ATLANTA — The yearly college football kick-off event that takes center stage in downtown Atlanta is an even hotter ticket than normal this year with the reigning national champs in town.
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium features a top 20 match up between the champion Georgia Bulldogs and the Oregon Ducks.
In July, officials announced the game was sold out, more than six weeks ahead of the game on Sep. 3.
Don’t worry if you can’t get a ticket, you can watch it at 3:30 p.m. on Channel 2.
Channel 2 will have a full day of UGA and college football coverage starting with a special Georgia Bulldogs Kickoff Special, live from Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
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Channel 2′s Alison Mastrangelo was at SEC Media Days in downtown Atlanta in July. Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart spoke about what it means to play against a top opponent in the “Capital of College Football.”
“The game being sold out is certainly no surprise, and I know our team and our fans are excited about playing in Mercedes-Benz Stadium,” Smart said. “We’ve only played Oregon once in our history so it will be an outstanding opportunity for both teams.”
Bulldogs Head Coach Kirby Smart on the growth he's seen in @StetsonIv .
— Alison Mastrangelo (@AlisonWSB) July 20, 2022
Kirby: "I've seen Stetson's confidence grow in his teammates... also his teammates confidence has grown in him even more because they saw what he can do, and he's won a National Championship. #GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/IGru4X7iNf
In the first matchup between the schools in 1977, the Bulldogs claimed a 27-16 victory at Sanford Stadium.
Georgia is making its third appearance in the game, recently beating North Carolina 33-24 in Kirby Smart’s first game as a head coach in 2016. Meanwhile, Oregon will appear in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game for the first time in the program’s history.
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The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game is the nation’s longest-running neutral-site season opener, according to the release. The game has been sold out for 14 of 18 games since its creation in 2008.
The game averages more than 67,000 fans in attendance and more than 87.5 million viewers have watched it on television since 2008, according to the release.
Watch Channel 2 Action News, your official Georgia Bulldogs station, for coverage leading up to and after the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game.
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