Tennessee Volunteers Tennessee 8-5
28 Final Dec 30, 2025
Illinois Fighting Illini Illinois 9-4
30 Stats Markets Info
Closing line US sportsbook at kickoff Spread TENN −3 −105
ILL +3 −115
Total O/U Over 61.5 −115
Under 61.5 −105
Spread: Illinois +3 covered. Total O/U: under 61.5 (58 points).
Recap Illinois edged Tennessee 30-28 in the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Dec 30, 2025 to move to 9-4.
The go-ahead score came with 0:03 left in the fourth quarter: David Olano 29 Yd Field Goal. The lead changed hands 3 times.
Score by quarter Tennessee Volunteers and Illinois Fighting Illini, score by quarter Team 1 2 3 4 T TENN 7 0 7 14 28 ILL 7 3 14 6 30
Scoring plays First Quarter TENN Touchdown · 6:16 Joey Aguilar 7 Yd Run (Max Gilbert Kick) 7 - 0 ILL Touchdown · 0:36 Justin Bowick 18 Yd pass from Luke Altmyer (David Olano Kick) 7 - 7 Second Quarter ILL Field Goal · 0:21 David Olano 30 Yd Field Goal 7 - 10 Third Quarter ILL Touchdown · 11:48 Leon Lowery Jr. 0 Yd Fumble Recovery (David Olano Kick) 7 - 17 TENN Touchdown · 7:31 DeSean Bishop 1 Yd Run (Max Gilbert Kick) 14 - 17 ILL Touchdown · 2:41 Luke Altmyer 2 Yd Run (David Olano Kick) 14 - 24 Fourth Quarter TENN Touchdown · 11:40 DeSean Bishop 12 Yd Run (Max Gilbert Kick) 21 - 24 ILL Field Goal · 5:14 David Olano 28 Yd Field Goal 21 - 27 TENN Touchdown · 4:58 Joakim Dodson 94 Yd Kickoff Return (Max Gilbert Kick) 28 - 27 ILL Field Goal · 0:03 David Olano 29 Yd Field Goal 28 - 30
Team stats TENN ILL
1st Downs 18 27
Total Yards 278 417
Passing 121 196
Rushing 157 221
3rd down efficiency 5-10 6-13
Turnovers 1 0
Possession 24:14 35:46
Top performers Tennessee Volunteers Illinois Fighting Illini
Passing Joey Aguilar 14/18, 121 YDS
Luke Altmyer 20/33, 196 YDS, 1 TD
Rushing DeSean Bishop 19 CAR, 93 YDS, 2 TD
Aidan Laughery 13 CAR, 77 YDS
Receiving Mike Matthews 3 REC, 43 YDS
Hudson Clement 3 REC, 48 YDS
Sacks Daevin Hobbs 0.5
Malachi Hood 1
Tackles Jeremiah Telander 9
James Thompson Jr. 7
Player stats Tennessee · Passing Player C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT QBR Joey Aguilar 14/18 121 6.7 0 0 64.5
Tennessee · Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD LONG DeSean Bishop 19 93 4.9 2 18 Star Thomas 9 67 7.4 0 21 Joey Aguilar 9 -3 -0.3 1 15
Tennessee · Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD LONG Mike Matthews 3 43 14.3 0 17 Braylon Staley 4 31 7.8 0 14 Star Thomas 1 18 18.0 0 18 Radarious Jackson 2 18 9.0 0 13 DeSean Bishop 3 8 2.7 0 12 Miles Kitselman 1 3 3.0 0 3
Tennessee · Fumbles Player FUM LOST REC Joey Aguilar 1 1 0
Tennessee · Defense Player TOT SOLO SACKS TFL PD QB HUR TD Jeremiah Telander 9 4 0 0.5 0 0 0 Edwin Spillman 7 4 0 0 0 0 0 William Wright 6 4 0 0 1 0 0 Bryson Eason 6 3 0 1 1 0 0 Jadon Perlotte 6 2 0.5 1 0 0 0 Jordan Ross 6 0 0 0.5 0 1 0 Edrees Farooq 5 3 0 0 1 0 0 Jaedon Harmon 4 4 0 0 0 0 0
Tennessee · Kick returns Player NO YDS AVG LONG TD Joakim Dodson 2 114 57.0 94 1 Daune Morris 1 23 23.0 23 0
Tennessee · Kicking Player FG PCT LONG XP PTS Max Gilbert 0/1 0.0 0 4/4 4
Tennessee · Punting Player NO YDS AVG TB In 20 LONG Jackson Ross 2 78 39.0 0 1 39
Illinois · Passing Player C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT QBR Luke Altmyer 20/33 196 5.9 1 0 69.8 Hank Beatty 0/1 0 0.0 0 0 4.8
Illinois · Rushing Player CAR YDS AVG TD LONG Aidan Laughery 13 77 5.9 0 28 Ca'Lil Valentine 8 65 8.1 0 16 Luke Altmyer 10 54 5.4 1 14 Jordan Anderson 2 15 7.5 0 13 Kaden Feagin 3 8 2.7 0 4 Hank Beatty 1 5 5.0 0 5 Team 2 -3 -1.5 0 0
Illinois · Receiving Player REC YDS AVG TD LONG Hudson Clement 3 48 16.0 0 24 Hank Beatty 6 38 6.3 0 10 Justin Bowick 3 31 10.3 1 18 Ca'Lil Valentine 3 28 9.3 0 18 Tanner Arkin 2 23 11.5 0 15 Ashton Hollins 1 18 18.0 0 18 Collin Dixon 2 10 5.0 0 6
Illinois · Fumbles Player FUM LOST REC Leon Lowery Jr. 0 0 1
Illinois · Defense Player TOT SOLO SACKS TFL PD QB HUR TD James Thompson Jr. 7 2 0.5 0.5 0 0 0 Miles Scott 5 3 0 0 0 0 0 Malachi Hood 5 2 1 1 0 0 0 Daniel Brown 5 2 0 0 0 0 0 Dylan Rosiek 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 Torrie Cox Jr. 4 3 0 0 0 0 0 Eli Coenen 4 2 1 1 0 0 0 Joe Barna 4 1 1 1 0 0 0
Illinois · Kick returns Player NO YDS AVG LONG TD Ca'Lil Valentine 1 21 21.0 21 0
Illinois · Kicking Player FG PCT LONG XP PTS David Olano 3/3 100.0 30 3/3 12
Illinois · Punting Player NO YDS AVG TB In 20 LONG Keelan Crimmins 1 41 41.0 0 0 41
Game info Venue Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN
Attendance 52,815
TV ESPN · national
Scores, stats and closing line: ESPN. Prediction-market prices: Kalshi and Polymarket. Betting splits: a consensus across several sportsbooks. Odds change constantly: confirm the price at the book. 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER .
Game details updated Oct 13, 5:21 PM ET. How game pages are made
