Tech-Clemson will kick off before a national TV audience

Georgia Tech’s 2018 football schedule

Georgia Tech will play its Saturday, Sept. 22 home game against No. 2 Clemson will be a 3:30 p.m. kickoff.

It is undoubtedly a most welcome outcome for many Yellow Jackets fans, who have expressed their disapproval over the string of noon-hour games that Tech has been assigned in the past two seasons.

The game will be played on either ABC (WSB-TV Channel 2 Action News in Atlanta) or ESPN. The outlet will be determined after Saturday’s games.

The noon and 12:30 p.m. starts hamper tailgating, fans have said. Early-season games are also typically warmer for game starting earlier in the day. Dating back to the start of the 2016 season, Tech has played 12 Saturday home games, including the season opener against Alcorn State. Of the 12, Tech has started at either noon or 12:30 10 times. The other two were a 7:30 p.m. start (Wake Forest in 2017) and a 3 p.m. start (Mercer in 2016, a game whose kickoff time was under Tech’s control).

This season’s Georgia-Tech Clemson matchup is the 83rd in a series that dates back to 1898. The Jackets, who have won five of the last six meetings at Bobby Dodd Stadium, are 44-14-2 all-time at home against the Tigers.