).
Last year, Florida State kicked off its title defense with a nationally televised game against Oklahoma State in Arlington. In 2017, it gets Florida State in Atlanta.
The Cardinals are 1-2 against Alabama, but won the most recent matchup 34-7 in the 1991 Fiesta Bowl. Like bowls, rivalries, and conference title games, season openers are becoming college football tradition.
2020: Possible opener in Arlington; Georgia State (Sept. 12). Here are the ones scheduled so far.
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A major factor in scheduling neutral-site games is the lucrative payout both teams receive, with Alabama set to net a combined $10.5 million for its participation in the Advocare Classic in Arlington over the next two seasons.
