Kicking off the 2016 college football season, the USC Trojans and Alabama Crimson Tide will play in the Cowboy Classic in Arlington, Texas' AT&T Stadium.

The University of Southern California (USC) made the announcement Wednesday on their athletics department's official website. The two schools both have a rich history of winning and represent two of the five NCAA Division I power conferences.

The eighth annual Cowboy Classic will be Saturday, Sept. 3, 2016, but start time and television information have not been announced yet.

"We are excited to participate in a game that is such an attractive matchup for the nation's fans," USC head football coach Steve Sarkisian said in the school's announcement. "The 2016 Cowboys Classic not only brings together two of college football's most tradition-laden and successful programs, but teams that in 1970 played a significant role in shaping the history of the game.

"At USC, we have always tried to schedule as many outstanding non-conference opponents as possible because we believe that should be part of the experience our players get when they come here. The Trojans versus the Crimson Tide in Arlington will certainly be such a game."

The Cowboy Classic kicks off the college football season every year and the past five have resulted as follows:

BYU over Oklahoma: 14-13, Sept. 5, 2009

TCU over Oregon State: 30-21, Sept. 4, 2010

LSU over Oregon: 40-27, Sept. 3, 2011

Alabama over Michigan: 41-14, Sept. 1, 2012

LSU over TCU: 37-27, Aug. 31, 2013

This year, Florida State will play Oklahoma State on Aug. 30.

Alabama will play in back-to-back Cowboy Classic games, on Sept. 5, 2015 against Wisconsin and on Sept. 3, 2016 against USC.

Florida will get its first Cowboy Classic action in 2017 when they play Michigan on Sept. 2.

2016 will mark the next time a Pac-12 team will play in the game, though the conference is 0-2 thus far. On the other hand, the SEC is 3-0 in the Cowboy Classic and is represented in all but one of the next four games.