AU football to play Clemson in 2010-11

AU athletic director Jay Jacobs announced Thursday that Auburn and Clemson will play a home-and-home football series in 2010 and 2011.

Clemson will play at AU on Sept. 18, 2010. AU will return the visit on Sept. 17, 2011.

“It’s just a natural thing for Auburn to play Clemson,” Jacobs said. “It’ll be a game that should be made for television. We’ll obviously sell a lot of tickets. We’ve made a commitment to have a BCS-quality opponent every year.”

Auburn and Clemson have played 45 times, with their first meeting coming in 1899, but haven’t played a regular-season game since 1971. AU is 32-11-2 in the series.

Clemson is currently coached by former Auburn assistant Tommy Bowden. Bowden’s brother Terry was AU’s head coach from 1993 to midway through the 1998 season. Clemson went 8-5 last year.

The deal gives Auburn at least one high-profile opponent from a Bowl Championship Series conference for the next five seasons. The Tigers play Kansas State and South Florida in 2007 and play a home-and-home series with West Virginia in 2008 and 2009.

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