Tennessee football will not have to travel very far for its bowl game this year.
The Vols (8-4) are set to play against the Illinois Fighting Illini (8-4) at Nissan Stadium in downtown Nashville for the Music City Bowl on Dec. 30.
Josh Heupel and company had been projected to go either to the Music City Bowl or the Gator Bowl, but they were ultimately sent back to the Music City Bowl.
The Illini finished in the middle of the pack in the Big Ten Conference, with the highlight of their season coming from a walk-off win against USC at home in late September. While the Vols relied on elite offensive output to cover some dreadful defensive performances, Illinois recorded below-average offensive output and slightly above-average defense. Guided by fifth-year head coach Bret Bielema, the Illini have wielded a balanced offensive attack with senior quarterback Luke Altmyer leading the way.
Coming off a 10-3 season and a playoff appearance, the Vols lost a lot of talent and faced an uphill climb with a difficult schedule. While Tennessee ultimately ended its season about where it was expected to be, the sting of an 8-4 campaign brings disappointment nonetheless. Opportunities against Georgia and Oklahoma at home went to the wayside, while lifeless performances against Alabama and Vanderbilt proved damaging.
Still, the opportunity remains to gain further momentum by entering the offseason with a win to follow up on the announcement of a very successful recruiting class.
History in the Music City Bowl
This will be Tennessee’s fourth appearance in the Music City Bowl, with the Vols holding a 1-2 record in their first three opportunities.
However, their last appearance in this bowl game still lingers in the minds of many fans of the Vols, and not for the right reasons.
Tennessee fell in overtime to Purdue, 48-45, but many fans of the Vols contend that they should have won the game. The deciding play came on fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line, when running back Jaylen Wright was called short of the goal line to end the game. Replays showed that Wright was very close to breaking the plane before being ruled down by contact, but ultimately, he was deemed short after a lengthy review.
The lone win for the Vols in this bowl game came back in 2016 over Nebraska, 38-24.
There’s a first time for everything
This game will mark the first-ever appearance between the schools in football.
Heupel enters the game with a 3-3 bowl record, while Bielema has gone 5-6 in his 11 career bowl games as a head coach. Further, Heupel and Bielema have never coached against each other across their respective coaching careers.
Coach Heupel has never faced Illinois in his eight seasons as a head coach. Despite Bielema’s five-year tenure at Arkansas, he never faced Tennessee during that time period, and this will mark his first career coaching appearance against the Vols.
