Beginning this season, the “SEC on ABC franchise” will debut with the Miami–Florida matchup Aug. 31 at 3:30 p.m., according to a release. The SEC on ABC brand will include “a new graphics package, theme music and more.”

According to a release, all special date games and ESPN’s broadcast schedule for the first three weeks of the season will be revealed May 30. The network’s Bowl Season schedule will also be unveiled June 6.

READ: Colorado-Nebraska primetime kickoff announced for Week 2 matchup on NBC

READ: Joe Alt cherishes Notre Dame career, hopes to put ‘best foot forward’ with Los Angeles after No. 5 overall NFL Draft selection

ESPN’s College GameDay, which will welcome former Alabama head coach Nick Saban on set this fall, will begin the season in Dublin, Ireland, at noon on Aug. 24 when Florida State matches up in Week 0 with Georgia Tech. It will be the first time the show originates from outside the United States.

Saban and College GameDay will return stateside Aug. 31 from College Station where new Aggies head coach Mike Elko and Texas A&M will face Notre Dame at 7:30 p.m.

ESPN will also broadcast the Southeastern Conference debuts for Oklahoma and Texas. The Sooners will open at home Aug. 30 against Temple at 7 p.m., and Texas will host Colorado State on Aug. 31 at 3:30 p.m.

Deion Sanders and Colorado will also make their debut in the Big 12 Conference Aug. 29 when the Buffaloes host North Dakota State at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

READ: Former Penn State SAF King Mack transfers to Alabama

ESPN’s run of teams in new conferences continues in the Atlantic Coast Conference on Aug. 30 when Stanford, departing the Pac-12 Conference, plays TCU at 10:30 p.m.

ESPN will also carry Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama debut against Western Kentucky at 7 p.m. on Aug. 31.

ABC will begin its Week 1 coverage in Atlanta at Mercedes-Benz Stadium where Dabo Swinney and Clemson will take on Kirby Smart and Georgia at noon.

Here is ABC and ESPN’s Weeks 0-1 schedule.

Week 0

Florida State at Georgia Tech — Aug. 24 at noon on ESPN

Florida A&M at Norfolk State — Aug. 24 at 7:30 p.m. on ABC

Week 1

North Dakota State at Colorado — Aug. 29 at 8 p.m. on ESPN

Temple at Oklahoma — Aug. 30 at 7 p.m. on ESPN

TCU at Stanford — Aug. 30 at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN

Clemson at Georgia — Aug. 31 at noon on ABC

Miami at Florida — Aug. 31 at 3:30 p.m. on ABC

Colorado State at Texas — Aug. 31 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN

Western Kentucky at Alabama — Aug. 31 at 7 p.m. on ESPN

Notre Dame at Texas A&M — Aug. 31 at 7:30 p.m. on ABC

USC at LSU — Sept. 1 at 7:30 p.m. on ABC

Boston College at Florida State — Sept. 2 at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN

The post ABC, ESPN unveil Weeks 0-1 broadcast schedule appeared first on Saturday Glory.

Alabama announced Wednesday that head coach Nick Saban is retiring.

“The University of Alabama has been a very special place to Terry and me,” Saban stated in a release. “We have enjoyed every minute of our 17 years being the head coach at Alabama as well as becoming a part of the Tuscaloosa community. It is not just about how many games we won and lost, but it’s about the legacy and how we went about it. We always tried to do it the right way. The goal was always to help players create more value for their future, be the best player they could be and be more successful in life because they were part of the program. Hopefully, we have done that, and we will always consider Alabama our home.”

According to Chris Low of ESPN, Saban is retiring immediately. He informed the Crimson Tide team today, according to Low. 

READ: Denzel Burke, Donovan Jackson among returners to Ohio State in 2024

Saban won six national championships Alabama since taking over prior to the 2007 season. Across his 17 years with the Crimson Tide, Saban won nine Southeastern Conference championships. 

Saban and Alabama most recently competed in the College Football Playoff Semifinals at the Rose Bowl against eventual-champion No. 1 Michigan. It marked Alabama’s eighth CFP appearance under Saban. 

READ: Jacksonville State hires Rhode Island’s Brandon Napoleon as safeties coach 

“Simply put, Nick Saban is one of the greatest coaches of all time, in any sport, and The University of Alabama is fortunate to have had him leading our football program for the past 17 seasons,” Alabama Director of Athletics Greg Byrne stated in a release. “Throughout his career as a head coach, his teams have won seven national championships, 11 conference championships and 312 games, and he’s developed an NCAA-record 49 NFL first-round draft picks and, most importantly, hundreds of college graduates. He is the consummate coach, mentor and leader, and his impact is felt far beyond the football field.”

