Peach Bowl CEO shares why Clemson, Georgia are playing in early window

College football powers Georgia and Clemson will face off in Atlanta to open the 2024 season. The programs have been two of the best in the country over the past decade and have combined to win four of the past eight national titles.

Despite that, the game will not be played in prime time and instead received the Noon kickoff slot on ABC from ESPN.

Peach Bowl CEO Gary Stokan spoke with The State newspaper about ESPN’s decision for the game to be played at Noon.

Georgia and Clemson will begin the college football action on ABC on the opening weekend of the season, with Miami and Florida playing on ABC at 3:30 p.m. and Notre Dame and Texas A&M meeting at 7:30 p.m. According to Stokan, ESPN couldn’t pass on the opportunity to put Notre Dame in prime time.

“With the Texas A&M and Notre Dame game, because Notre Dame is with NBC in their contract, ESPN doesn’t get them much on TV,” Stokan told The State. “So to have them, obviously they’re a huge draw. [ESPN] put them on at night because both teams are going to be ranked.”

The Aggies are ranked No. 20 in the preseason AP Poll but are favored by 2.5-points over preseason No. 7 Notre Dame.

As for the 3:30 p.m. slot that was given to Miami and Florida, Stokan told The State that he believes weather factored into that decision. The Clemson vs. Georgia game will be played in a dome in air conditioning. Miami and Florida will be outside in The Swamp and with the afternoon kickoff, it should start cooling down in the second half.

“They felt like Miami and Florida was going to be cooler, for lack of a better term,” Stokan told The State. “I don’t know how cool it’s going to be in The Swamp. But it might be cooler then than at noon for those guys to play. More than anything, because we’re in an air-conditioned atmosphere, they could put us on at any time.”

The temperature for the Georgia vs. Clemson matchup will be set in the low 70s, according to The State. Despite the kickoff time being earlier than most fans would have preferred, Stokan is excited for the matchup and is expecting a great crowd.

“They want us to bat lead-off, get a double or a triple and then fortify that with the other games,” Stokan said. “When you put two major schools like this with the rivalry that exists, I mean, it’s going to be one of the most unique, electric atmospheres that you’ll find in college football this year — and maybe that we’ve ever had at our kickoff game.”