Alabama Could Open 2016 Season Against USC at Cowboys Stadium

As non-conference scheduling becomes more and more important as we enter the College Football Playoffs era of the sport, Alabama continues to look for marquee neutral site games to open the season. 

If Dan Patrick knows something we don't, 2016 might feature two of college football's best programs squaring off in Cowboys Stadium to start the year. The sports radio host said Wednesday that Alabama and USC have agreed to play each other.

Nick Saban spoke at the Regions Tradition Pro Am he's participating in and wouldn't confirm the report, saying the school is in negotiations for a neutral site game but nothing is finalized.

The Crimson Tide was set to play Penn State but they "bailed" on the game, according to Saban.

Alabama is very familiar with the Cowboys Classic so the fit would make sense. The team played Michigan to open the 2012 season and will return for a game with Wisconsin to begin 2015. Looking ahead at the future schedules, the Cowboys Classic still has an opening for 2016 and Jerry Jones would likely love to have the marquee matchup in his stadium.

USC and Alabama boast two of the greatest traditions in college football. The programs have combined for 66 bowl wins and 17 national championships and have played some pretty significant games in the series.

That leads us to the obvious question should this game become official: will Lane Kiffin still be on the sideline to face his former team?