The Irony of the Tennessee Volunteers’ 2026 College Football Schedule

The Tennessee Volunteers' 2026 college football schedule is a bit ironic for one major reason.

The Tennessee Volunteers are just months away from beginning their 2026 college football season, as the team looks to improve on last year's results. Tennessee, like many teams in the SEC, faces a difficult regular season schedule, but will have a chance to compete in some extremely exciting games.

But there is one component of the Vols schedule this year that some Volunteer fans may find a bit ironic. This year, Tennessee is scheduled to face the Kennesaw State Owls and the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Both teams, which are from the state of Georgia.

What makes this ironic, is the fact that the Volunteers will play two teams from the state of Georgia and neither of them will be their long time rival, the Georgia Bulldogs. This will be the first regular season. The two teams do not face each other since 1991.

The loss of the annual Georgia-Tennessee game, stems from the SEC's recent decision to adopt a nine game conference schedule ahead of the 2026 regular season. In this format, teams were designated three annual opponents, the Bulldogs and Volunteers were not designated as such, thus ending their annual meetings.

Tennessee and Georgia Football's Rich History in the SEC

Oct 1, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joshua Dobbs (11) breaks a tackle by Georgia Bulldogs linebacker D'Andre Walker (15) during the second quarter at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

The Vols and Bulldogs have shared some incredible stages over the years and have provided college football fans with some massive moments. Including Tennessee's incredible last-second win in 2016 known by volunteer fans as "The Dobbsnail Boot".

Recently, however, the Georgia Bulldogs have controlled the series, winning eight straight games over Tennessee, including last year's overtime thriller in Knoxville. The loss was arguably the most heartbreaking of the season for Josh Heupel and his team.

Tennessee will have an opportunity to return the favor during the 2027 season when the Vols travel to Athens to face the Bulldogs. The team will be looking for its first win in Sanford Stadium since the 2016 season.

While not having a storied rival, such as the Georgia Bulldogs on the 2026 schedule is somewhat disappointing to Tennessee fans, the Vols still have a plethora of exciting matchups that will take place throughout the year.

The Volunteers will begin their 2026 college football season on Saturday, September 5 when they host the Furman paladins and their season opener. A kick-off time and TV network for this matchup will be announced at a later date.