ESPN's 'College GameDay' announces location for Week 1

"Gameday" is headed to Charlotte for a showdown between North Carolina and South Carolina. This will be the 60th meeting between the two programs all-time, with the Tar Heels leading the series, 35-20-4. South Carolina has won seven of the last nine meetings dating back to 1988.

Both teams generated buzz this offseason, largely because of their quarterbacks. North Carolina's Drake Maye is a leading preseason candidate for the Heisman while South Carolina's Spencer Rattler is one of the biggest wildcards in college football this season. He was a five-star prospect out of high school but struggled with turnovers at Oklahoma before transferring to South Carolina last season.

He impressed in his last appearance, a 45-38 loss to Notre Dame in the Gator Bowl. In the third quarter, Rattler showed off his strong arm on this 42-yard touchdown.

Everyone is still waiting for things to click for Rattler, and the 2023 road opener will be the perfect time for him to prove he belongs.

Tar Heels-Gamecocks is the most attractive game on the first full Saturday slate of the college football season and one of the few games featuring "Power Five" opponents.

ACC's Virginia and SEC's Tennessee meet in Nashville while Ohio State travels to Indiana for a Big 10 battle. West Virginia and Penn State meet in a Big 12-Big 10 showdown.

Perhaps the biggest surprise is that North Carolina-South Carolina was selected over the debut of the Deion Sanders-era in Colorado as the Buffaloes take on 2022 College Football Playoff finalist TCU.

But that game is set for Fox and the network announced earlier this year that "Big Noon Kickoff" will be there for the occasion.

The decision makes more sense since ESPN probably doesn't want to promote a game on a rival network too much.

Plus, North Carolina-South Carolina will be compelling in its own right. Thanks to the quarterbacks, both teams have high expectations for 2023. We'll find out early if Maye and Rattler are ready for primetime.