(STATS) – Samford and Youngstown State will help open the 2019 college football season when they meet in the sixth annual FCS Kickoff on Aug. 24 at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama.
The FCS Kickoff has been a strong opening showcase for subdivision teams during Week 0 of the season, including North Carolina A&T’s 20-17 win over Jacksonville State last month.
“Everyone throughout the country watches the opening game of the season and it will be fun for our program to take center stage nationally along with Samford,” Youngstown State athletic director Ron Strollo said.
Youngstown State, a member of the Missouri Valley Football Conference, has won four all-time meetings with Samford, most recently beating the Southern Conference program in the 2016 FCS playoffs.
Both teams will lose key players after this season, especially in the skills positions, so the matchup may not feature two Top 25 teams like the five previous Kickoffs. This season, Youngstown State is 1-2 under coach Bo Pelini and Samford is 1-3 under coach Chris Hatcher.
The 2019 FCS Kickoff will appear on an ESPN Network. The network and start time will be announced at a later date.
FCS Kickoff All-Time Scores:
Aug. 23, 2014: Eastern Washington 56, Sam Houston State 35 (Cheney, Washington)
Aug. 29, 2015: Montana 38, North Dakota State 35 (Missoula, Montana)
Aug. 27, 2016: North Dakota State 24, Charleston Southern 17, overtime (Fargo, North Dakota)
Aug. 26, 2017: Jacksonville State 27, Chattanooga 13 (Montgomery, Alabama)
Aug. 25, 2018: North Carolina A&T 20, Jacksonville State 17 (Montgomery, Alabama)
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