Atlanta’s Kickoff Games have been good for SEC schools from the beginning

SEC teams know all about fast starts, especially when launching the season with a neutral-site game in Atlanta.

Tennessee is a 14-point favorite over Syracuse in the teams’ game Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (noon, ABC), and South Carolina is a 7½-point favorite over Virginia Tech in their game Sunday (3 p.m., ESPN) at the same venue to keep alive what is fast becoming a tradition for the SEC, that of starting the season with a win in what has become college football’s capital city.

The SEC boasts a 17-2 record in the Aflac Kickoff Game (formerly known as the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game), including 13 consecutive wins on the heels of Georgia’s 34-3 victory over Clemson last season in what proved to be a battle of SEC and ACC champions and College Football Playoff teams.

Georgia suffered the SEC’s first loss in the Aflac Kickoff Game in 2011, losing to a Boise State team that was ranked No. 5 in the nation when it scored a 35-21 victory over the Bulldogs.

Coach Dabo Swinney’s Clemson Tigers, it should be noted, were the most recent ACC team to beat an SEC opponent in an Aflac Kickoff Game, topping Auburn 26-19 in 2012.

Both of this season’s opening-weekend college football games in Mercedes-Benz Stadium feature compelling storylines, with Tennessee breaking in a new starting quarterback against a Syracuse team coached by former Georgia assistant Fran Brown.

The Sunday afternoon tilt between the Gamecocks and Hokies features coach Shane Beamer opening his fifth year as South Carolina’s head coach against his alma mater and the program his College Football Hall of Fame father, Frank, brought to prominence.

Shane Beamer played at Virginia Tech from 1995-99, long snapping for the Hokies when they played Florida State in the Bowl Championship Series title game Jan. 4, 2000, losing to Florida State 46-29 despite having the dynamic Michael Vick at quarterback.

Beamer’s current Gamecocks also feature an electrifying quarterback themselves in 2024 FWAA Freshman Offensive Player of the Year LaNorris Sellers, who is looking to launch his Heisman Trophy campaign Sunday.

Here’s a look at the history of past Aflac and Chick-fil-A Kickoff Games:

2008: Alabama 34, Clemson 10

2009: Alabama 34, Virginia Tech 24

2010: LSU 30, North Carolina 24

2011: Boise State 35, Georgia 21

2012: Tennessee 35, N.C. State 21

2012: Clemson 26, Auburn 19

2013: Alabama 35, Virginia Tech 10

2014: Ole Miss 35, Boise State 13

2014: Alabama 33, West Virginia 23

2015: Auburn 31, Louisville 24

2016: Georgia 33, North Carolina 24

2017: Alabama 24, Florida State 7

2017: Tennessee 42, Georgia Tech 41 (2OT)

2018: Auburn 21, Washington 16

2019: Alabama 42, Duke 3

2020: Games canceled because of COVID-19 pandemic

2021: Alabama 44, Miami 13