Tennessee 28, Illinois 30
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Just a short walk from the neon shine of Lower Broadway, Tennessee football is set to play the final tune of its 2025 season.
The Vols will act as the road team inside of its home state, doing battle with Illinois at Nissan Stadium in the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl.
A pair of veteran quarterbacks headline an afternoon where their collegiate careers will likely come to and end. Joey Aguilar will look to put a bow on a strong campaign, one that began after transferring to Tennessee following Nico Iamaleava’s departure at the end of spring practice. The Antioch, California, native paced the SEC with 3,444 passing yards during the regular season, tossing 24 touchdowns in the process. He sits 375 yards shy of Peyton Manning’s program-record for yards through the air in a single season, a mark he will be chasing while trying to beat the Fighting Illini defense.
Illinois signal-caller Luke Altmyer enjoyed an efficient senior season, racking up 21 touchdowns compared to just five interceptions.
Stay tuned for live updates from The Daily Beacon.
How to watch Tennessee football in Music City Bowl
The Vols and Illini take the ESPN stage at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. Tom Hart will handle play-by-play duties alongside analyst and former Vanderbilt quarterback Jordan Rodgers. They’ll be joined by Cole Cubelic on the sidelines.
Mike Keith will handle radio broadcast duties on the local Vol Network Affiliate. He will be joined by analyst Ramon Foster, alongside co-host Jayson Swain, while Brent Hubbs reports from the sideline.
If you’re looking for a Spanish broadcast, you can follow along with Carlos Lopez on WNML AM 990, or the Sports Animal App, as well as the Tennessee Athletics app. A stream can also be found on UTSports.com.
Music City Bowl opt-outs
Though the big-name quarterbacks will be active, there are plenty of faces that will not be participating on Tuesday.
Tennessee is hit the hardest, featuring five opt-outs. They’ll be without a member at all three levels of the defense, as cornerback Colton Hood, linebacker Arion Carter and edge rusher Joshua Josephs opted for the NFL Draft during the month of December. It’ll also be without cornerback Jermod McCoy, who hasn’t participated in a game this season, but also opted for the draft. On the offensive side of the ball, All-SEC wide receiver Chris Brazzell II also elected to head to the draft, ending his collegiate career.
As for the transfer portal, Tennessee has seven members of the 2025 squad announce their intentions to enter the transfer portal. That includes running back Peyton Lewis, quarterback Jake Merklinger, corner Marcus Goree Jr., linebacker Brenden Anes, edge Kellen Lindstrom, defensive lineman Jamal Wallace and defensive back Boo Carter.
For Illinois, its big fish is early-round projected draft pick Gabe Jacas — who earned All-Big Ten First Team honors this season. Jacas, a one-time Tennessee target, recorded 11 sacks this season. They’ll also be without starting left tackle J.C. Davis, who recorded an 86.6 PFF grade across 776 snaps.
Safety Matthew Baily underwent surgery prior to the bowl game, so he will be unavailable, too.
The Illini had corner Vernon Woodward III, wide receiver Mario Sanders II, defensive lineman Jeremiah Warren, linebacker Easton Baker, quarterback Trey Petty and wide receiver Malik Elzy all announce their intentions to enter the portal.
