Here we go again.

The college football season begins this weekend, and it can’t come soon enough. For the next three months, football on television from noon to midnight every Saturday. Bonus games tossed in on Thursdays and Fridays.

America can’t get enough football.

The game of the opening weekend, of course, is the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic in Atlanta pitting the University of Louisville against Auburn University. An opportunity to get the season off to a high note, a chance to knock off a pre-season top 10 program, to gain immediate respect, and possibly be a national contender.

National TV. Prime time on a Saturday afternoon. Everybody will be watching.

In fact, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is equal to a bowl-like atmosphere for fans, averaging more than 66,000 fans a game. The classic also features a hefty payout — an average of $4.3 million in total team payouts in previous Chick-fil-A events, which is higher than 21 bowl games last year.

Predictably, Vegas has pegged Auburn as a 12-point favorite. Which, of course, means nothing because there are so many unknowns for both teams. And don’t discount the motivational factor for UofL players — the chip on their collective shoulder, everything to gain.

UofL is not going to sneak up on Auburn, however, not after all the success the Cardinals have enjoyed in football in recent years. They know all about Bobby Petrino, and the Tigers will be highly motivated.

Football is back. See you in Atlanta.

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By Charlie Springer

Charlie Springer is a former Louisville editor and sportswriter, a public affairs consultant, a UofL grad and longtime fan.

One thought on “Louisville not sneaking up on Auburn”
  1. Lots of the comments I’ve seen from the plains have been of the disrespectful variety. Not completely, but too much. I even saw where somebody said they would beat us down because of how bad Georgia won in the bowl game. We lost to the Dawgs by 23 and scored 14 points. Auburn lost by 27 and only scored 7. Go figure.

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