Clemson vs. App State gets prime time TV slot for Tigers’ 2024 home opener

Clemson football will open the season in prime time.

The Tigers’ 2024 home opener against Appalachian State is set for an 8 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, Sept. 7, the ACC and its television partners announced Thursday.

The announcement was for the first three weeks of the season, but Clemson’s kickoff time and TV channel for Week 1 against Georgia in the Aflac Kickoff Game in Atlanta was already set earlier this spring (noon on ABC). And the Tigers have one of their two scheduled off weeks for Week 3.

So the only nugget of scheduling news Clemson got Thursday was related to its home opener — but it was a big one. App State, located in Boone, North Carolina, is widely regarded as one of the best mid-major schools in the country. In the Mountaineers’ last eight games against P5 teams, all eight have been decided by no more than seven points. App State is 3-5 in those games.

Add in a nationally relevant Clemson football program that’s trying to get back to the College Football Playoff under coach Dabo Swinney, and you’ve got quite the matchup — one that’ll certainly make for a packed house and loud environment at Death Valley in Week 2.

This is the first time in six seasons Clemson will play a home opener night game. The last time the Tigers opened under the lights at Memorial Stadium was in 2019, when the reigning national champions hosted Georgia Tech at Memorial Stadium on a Thursday night.

Since that 8 p.m. kickoff time in 2019, Clemson’s home opener kick times have come at 4 p.m. (2020 vs. The Citadel), 5 p.m. (2021 vs. SC State), 3:30 p.m. (2022 vs. Furman) and 2:15 p.m. (2023 vs. Charleston Southern). Dating back to 2019, though, the Tigers have played five straight night game season openers.

This will be the sixth all-time meeting between Clemson and App State. Clemson leads the all-time series 5-0 and won the most recent meeting, 41-10, at home in 2015. The other four games (1984, 1990, 1991, 1997) came before App State transitioned to FBS football (they’re currently in the Sun Belt).

Clemson and App State signed a contract to play in 2024 back in 2018. The Mountaineers are one of three non-conference teams coming to Memorial Stadium this year, along with FCS The Citadel (Nov. 23) and in-state rival South Carolina (Nov. 30). Clemson’s final non-conference games is Week 1 vs. Georgia in Atlanta.

Clemson football 2024 schedule

• Aug. 31: vs. Georgia in Atlanta, noon (ABC)

• Sept. 7: vs. App State, 8 p.m. (ACC Network)

• Sept. 14: OPEN

• Sept. 21: vs. NC State

• Sept. 28: vs. Stanford

• Oct. 5: at Florida State

• Oct. 12: at Wake Forest

• Oct. 19: vs. Virginia

• Oct. 26: OPEN

• Nov. 2: vs. Louisville

• Nov. 9: at Virginia Tech

• Nov. 16: at Pitt

• Nov. 23: vs. The Citadel

• Nov. 30: vs. South Carolina