Kickoff Classic (defunct)
StadiumGiants Stadium
LocationEast Rutherford, New Jersey
Operated1983–2002

The Kickoff Classic was a season-opening college football game played at Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey from 1983 to 2002.

History

In 1978, the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA), which operated and scheduled events at Giants Stadium, decided to host an end-of-season bowl game, called the Garden State Bowl. There were four such bowl games held, but attendance was lower than hoped by the NJSEA due to December weather and less attractive teams. Consequently, NJSEA decided to host a "bowl" game in the beginning of the season instead. This would attract more popular teams and ensure better attendance due to more favorable weather conditions.

The first contest, held on August 29, 1983, was the first regular-season college football game to be played in the month of August.[1] The game featured the defending national champions Penn State Nittany Lions and the pre-season No. 1 ranked team, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. The game was not carried by any of the networks broadcasting college football at the time; instead, the rights to the game were sold into syndication by Michael Botwinik's Katz Communications, and the game aired on various local stations throughout the country. (One of these stations, Philadelphia's WKBS, signed off for good right after the game, making the inaugural Kickoff Classic the last program the station carried.)

Eventually there would be twenty Kickoff Classics, many of which were carried by ABC Sports nationally. Participation in the Kickoff Classic allowed teams to play a twelve-game regular season. Rule changes by the NCAA regarding season opening 'extra games' brought an end to the series in 2002, as well as similar games, such as the west coast-based Pigskin Classic and the midwest-based Eddie Robinson Classic.

In 2008, a new form of kickoff games were born. While not cut from the same mold, the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game held its inaugural game in Atlanta, GA in an effort to direct the nation's attention to one site for the start of the college football season.[2]

Game results

DateWinning TeamLosing TeamMVPAnnouncers
August 29, 1983#1 Nebraska44#4 Penn State6Turner GillQBNebraska71,123Katz SportsCurt Gowdy, Lee Corso and Dave Diles
August 27, 1984#10 Miami (FL)20#1 Auburn18Bernie KosarQBMiami (FL)51,131Katz SportsCurt Gowdy and Len Dawson
August 29, 1985#10 BYU28Boston College14Robbie BoscoQBBYU51,227Raycom SportsMerle Harmon and Bud Wilkinson
August 27, 1986#5 Alabama16#9 Ohio State10Chris SpielmanLBOhio State68,296Raycom SportsMerle Harmon, Steve Davis and Kevin Kiley
August 30, 1987#17 Tennessee23#16 Iowa22Reggie CobbRBTennessee54,681ABC SportsKeith Jackson and Bob Griese
August 27, 1988#2 Nebraska23#10 Texas A&M14Steve TaylorQBNebraska58,172Raycom SportsPhil Stone and Dave Rowe
August 31, 1989#2 Notre Dame36Virginia13Tony RiceQBNotre Dame77,323Raycom SportsPhil Stone and Dave Rowe
August 31, 1990#9 USC34Syracuse16Todd MarinovichQBUSC57,293Raycom SportsPhil Stone and Dave Rowe
August 28, 1991#7 Penn State34#8 Georgia Tech22Tony SaccaQBPenn State77,409Raycom SportsTim Brant and Dave Rowe
August 29, 1992NC State24#16 Iowa14Terry JordanQBNC State46,251Raycom SportsPhil Stone and Dave Rowe
August 28, 1993#1 Florida State42Kansas0Derrick BrooksLBFlorida State51,734ABC SportsKeith Jackson and Bob Griese
August 28, 1994#4 Nebraska31#24 West Virginia0Tommie FrazierQBNebraska58,233ABC SportsKeith Jackson and Bob Griese
August 27, 1995#12 Ohio State38#22 Boston College6Eddie GeorgeTBOhio State62,711
August 25, 1996#11 Penn State24#7 USC7Curtis EnisTBPenn State77,716ABC Sports
August 24, 1997#17 Syracuse34#24 Wisconsin0Donovan McNabbQBSyracuse51,185ABC Sports
August 31, 1998#2 Florida State23#14 Texas A&M14Peter WarrickWRFlorida State59,232ABC Sports
August 29, 1999#12 Miami (FL)23#9 Ohio State12Kenny KellyQBMiami (FL)73,037ABC Sports
August 27, 2000#15 USC29#22 Penn State5Sultan McCulloughTBUSC78,902ABC Sports
August 26, 2001#10 Georgia Tech13Syracuse7Kelly CampbellWRGeorgia Tech41,517ABC Sports
August 31, 2002Notre Dame22#21 Maryland0Nick SettaPKNotre Dame72,903ABC Sports

Rankings from AP Poll prior to game. [3]

References

  1. ↑ Two other games involving collegiate teams were played in August beforehand: on August 31, 1894, the University of Chicago defeated the "Chicago Dining Club", 4-0, but contemporary news accounts indicate that this was more of an intra-squad game, with the Maroons' opponents being hand-picked by U of C athletic director Abe Bowers. On August 25, 1944, the March Field squad (one of the military teams that played a collegiate schedule during World War II) lost to the NFL's Washington Redskins, 7-3, in front of 55,000 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. This makes the Kickoff Classic the first August matchup between two actual college teams.
  2. ↑ "'Kickoff' aims for college football spotlight".
  3. ↑ "Football - College Poll Archive - Historical College Football and Basketball Polls and Rankings".
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