SEC & Big Ten Week 1 Preview: Auburn and Oregon face off in early Top-25 showdown

No. 11 Oregon (0-0, 0-0 PAC-12) at No. 16 Auburn (0-0, 0-0 SEC) – 7:30 p.m. on ABC

No. 11 Oregon and No. 16 Auburn will face off in a nationally-televised Top 25 showdown Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The game will kick off at 7:30 p.m. and will be televised on ABC.

This will be the second all-time meeting between the Tigers and Ducks, who last faced off in the 2011 BCS championship game. Auburn defeated Oregon 22-19 in that contest, claiming the national title on a 19-yard Wes Byrum field goal as time expired.

The winner of Saturday’s game will start the season with a signature non-conference victory that could bolster a potential CFP resume come December.

Now, for a look at the teams: 

Auburn Quick Hits:

• Auburn is 97-27-2 (.778) all-time in season openers.
• Quarterback Bo Nix will be the first true freshman quarterback to start an Auburn season opener since Travis Tidwell in 1946.
• The Tigers return six players who registered at least 40 tackles last season; Auburn finished 14th nationally in scoring defense (19.2) in 2018.
• Only Auburn, Alabama, Clemson and Washington have finished the season in the top 15 nationally in scoring defense each of the past three seasons.
• The Tigers will travel 2,520 miles this regular season, second-most in the SEC, trailing only Texas A&M (2,534 miles).

Oregon Quick Hits

• Oregon has won seven consecutive season openers, but will open its slate away from Autzen Stadium for the first time since 2011, when it took on LSU at AT&T Stadium.
• Heisman hopeful Justin Herbert returns to lead the Ducks offense after becoming the fifth player in program history to throw for 3,000 yards (3,151) last year.
• Running back CJ Verdell was the third freshman in program history to hit the 1,000-yard plateau (1,018).
• The Ducks are one of four FBS teams (Clemson, Liberty, Memphis) that return a 3,000-yard passer and 1,000-yard rusher.
• Oregon leads the nation with a combined 153 career starts along the offensive line.
• Senior linebacker Troy Dye leads all active Power 5 players with 313 career tackles and has 17 games with 10 or more tackles

Here’s a look at other big matchups in the SEC and Big Ten this week:

Texas State at No. 12 Texas A&M – 8 p.m. (Thursday) on SECN
South Dakota State at Minnesota – 9 p.m. (Thursday) on FS1
No. 19 Wisconsin at South Florida – 7 p.m. (Friday) on ESPN
Tulsa at No. 18 Michigan State – 7 p.m. (Friday) on FS1
UMass at Rutgers – 7:15 p.m. (Friday) on BTN
Purdue at Nevada – 9:30 p.m. (Friday) on CBSSN
Akron at Illinois – Noon on BTN
Indiana vs. Ball State – Noon on CBSSN
Florida Atlantic at No. 5 Ohio State – Noon on FOX
Howard at Maryland – Noon on BTN
Toledo at Kentucky – Noon on SECN
Ole Miss at Memphis – Noon on ABC
Mississippi State at Louisiana – Noon on ESPNU
Duke vs. No. 2 Alabama – 3:30 p.m. on ABC
South Carolina at North Carolina – 3:30 p.m. on ESPN
Georgia State at Tennessee – 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU
Idaho at No. 15 Penn State – 3:30 p.m. on BTN
Northwestern at No. 25 Stanford – 4 p.m. on FOX
Portland State at Arkansas – 4 p.m. on SECN
Miami (OH) at No. 20 Iowa – 7:30 p.m. on FS1
Middle Tennessee at No. 7 Michigan – 7:30 p.m. on BTN
No. 3 Georgia at Vanderbilt – 7:30 p.m. on SECN
Georgia Southern at No. 6 LSU – 7:30 p.m. on SECN
Missouri at Wyoming – 7:30 p.m. on CBSSN