For anyone who needed a reminder that bowl season still exists outside of the College Football Playoff, the Tennessee Volunteers faced the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl on December 30 in Nashville. Illinois outlasted Tennessee 30-28.
It looked early in the third quarter like Illinois might pull away. A Joey Aguilar fumble was returned for a touchdown by Leon Lowery Jr., pushing the Illini’s lead to 17-7. Tennessee responded immediately, marching 75 yards in nine plays, capped by a one-yard touchdown run from DeSean Bishop to cut the deficit to 17-14.
Illinois answered again with a methodical eight-play, 68-yard drive to restore its 10-point cushion.
The Volunteers opened the fourth quarter with another long drive, this one covering 79 yards on 14 plays, with Bishop scoring again on a 12-yard run. That would be the final time Tennessee’s offense touched the ball for the rest of the game, though the Vols briefly regained the lead when they returned a kickoff for a touchdown to go up 28-27.
“Tennessee’s offense didn’t see the field over the final 11:40 of the game,” Brian Fremeau posted on X. “Vols had a kickoff return touchdown sandwiched between 12- and 13-play Illinois field goal drives.”
Illinois needed only two field goals the rest of the way. The game-winner capped a 13-play, 65-yard drive that drained nearly five minutes off the clock.
Tennessee Loss To Illinois Worse Than Expected
The Big Ten added another bowl victory to its résumé with Illinois’ Music City Bowl win, improving the conference to 6-1 this postseason. Meanwhile, the SEC fell to 2-5. While some, including OutKick’s Clay Travis, argue bowl games no longer carry the same weight due to opt-outs, the result still most likely resonated with fans on both sides, not to mention added conference pride.
For Tennessee specifically, the loss highlighted an uncomfortable trend. The defeat meant the Vols finished the season without a single win over an FBS opponent with a winning record.
Tennessee’s wins came against Syracuse (3-9), UAB (4-8), Mississippi State (5-7), Arkansas (2-10), Kentucky (5-7), New Mexico State (4-8) and Florida (4-8), a group that combined for a 27-57 record. The Vols also defeated ETSU (7-5), an FCS opponent.
That context makes it easier to understand why some Tennessee fans are uneasy heading into 2026.
“Bowl games are worthless exhibitions at this point with all the top players sitting out so I don’t give them a ton of predictive value for next season typically, but this Illinois performance mirrored the entire season which is why it’s concerning for 2026,” Travis wrote.
Was Tennessee Expected To Be Mediocre In 2025?
Despite being the preseason ranked No. 24 team in the country, Tennessee entered the 2025 season facing significant roster turnover and unanswered questions.
In the spring, the Vols lost starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava to UCLA. That departure eventually led to Joey Aguilar — who transferred to UCLA in December — entering the portal and landing in Knoxville.
Tennessee also lost wide receiver Squirrel White to Florida State and safety Jakobe Thomas to Miami via the transfer portal, while running back Dylan Sampson and edge rusher James Pearce Jr. departed for the NFL draft.
An 8-5 finish may not have been what Tennessee hoped for, but it wasn’t entirely unexpected given the circumstances. Still, it marked the second-worst season of Josh Heupel’s five-year tenure in Knoxville. Heupel now sits at 45-20 overall, with one playoff appearance and a 2-3 postseason record.
The Vols’ head coach has already begun making adjustments for next season, starting with the hire of new defensive coordinator Jim Knowles. That move may only be the beginning of broader staff changes as Tennessee looks ahead to 2026.
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