The Tennessee Volunteers and the Illinois Fighting Illini are fixed on painting Nashville orange this winter. Just one day after the Vols and Illini’s basketball teams squared off in Music City Madness from Bridgestone Arena, news broke that the two schools are reported to meet back in Nashville at the end of the month for another contest.
On3 Sports’ Brett McMurphy broke the news on Sunday that Tennessee and Illinois will play football in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30 in Nashville’s Nissan Stadium, the home of the Tennessee Titans.
It’ll be somewhat of a revenge game for the Volunteers, though not in the same sport. The Illini took Saturday night’s hoops matchup by a score of 75-62 in a non-conference showdown, so it’ll now be up to Josh Heupel and the Vols’ football team to get a bit of revenge for the UT fanbase in the unique situation.
Without knowing the split attendance numbers from Saturday, the Illinois side of things packed a big number of fans into Bridgestone. Both sides were rowdy in the arena for the 40-minute contest. Perhaps Illinois fans used their December travel plans for the basketball game, but it wouldn’t be too much of a surprise to see Fighting Illini faithful travel back to Nashville for the all-orange game based on Saturday’s showing. Illinois football coach Bret Bielema was in attendance for the game.
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Illinois and Tennessee both finished the football seasons with 8-4 records. The Fighting Illini began the year on a three-game winning streak with victories over Western Illinois, eventual ACC Champion Duke, and Western Michigan. Illinois then dropped its first game of the season at eventual Big Ten Champion Indiana, but bounced back with two straight wins over Southern Cal and Purdue. The Fighting Illini then lost two straight games to Ohio State and Washington, but picked up two more wins over Rutgers and Maryland. The Fighting Illini closed the season with a loss at Wisconsin and a win over Northwestern.
Tennessee last played in the Music City Bowl in 2021, which was Josh Heupel’s first season on Rocky Top. The Vols lost to Purdue in an overtime heartbreaker, 48-45, with Jaylen Wright’s final touchdown attempt being ruled short of the endzone.
For more on Tennessee’s upcoming game against Illinois in the Music City Bowl, stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider throughout the month.
