Tennessee, Georgia Tech to meet in 2017 Chick-fil-A Kickoff

Tennessee will play Georgia Tech in the 2017 Chick-fil-A Kickoff event in Atlanta.

The Tennessee Volunteers have a highly anticipated non-conference game next year when the Butch Jones and his Vols travel to Bristol Motor Speedway to play the Virginia Tech Hokies in a game that will break the college football attendance record.

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And now they have a second high-profile non-conference game in a neutral site against another ACC opponent after it was made official on Monday that Tennessee and Georgia Tech will play each other to open the 2017 seasons in Atlanta.

The game will be played on Monday night on Sept. 4 in the Atlanta Falcons new stadium as the two former SEC rivals meet for the first time since Tennessee beat Georgia Tech in 1987.

Jones is looking at this game as an opportunity to improve their footprint in the fertile recruiting ground of Georgia.

“The state of Georgia is very important to us in recruiting footprint,” Jones said, via CBS Sports, “and that coupled with our alumni base and passionate fans, will make for a very exciting experience.”

Georgia Tech head coach Paul Johnson is excited to play an SEC team and have the game close to their home turf.

“We’re excited to have the opportunity to play in one of the first games at the Atlanta Falcons’ new stadium,” Johnson said in a statement, via CBS Sports. “Playing an SEC team like Tennessee in the non-conference is important for us and we’re grateful for the opportunity to play them in our backyard.”

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Tennessee will play Georgia Tech in the 2017 Chick-fil-A Kickoff event in Atlanta.

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