Auburn and Washington meet in what is the biggest matchup in Week 1 on Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018, at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Find game time, TV channel and how to watch online information below.
The Auburn football team enters Week 1 ranked No. 9 in the preseason AP Top 25 rankings and Washington is No. 6 in what will be the first meeting between the two programs.
The winner gets an early leg up in the College Football Playoff perception race while the loser shouldn’t be deemed out of it, but the road to get back into the mix will be more difficult.
Auburn-Washington game time, details
When: Saturday, Sept. 1, 2018
Game time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Line: Auburn (-2)
Which TV channel is Auburn-Washington on?
The Auburn-Washington game will be televised on ABC. The Steve Levy will provide play-by-play coverage on the broadcast with Brian Griese as analyst and Todd McShay the sideline reporter.
How can I watch Auburn-Washington online?
The Auburn-Washington game can be viewed online at ESPN3 (also in Spanish on ESPN3).
How can I listen to Auburn-Washington on the radio?
You can listen to the game on ESPN Radio with Bill Rosinski handling play-by-play with David Norrie (analyst) and Ian Fitzsimmons (sideline). Also, the Auburn Radio Network with Rod Bramblett (play-by-play), Stan White (analyst) and Ronnie Brown (sideline) will call the game.
Auburn-Washington preview, keys to the game
- All eyes will be on the two quarterbacks in this game. Auburn returns Jarrett Stidham, who became just the second quarterback in Auburn football history to throw for 3,000 yards when he threw for 3,158 yards last season with 18 TDs. He’s considered a preseason Heisman candidate and some have projected him as a first round pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. On the other side, Jake Browning enters his senior season as the Huskies’ starter for the fourth season in a row. Browning has thrown for 9,104 yards, completed 64.4 percent of his passes with 78 touchdowns in three seasons.
- While the quarterbacks are the marquee names, both teams field elite defenses. Washington allowed just 298.8 total yards per game (fifth in the country) and Auburn held opponents to 319.6 (11th). The strength of the Huskies defense is in their secondary where cornerback Byron Murphy and safeties Taylor Rapp and JoJo McIntosh lead the way. Auburn is led up front by defensive tackles Derrick Brown and Dontavious Russell, along with defense end Marlon Davidson.
- The game very well could be decided by which team runs the ball the best. The edge on paper goes to Washington. Myles Gaskin is a fourth-year starter at running back and has gained at least 1,300 in each of his first three seasons. Auburn counters with Kam Martin, who averaged more than six yards per carry last year on 76 carries. It’s like the Tigers will throw an array of runners at the Huskies to see what works best.