Illinois HC Bret Bielema accidentally told a lie about Tennessee ahead of matchup against the Vols in the Music City Bowl
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The Tennessee Vols and the Illinois Fighting Illini will face off on Tuesday in Nashville in the Music City Bowl.
Coaches from both programs met with the media on Monday to preview the game.
And Illinois head coach Bret Bielema accidentally told reporters a little white lie.
Bret Bielema completely forgot about playing Tennessee in 2015
Bielema told reporters on Monday that he was excited for Illinois to play against Tennessee in the Music City Bowl because he’s never coached against the Vols before.
“Obviously, this Music City Bowl game vs. SEC, I really wanted that matchup,” said Bielema. “I just got tremendous respect (for the SEC), obviously, being in the league for four or five years. I never had the opportunity to play Tennessee. The powers of the SEC can be very unusual, right?
“I didn’t see Kentucky or Vanderbilt my entire time in the SEC, but I saw Florida twice, saw Georgia twice, and a couple others. So it was always intriguing to me. I’m sure you guys that follow the SEC know what I’m talking about. But I didn’t ever have a chance to see this (Tennessee). So when I heard their name getting floated around for this game, just was really, really excited about it.”
The only problem with those comments is that before Bielema was the head coach at Illinois, he was the head coach at Arkansas from 2013 to 2017. And Bielema led the Razorbacks to a win over Tennessee in 2015 in Neyland Stadium.
That game was 10 years and a couple of Tennessee head coaches ago, so it’s understandable that Bielema didn’t immediately remember his trip to Knoxville in 2015.
Vols fans, on the other hand, are probably wishing they could forget that one — it was undoubtedly one of UT’s toughest losses during the Butch Jones era.
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This story was originally published by A to Z Sports on Dec 29, 2025, where it first appeared in the Nashville section. Add A to Z Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
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