The beginning of Alabama football’s Kalen DeBoer era has a kickoff time. The Crimson Tide’s matchup against Western Kentucky on Aug. 31 is scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. CT, ESPN announced on Tuesday.
The Western Kentucky game will be at Bryant-Denny Stadium. It’s the first time the Hilltoppers have faced Alabama since 2016, when UA won 38-10.
The game will be aired on ESPN.
The kickoff time announcement was the second in two days for Alabama. The Tide’s Sept. 14 matchup at Wisconsin will begin at 11 a.m., and will be Fox’s Big New Saturday game that day.
Western Kentucky went 8-5 last season, 5-3 in Conference USA. Its season ended with a win over Old Dominion in the Famous Toastery Bowl.
The Hilltoppers are led by Tyson Helton, who is entering his seventh season in Bowling Green. WKU has beaten an SEC team during Helton’s tenure, delivering the final nail in Chad Morris’ coffin at Arkansas in 2019.
Things will be totally different for the Crimson Tide for the Aug. 31 matchup. Nick Saban retired in January after a 17-year tenure, wherein he won six national titles at Alabama.
DeBoer was hired as a his replacement, coming in after leading Washington to an appearance in the national championship game. DeBoer brought in a mostly new staff, and the Tide has also seen significant roster turnover.
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