Hell. Yes. Now we’re (officially) talking.
Of all the big non-conference matchups that have come down the pike over the past few months, this might be the biggest. And most anticipated.
In twin press releases, Alabama and USC announced that the two storied football programs will kick off the 2016 college football season Sept. 3 with a neutral site game. The game will be played at the home of the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Tex., in what by then will the eighth annual Cowboys Classic.
The announcement is not actually a surprise in that there was speculation a couple of months ago, but it’s still huge scheduling news.
The two programs last met in the Aloha Bowl following the 1985 season and first met in 1938. All told, the Tide and the Trojans have squared off seven times — the former owns a 5-2 edge — including the historic meeting in 1970 “in which John McKay’s visiting Trojans, with their all-black starting backfield, pounded Paul ‘Bear’ Bryant’s all-white Crimson Tide 42-21.” That game, the story goes, forever changed Alabama football.
The 2016 appearance in the Cowboys Classic, incidentally, will mark the second consecutive appearance for Alabama in Arlington as the Tide is set to take on Wisconsin in the 2015 Classic. The Tide also opened the 2012 season against Michigan in Arlington.
Of course, there’s also a chance that the UA-USC game could feature the Trojans playing against their former head coach, although it seems somewhat doubtful that current Tide offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin will still be in Tuscaloosa two years from now. A man can dream, though. A man can dream.
(Photo credit: Showtime)