Saban has been named coach of the year nine times in his career. He’s earned a 35-12 record against top-10 teams since 2008, and he owns an 87.7% winning mark at Alabama. 

Saban won the CFP National Championship in 2015, 2017 and 2020. He has seven total national championships, tied with legend Paul “Bear” Bryant for most in history. 

READ: No. 1 Michigan ‘couldn’t be in a better spot’ after winning College Football Playoff National Championship 

According to Pete Thamel of ESPN, among the candidates to succeed Saban include Oregon’s Dan Lanning, Washington’s Kalen DeBoer, Clemson’s Dabo Swinney, Penn State’s James Franklin, Florida State’s Mike Norvell and Notre Dame’s Marcus Freeman, among others. 

The post Alabama’s Nick Saban announces plan to retire appeared first on Saturday Glory.

On Monday, Swinney took phone calls during his weekly show “Tiger Calls,” and a caller named Tyler from Spartanburg, South Carolina, brought up the tumultuous moments from Clemson’s season to that point. 

PODCAST: Calculated Risk: Previewing a week 10 with plenty of intrigue

Tyler from Spartanburg mentioned Swinney’s salary and the 4-4 record the Tigers had, and Swinney responded for more than five minutes in a passionate answer. 

Five days later, Swinney and Clemson knocked off No. 15 Notre Dame 31-23, and the victory gave Swinney No. 166 in his career, moving past Frank Howard and becoming the all-time leader in Tigers program history. 

“The credit goes to the player and all these coaches,” Swinney said. “We’ve had some amazing, amazing players, and man, they’re all a part of that. It was pretty cool looking at my phone coming up here. I’m going to be sending text messages back for about three days.” 

Clemson captured the win in convincing fashion, trailing only after the opening 43-yard field goal kicked by Fighting Irish kicker Spencer Shrader. The Tigers scored touchdowns on two of their first five drives and led by as many as 18 points. 

The sting of Monday’s “Tiger Calls” carried over onto the Clemson roster, as the Tigers felt what their head coach had said and believed. Tigers running back Phil Mafah, who had 186 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Notre Dame, said he took it personally and that Clemson “had to bring our all today.” 

“We definitely did have a chip on our shoulder just knowing that, especially me, knowing that this was the game that he needed for his 166th win, and I really wanted that for him,” Mafah said. “I know all the guys did so we just had to get it done and find a way.” 

READ: Reports: Big Ten ADs ‘sense a change in tenor’ from commissioner Petitti regarding Michigan sign stealing investigation

Tigers quarterback Cade Klubnik has embraced the challenges that this season has presented to Clemson. From the loss to Duke in the season-opener to a two-game losing streak snapped on Saturday, Clemson’s quarterback has seen it all. 

Klubnik said the postgame embrace with Swinney “was awesome,” and then he reflected on the “wild” season it has been for Clemson. 

“It’s been such a strange year, and the whole time we never lost faith of who we are and the identity within this team,” Klubnik said. “We had chapel last night, and the guy who spoke to us, he spoke on keeping our faith and that some people and some things in life will try to steal that from you. Whether it’s losses, people’s opinions, things that people can say, tragedy can happen, but one thing we haven’t done once is lose our faith in this team and to the man above. So just so proud of these guys, the way we battled today.” 

READ: CFP Chair Corrigan talks top-six, Michigan investigation after first rankings 

Swinney has been head coach at Clemson since 2009, and in that time he’s compiled a 166-43 record and 11 bowl game wins. 

The 2023 season hasn’t gone the way Swinney and the Tigers envisioned, but for one day on Saturday, they felt on top of the college football world. 

“Just a great day, a great, great, great, great day, and I’m just happy for our fans,” Swinney said. “I’m happy for our team because these guys, like I said, hadn’t had a lot go their way this year, but they have never lost the fight.” 

The post ‘Never lost the fight’: Swinney becomes Clemson’s all-time winningest coach  appeared first on Saturday Glory.

That’s the subject of today’s The Daily Huddle.

We broke our coaches down into three groups:
-Coaches who have fallen on hard times
-Coaches who can change the narrative
-Coaches who can prove their worth

Find out who got put in what category by watching today’s show here:

The post These 8 Coaches Can Change How They’re Viewed This Weekend appeared first on Saturday Glory.

After being embarrassed Monday night, many believe that the days of the Tigers hoisting gold trophies are behind us. But can we actually put the final nail into the coffin just yet?

Also, Garrett wonders how the raise of another program has damaged Clemson’s place in the college football landscape.

The post Are the Days of Clemson Being a National Power Behind Us? appeared first on Saturday Glory.