Best Bars for Watching College Football in Atlanta

By Mary Welch
Posted August 17, 2016

College football is not just a game in Atlanta. It’s a way of life. And Atlanta is home to enough wild and crazy fans from certain universities to guarantee them “home” bars for game-watching with like-minded wild and crazy fans. Check our list below to see if your favorite team is affiliated one of ATL’s many great bars. If so, don your school colors and, um, get a little crazy. And, just to be safe, check with your Atlanta alumni club to make sure venues haven’t changed or to discover a new location has been added.

• Clemson University Tigers. Fans gather at Whitehall Tavern on Peachtree Road. Another Tiger-friendly spot is the Crafty Hog.
• Florida State University Seminoles. You know there’s not one restaurant that can contain these fans. Look for Seminoles fans  at three Tin Lizzy’s locations: Perimeter Center West; Sugarloaf Parkway in Duluth; and Crescent Avenue in Midtown. In addition to a great game, fans enjoy $3 shots, $4 Ritas, $3.25 Pacifico drafts and 20-percent off food. Door prizes include FSU football tickets, gift cards and FSU memorabilia. 
• Notre Dame Fightin’ Irish. Join compatriots at the Hudson Grille in Brookhaven. 
•  University of Michigan Wolverines. Alums gather at Whitehall Tavern at Peachtree Battle Shopping Center and at Pepperoni’s Tavern in Alpharetta. Both locations hold raffles with the proceeds going to a scholarship fund that helps send a metro Atlanta senior to the University of Michigan. 
• University of Wisconsin Badgers. Meet at RiRa’s Irish Pub on Peachtree Street. 
• Pennsylvania State University Nittany Lions. Meet up in the back room at Famous Pub & Sports Palace on North Druid Hills Road. 
• Ohio State University Buckeyes. Screaming alums and fans gather each week at the Hudson Grille in Sandy Springs.  
• University of Nebraska Cornhuskers. There’s a new location for Nebraska fans — Mazzy’s Sports Bar and Grill on Roswell Road in Marietta. Game-watching fans receive a 10-percent discount. In addition, raffle items raise money for scholarships. 
• University of South Carolina Gamecocks. Find your brethren at the Black Bear Tavern in Brookwood Village on Peachtree Road. 
• Auburn University Tigers. Auburn fans love to combine two Southern favorites — barbecue and football. Meet fellow Auburn Tigers at Smokebelly BBQ on Andrews Drive and whoop it up along with $3 Bud Light drafts and $10 pitchers, $15 Bud and Bud Light Buckets and $5 Titos drinks. Smokebelly’s owner Trey Humphries is an Auburn alum. Other locales for Auburn fans include The Bucket Shop Cafe on Lenox Road and Diesel Filling Station on North Highland Avenue plus TJ’s Sports Bar & Grill in Alpharetta and Wild Wing Cafe in Dunwoody.
• University of Mississippi Rebels.  Find Mississippi in Atlanta at the Whitehall Tavern in Peachtree Battle Shopping Center.
• Vanderbilt University Commodores. Vandy’s home away from Nashville is the Hudson Grille in Brookhaven. 
• University of Alabama Crimson Tide. Fans gather at Smith’s Olde Bar on Piedmont Avenue, Hudson Grille in Midtown and Creatwood Tavern in Smyrna. Drink specials benefit the Bama in Atlanta Scholarships. 
• Louisiana State University Tigers. Join LSU Atlanta at Tin Can Fish House & Oyster Bar and Teela Taqueria located in Sandy Springs.

See more Atlanta nightlife here.

Journalist Mary Welch writes business and lifestyle stories for local and national publications.