Tennessee football will now open the 2027 season against Georgia Tech after the game was moved to an earlier date, UT announced on Sept. 30.
The Vols' home game against Georgia Tech was previously slated for Sept. 11, 2027. It has been moved to Aug. 28 to take advantage of a new Division I schedule format that features Week 0 games.
Likewise, Tennessee moved up the dates for its 2028 games against West Virginia and Chattanooga.
UT will play West Virginia in Charlotte in the Duke's Mayo Classic on Aug. 26, 2028. It was originally slated for Sept. 2. The Vols' home game against Chattanooga has been moved from Sept. 16 to Sept. 2.
In August, the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision Oversight Committee announced the schedule format change, beginning
in 2027. That regular season will start in the final weekend in August and end on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Here is adjusted Tennessee 2027 football schedule
Tennessee will now start the 2027 season with nonconference home games against Georgia Tech (Aug. 28), Tennessee State (Sept. 4) and Western Michigan (Sept. 18) at Neyland Stadium.
That leaves an open date in Week 3, which could be filled with an SEC game. However, the SEC will announce the conference schedule at a later date. UT will get two open weeks during the 2027 season.
UT will play SEC home games against Florida, Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Vanderbilt. It will play SEC road games against Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Missouri and Oklahoma.
Here is adjusted Tennessee 2028 football schedule
Tennessee will now start the 2028 season against West Virginia in Charlotte, North Carolina (Aug. 26), followed by home games against Chattanooga (Sept. 2) and Central Michigan (Sept. 9).
Two open weeks, as well, the SEC schedule will be announced at a later date.
In 2028, UT will play SEC home games against Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, South Carolina and Texas A&M. It will play SEC road games against Auburn, LSU, Texas and Vanderbilt.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Why Tennessee football moved Georgia Tech, West Virginia games in 2027-28
