Illinois Gets Signature Music City Bowl Win After Tennessee’s Costly Mistake

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Illinois did it again. It beat an SEC team in a second straight bowl game.

Tennessee came back from down 10 in the fourth quarter, helped by a kick return for a score, but the Illini marched back, ran out the clock, and for a field goal in what turned out to be a historic win for the program.

Illinois vs Tennessee: Five Takeaways From the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl

Illinois coach Bret Bielema is presented with the Music City Bowl trophy after defeating Tennessee in an NCAA college football game on Dec. 30, 2025, in Nashville, Tennessee.© Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

5. The Music City Bowl was fantastic for both sides

Illinois won, and it was a second straight statement victory for the team and head coach Bret Bielema, but as bowl games go, this was a blast.

Tennessee came up with the big kickoff return late, the team battled hard and well, and it all came down to a walk-off kick even after getting beaten on all night.

Illinois controlled the tempo and the clock. It had the ball for almost 36 minutes, it converted seemingly every big play to keep things going – quarterback Luke Altmyer had a whale of a performance – and it found a way to get the job done.

It was a smart gameplan from the Illini, they held the great Volunteer offense to just 278 yards, and …

4. Tennessee totally screwed up the finish

Dec 30, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Joey Aguilar (6) celebrates with his teammates after a touchdown against the Illinois Fighting Illini during the first half at Nissan Stadium.© Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

It seems so obvious and easy now, but it appeared that way at the time, too.

The Vols got the 94-yard kick six from Joakim Dodson on the way to a 28-27 lead, and there were just under five minutes to play.

They never got the ball again.

Give Illinois credit for a beautifully called drive with several gut-check plays, including a perfectly called fourth down conversion, but it was only down one and well within field goal range.

Tennessee had all three timeouts left, along with the two-minute timeout. With its offense and its pop and firepower, it had to get the ball back.

It had to let Illinois score.

Instead, it called all of its timeouts. Illinois was able to get one more first down, it took a few knees, and everyone walked off after a 29-yard field goal. And now …

3. Illinois just made school history

Illinois didn’t win a bowl game from 2011 to 2023, and now it has won two straight.

This also made it the first time Illinois won back-to-back bowl games and had two seasons in a row with nine wins or more.

And now with this win, the 19 victories in 2024 and 2025 mark the greatest two-year run in 134 years of Illini football, beating 1989-1990 and 1902-1903.

This is the type of win that takes a program like Illinois up a few notches. The Illini got to win their season on a huge positive.

In the College Football Playoff, 11 of the 12 teams end the season sad.

The Illini took last year’s Citrus Bowl win over South Carolina and turned it into a changing point for the program going into this year.

No, it wasn’t a CFP run like it was hoping for, but the nine-win run was the third-best season since 1983, and just the eighth time ever with more than eight victories.

2. What’s next for Tennessee going into the offseason?

As always, the Vols will be big players in the portal, with the big call coming with the quarterback situation with Joey Aguilar done.

The defense has to be more consistent, the offense more explosive, and next year, it would be nice to have a big win to be back in the College Football Playoff hunt like it was in 2024.

This was a really, really young team going into the Music City Bowl, and most of the rest of the parts should still be around despite the transfers coming.

There’s a lot to like in the defensive back seven, the offensive line should grow into a plus, and the loss should serve as a motivational catalyst for what should be a great 2026.

The Vols get a tune-up against Furman, follow it up at Georgia State, and then get Kennesaw State before kicking off the SEC season against Texas.

1. What’s next for Illinois going into the offseason?

Dec 30, 2025; Nashville, TN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini quarterback Luke Altmyer (9) celebrates the win against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Nissan Stadium. © Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

Illinois might not be Ohio State, or an elite national title program coming from the Big Ten, but it’s proving to be rock-solid under Bret Bielema.

The first job is to come up with a new quarterback, but it’ll be impossible to find a heart-and-soul type like Luke Altmyer was.

This was a veteran team that has to boost up the depth, along with finding several new starters on the offensive front, but the defense should be a killer. There were a few opt-outs and other losses, but a whole slew of players from the Music City Bowl will be back.

It won’t be a true rebuild, but it’ll take some time against UAB, Duke, and Southern Illinois to get up to speed.

This story was originally published by College Football News on Dec 31, 2025, where it first appeared in the College Football section. Add College Football News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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