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Tennessee football will play Illinois in Music City Bowl on Dec. 30
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- Tennessee football will play Illinois in Music City Bowl on Dec. 30
Tennessee football will play Illinois in the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl in Nashville.
The game will take place on Dec. 30 (5:30 p.m. ET, ESPN) at Nissan Stadium.
"We appreciate the opportunity to send our seniors out with one final game in our home state in the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl," said Tennessee coach Josh Heupel in a school release on Dec. 7. "The opportunity to prepare and compete against an outstanding Big Ten opponent the caliber of Illinois is one we look forward to. Vol Nation has been unwavering in its loyalty and support of our players. It's something we never take for granted. We are excited to go play in front of them one more time in 2025 in Nashville."
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The 23rd-ranked Vols (8-4) were tied for the eighth-best record in the 16-team SEC. Illinois (8-4) was seventh in the Big Ten. Tennessee and Illinois have never played in football before.
This will be Tennessee's fourth appearance in the Music City Bowl, but its first since 2021. It had a 1-2 record in those games.
The Vols' other Music City Bowl appearances include:
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North Carolina 30, Tennessee 27, 2OT (Dec. 30, 2010)
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Tennessee 38, Nebraska 24 (Dec. 30, 2016)
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Purdue 48, Tennessee 45, OT (Dec. 30, 2021)
Meanwhile, this is Tennessee's fifth straight postseason appearance under Heupel. The Vols went to the 2021 Music City Bowl, 2022 Orange Bowl, 2023 Citrus Bowl and the 2024 College Football Playoff.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com . X, formerly known as Twitter @AdamSparks . Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe .
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football vs. Illinois in Music City Bowl on Dec. 30
