5 Non-Conference Games the Vols Should Play Again

Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

The old SEC rivalry between Tennessee and Georgia Tech was renewed in 2017 with both teams opening up the season at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, and it was a close match-up that needed double-overtime to be decided. Tennessee emerged victorious, 42-41, after stopping the Yellow Jackets’ two-point conversion.

The Vols and Yellow Jackets shared a conference for more than 45 years before Georgia Tech left the SEC to go independent in 1964. Even after the Yellow Jackets split, the rivalry game continued on an annual basis until 1987.

Tennessee leads the series 25-17-2, but the two teams have provided plenty of classic games, including the 2017 game that the Vols won at the goal line in double-overtime.

The history is there, and it’s not so far removed to where an older generation of Tennessee fans have forgotten it. Also, Georgia Tech’s former legendary head coach Bobby Dodd, for whom their downtown Atlanta stadium is named, played for Neyland at Tennessee between 1928-1930.