On Wednesday, it was announced that Georgia Tech was adding Tennessee to their 2026 and 2027 football schedule. Georgia Tech has a reputation for over-scheduling. They will always play Georgia, and for many years, Clemson was their cross-divisional rival. If they didn’t play Notre Dame, there was a team like Ole Miss on their schedule.
In 2026, Georgia Tech was already playing Colorado and Georgia, and in 2027 there were games with Notre Dame and Georgia.
Was adding Tennessee smart when the non-conference schedule was already challenging enough?
Well, a few years ago, I would have said this decision was unnecessary. Now there is a big difference between now and then. Payouts to ACC teams will have a formula that is weighted toward television ratings.
Georgia Tech has proven they are capable of playing with anyone in the country – ask the Georgia Bulldogs. They are more equipped than they have been in years to be competitive in these games. Georgia Tech is also earning rather larger ratings in these games, too. Georgia Tech vs Georgia had over 8 Million viewers.
What Georgia Tech is doing is what other ACC teams should be doing. Schedule aggressively get ratings, earn money.
Remember, as we saw last year with Clemson, they lost to Georgia and South Carolina and still made the playoffs. This makes losing those OOC games less critical to the playoffs while helping your bottom line.
It’s the current landscape, and ACC teams have to be creative to earn revenue. Georgia Tech is doing that.
If you can win, people will notice.
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We’ll renew our rivalry with Tennessee in 2026 and 2027.
9/12/26 – Atlanta
9/11/27 – Knoxville
: https://t.co/dK1qVvKV29#StingEm
pic.twitter.com/PuQeT0LUZe
— Georgia Tech Football (@GeorgiaTechFB) April 9, 2025
