It is official: Illinois accepted an invitation to the Music City Bowl in Nashville on Dec. 30 at Nissan Stadium. The opponent will be the Tennessee Volunteers out of the SEC. This will be the first time the Illini and the Vols have met on the gridiron, and the Illini’s first time in the Music City Bowl (Illinois is 5-10 in its first-time appearances in bowl games).
The Illini are 8-4 overall and 5-4 in conference play, coming off a win over Northwestern. The Illini’s last bowl game was last year’s
Cheez-It Citrus Bowl, a 21-17 win over South Carolina. This will be the first time in more than a decade that the Illini have played in back-to-back bowl games; the last time it happened was 2010-11. The Illini’s best win was at home against USC, 34-32, and their worst loss was to unranked Wisconsin, 27-10. The Illini are 9-12 in bowl games, dating back to the 1946 Rose Bowl. They have captured 15 Big Ten Conference titles and four national Championships (1914, 1919, 1923, 1927). Illinois is 1-5 in bowl games involving the SEC.
Tennessee is also 8-4 overall and 4-4 in conference. while coming off a loss to Vanderbilt. The Vols were in last season’s CFP, bowing out in the first round to eventual Champion Ohio State. This will be Tennessee’s third straight postseason appearance. The last non-CFP bowl game they played was the 2024 Citrus Bowl, a 35-0 win over Iowa. The Vols’ best win was an overtime road win at Mississippi State 41-34. The worst loss would have to be the 21-point loss to Vanderbilt. Tennessee is 31-25 in bowl games with 13 SEC titles and six national titles. Tennessee also holds a 12-4 record in bowl games vs. the Big Ten. Tennessee is 1-2 in the Music City Bowl. Right now, the Volunteers are a 5.5-point favorite.
The Luke Altmyer connection
After last season’s bowl win, many teams hoped to lure Altmyer into the transfer portal. By all accounts, Tennessee was among those putting a lot of resources into securing the Illini signal caller, after they lost Nico Iamaleava to the portal. Ultimately, Luke chose to stay at Illinois. That has to be considered the biggest “get” for Bret Bielema last offseason. Also, without a doubt, one of the biggest reasons for the success of the Illini offense. Though, don’t feel bad for Tennessee as they did manage to land Joey Aguilar (3,444 yards, 24 TDs.)
Roster defections and injuries:
As of the time of this writing, no player has opted out of this game for the Illini. But two players have opted for the transfer portal: reserve LB Easton Baker and redshirt-freshman QB Trey Petty. Likewise, Tennessee has had only two defections since the end of the regular season: reserve Edge Rusher Kellen Lindstrom and reserve DT Jamal Wallace. The only notable injury for Illinois is Xavier Scott, who is listed as Questionable, but he hasn’t played since week three. There are no notable injuries for Tennessee.
The Coaches:
Bret Bielema is 5-6 overall in bowl games, 1-1 at Illinois. Since coming to Illinois in late 2020, he is 36-26, leading all Illinois football coaches in victories in the first five years. Coach Bielema came with an impressive record starting at Wisconsin in 2006, going 11-1 in his first season, finishing 2nd in the Big Ten, and winning the Capital One Bowl, then winning Big Ten Coach of the Year. He went on to win three Big Ten Championships and compile a 68-24 record. His bowl record wasn’t the greatest for the Badgers at 2-4.
At Arkansas, he tried to rebuild a program that had fallen on hard times. His first season was 3-9, but his next three seasons were 7-6, 8-5, and 7-6. He was 2-1 in bowl games for the Razorbacks. He was fired in 2017 after a 4-8 campaign.
He then spent two years with the New England Patriots under Bill Belichick.
As for Josh Heupel, he is 3-5 in bowl games, 2-1 at Tennessee, and 0-1 in the CFP. He came to Tennessee from UCF, where he was 28-8, winning 22 games his first two years and going 1-1 in bowl games. In five years at Tennessee, he is 45-19.
