Tennessee football: Have Vols shaken the curse of playing in Atlanta?

Tennessee football opens 2017 against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic. Have the Volunteers shaken their Atlanta curse?

From 2000 to 2009, playing in Atlanta was the great curse for Tennessee football. It all started in 2001, when the Vols suffered their worst loss in school history.

As the No. 2 team in the country, all they had to do was beat a lowly ranked LSU Tigers team starting their backup quarterback, and they’d be SEC Champions on their way to the national championship game. But we all know the story. It didn’t happen.

The Vols suffered a horrific upset to an up and coming coach named Nick Saban. And thus began the downward spiral of a program. It all happened that fateful day in Atlanta.

Tennessee would go onto lose three more games in three years at that Georgia Dome. Two of them were Peach Bowl games they were favored in.

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Then, in 2007, with a chance to take back the SEC Championship, Erik Ainge as a senior completely lost his poise late, throwing a pick-six and costing the Vols two more times in field goal range late to lose 21-14.

Heck, Tennessee basketball was even cursed in Atlanta. Twice, the Vols were a top seed in the SEC Tournament in the 2000s, and they suffered an early exit both times.

So it was all fitting that the Tennessee football decade came to an end with a blowout loss to Frank Beamer and the Virginia Tech Hokies in that dreaded Peach Bowl site.

That game happened on Dec. 31, 2009.

Transitioning into this decade, you might think the Vols have broken the curse in Atlanta. After all, they did blow out the N.C. State Wolfpack in 2012 to start the season. And that was a great win.

But how did the rest of the year go?

Well, it became Tennessee’s third straight seven-loss season in a row, their second season in a row missing a bowl game, and it got Derek Dooley fired.

So just winning in Atlanta came with a huge price. And now we’re here.

We mentioned on Tuesday that the last time the Vols played on Labor Day, it was the start to a season that ended Phillip Fulmer’s career.

The last time they opened the season in Atlanta, it was the start to the season that got Dooley fired.

Now, they’re opening a season on Labor Day in Atlanta. And it’s in a new stadium.

Did the Atlanta curse die with the Georgia Dome? Will the Mercedes-Benz Stadium be different? Does combining two curses create a blessing, like Tennessee football did last year with Checker Neyland and the Smokey Gray uniforms against the Florida Gators?

Next: Top 10 Vols for 2017 season

These are all important questions to ask as the Vols prepare for the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets.It’s also worth noting that the Peach Bowl loss to Virginia Tech was also the spot where Kiffin coached his last game.

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Tennessee football: Have the Vols shaken the curse of playing in Atlanta?

By Caleb Calhoun | Aug 30, 2017

Tennessee football opens 2017 against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Classic. Have the Volunteers shaken their Atlanta curse?