Tennessee football is set to play in the Music City Bowl against Illinois on Tuesday evening. The game is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. ET and will air on ESPN from inside Nissan Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Tennessee Titans.
Before kick-off, I dove into the numbers, with the help of UT’s game notes, to get a better look at what to expect in the game.
Here are three numbers to keep in mind as you’re watching the game.
More From RTI: What You Need to Know About Illinois’ Opt Outs Ahead of the Music City Bowl vs. Tennessee
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Since Josh Heupel landed the first head coaching job of his career at Central Florida in 2018, he has officially logged 100 games. In that span, he’s won 73 of the matchups. That ranks sixth in the country among active FBS head coaches during that span.
At Tennessee, Heupel owns a .703 win-percentage. That’s the second-best mark for a Vols coach in the previous four decades, trailing only Phillip Fulmer (.745). He is also just the third UT coach to make a bowl game in each of his first five seasons, joining Fulmer and Bill Battle.
If Tennessee wins the Music City Bowl, it’d mark his sixth nine-win season over the past eight years. It’d also be four straight with the Vols. If UT does win, he’d join Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Alabama and Washington’s Kalen DeBoer as the only SEC head coaches to have nine-win seasons over the past four years.
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Tennessee and Illinois have never played each other in football before. A total of 478 miles separates the campuses, but there has never been a regular-season game scheduled between the universities or a postseason meeting.
This will be the fourth time the Vols meet a team from the Big Ten in the postseason under Josh Heupel, though. In 2021, also in the Music City Bowl, Tennessee lost to Purdue in overtime due to a controversial ruling that marked Jaylen Wright short of the goalline. In 2023, the Vols hammered Iowa 35-0 in the Citrus Bowl. Last season, Ohio State downed Tennessee at home in the College Football Playoffs.
While there is no prior history in football, the fanbases are plenty familiar due to men’s basketball. Tennessee won both ends of a home-and-home series, thanks to a Jordan Gainey buzzer-beater on the road a year ago. This year, Illinois beat the Vols in Nashville. Tennessee will play the Illini in Chicago in the 2027-28 season, as well. UT owns a lead in the all-time series, 4-2.
226.5
Illinois has had little success defending the pass game this season. The Illini have given up 226.5 passing yards per game this year, marking only the 78th-best mark in the country and 15th in the Big Ten.
It’s not a defense that is turning over teams, either. Illinois has recorded just six interceptions, ranking 11th in the conference and 102nd in the country on the year.
Making things worse, star edge rusher and potential first-round pick Gabe Jacas has opted out of the game. Illinois will also be without veteran safety Matthew Bailey due to a surgery he opted to have now instead of waiting.
