Following an 8-4 (4-4 SEC) regular season, Tennessee football has received its bowl game designation. The Vols won’t be traveling too far for it, either. UT will play Illinois in the Music City Bowl, according to a report from On3’s Brett McMurphy.
The game will be played at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee, the home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans. Kickoff is scheduled for Dec. 30 at 5:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. CT and will air on ESPN.
This will be the first time Tennessee and Illinois will ever meet on the gridiron, according to Winsipedia. However, Vol fans are plenty familiar with the Illini, as UT just lost to them in Nashville for a neutral site game in men’s basketball. Tennessee won both ends of a home-and-home with Illinois, as well, in men’s basketball over the past two seasons.
This will be the fourth time Tennessee has played in the Music City Bowl. The Vols lost to North Carlina in 2010 in double-overtime due to a controversial ending that resulted in the NCAA adding the 10-second run-off rule going forward. The Vols returned in 2016 and defeated Nebraska by two touchdowns.
In 2021, Josh Heupel’s first season leading Tennessee, the Vols went back to the game. Another controversial ending, Jaylen Wright’s forward progress being ruled to have stopped, resulted in an overtime to Purdue.
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Heupel has just concluded his fifth regular season at Tennessee, however, it was capped off with a brutal loss to in-state rival Vanderbilt. The Commodores used a 31-3 run to end the game to win 45-24 in Neyland Stadium.
In his Tennessee tenure, Heupel now holds a 45-19 (24-16 SEC) record. He has steered the Vols to a pair of 10-win regular seasons, including in 2024, which saw UT earn a spot in the College Football Playoffs as the 9-seed. Tennessee would go on to lose at Ohio State, the eventual national champion, in the first round.
Heupel has just helped ink one of the best signing classes in the country as he prepares for next season, as well. The group ranks No. 4 in the country on 247. Now, he’ll prepare to deal with the transfer portal as he looks to manage his current roster and add pieces once it opens in January.
So far, just three players have announced their intention to enter. Defensive back Boo Carter, defensive lineman Jamal Wallace and edge rusher Kellen Lindstrom are all departing.
