Chick-fil-A Kickoff game: Auburn, Washington set the tone for 2018 season
The Auburn Tigers and Washington Huskies delivered a classic Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
The Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game has become more than an annual unofficial start to the college football season, it has turned into an early-season battle for playoff legitimacy.
The atmosphere surrounding Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta was festive and welcoming, with 70,103 fans who’ve been hungering for college football in attendance.
Not that it should be any different for the first big weekend of the season.
When the Chick-fil-A kickoff game first began in 2008, it seemed like a great idea – matching up two marquee teams to alleviate the abundance of cupcake scheduling in the first week of the season.
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Since that first game (Alabama routing Clemson, 34-10) the Chick-fil-A Kickoff game has turned into a possible in-out game for the College Football Playoff. Case in point; had Alabama not beaten then highly-ranked Florida State in 2017, they may not have made the playoff.
This year, the stakes were just as high, and neither team disappointed.
Despite No. 9 Auburn being a mere two hours away, while No. 6 Washington came from the complete opposite end of the country, Husky fans were definitely represented and traveled well for their team.
Still, the stands more resembled an Auburn home game, with a lot of fans in orange and blue throughout the stadium who came to see their Tigers for the first time this season.
The 2018 version of this early-season classic was no disappointment. With two teams both looking to make an early statement to the playoff committee, both with possible Heisman hopefuls playing quarterback, Auburn and Washington gave fans a Week 1 treat to get things going.
Make no mistake, this was a Week 1 game that featured typical Week 1 issues; lots of dumb penalties, bad kicking and punting games, bad decisions by players and coaches, and some … interesting … officiating.
Neither Jake Browning (18 of 32 for 296 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) nor Jarrett Stidham (26 of 36 for 273 yards, 1 TD) – both who hope to hoist the coveted Heisman Trophy in a few short months – looked particularly bad … or good. Although, during the clutch times in the game, Browning seems to come unraveled a little more.
This was a matchup of two teams who were very fairly ranked in the preseason polls, and two defenses who can be extremely stingy. Neither defense allowed any overwhelming performances in the air or on the ground and kept their respective team in the game.
What won’t be lost on the playoff committee as they look back on this game when they convene on October 30th is how Auburn’s defense rose to the occasion in a big game, or how the Washington special teams mailed this one in.
For Auburn, this was the first step on the way to their first-ever berth in the College Football Playoff. If they find some offensive help for quarterback Jarrett Stidham, they’ll find themselves in the hunt.
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However, the Huskies now have a much steeper climb to make their return to the meaningful part of the postseason. While an out-of-conference loss is never a season killer, this game has proven to make or break a playoff berth in the past.
It’s doubtful this year will be any different.