Tennessee @ Illinois Game Overview
TENN vs ILLRecords
TENN RecordLast 10
| Date | vs | Result | ATS | O/U |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 29, '25 |
VAN
|
L 24 - 45 | L -2.5 | o66.5 |
| Nov 22, '25 |
@
FLA
|
W 31 - 11 | W -3.5 | u58.5 |
| Nov 15, '25 |
NMSU
|
W 42 - 9 | L -42.5 | u59.5 |
| Nov 01, '25 |
OKLA
|
L 27 - 33 | L -2.5 | o55.5 |
| Oct 25, '25 |
@
UK
|
W 56 - 34 | W -7.5 | o54.5 |
| Oct 18, '25 |
@
ALA
|
L 20 - 37 | L 9.5 | u61.5 |
| Oct 11, '25 |
ARK
|
W 34 - 31 | L -10.5 | u68.5 |
| Sep 27, '25 |
@
MSST
|
W 41 - 34 | W -5.5 | o65.5 |
| Sep 20, '25 |
UAB
|
W 56 - 24 | L -39.5 | o69.5 |
| Sep 13, '25 |
UGA
|
L 41 - 44 | L 2.5 | o51.5 |
TENN Next 3 Games
Tennessee does not have any upcoming games scheduled.
TENN vs ILL Preview
Illinois quarterback Luke Altmyer recalls attending the 2011 Music City Bowl as his hometown university, Mississippi State, participated in the game in Nashville, Tenn.
That's why Altmyer plans to relish Tuesday's opportunity to face Tennessee in the 2025 edition of the game at Nissan Stadium.
Opting out to prepare for the NFL draft hardly was a consideration.
"These bowl games are very, very core memories for families, for myself, for the guys obviously," Altmyer said. "It's something I don't take for granted. It's going to stick with me forever, so I'm going to give it my best to make it a good one."
Volunteers quarterback Joey Aguilar agrees, although he acknowledges the tempered enthusiasm for a meeting of 8-4 schools that opened the season with College Football Playoff aspirations.
"You could say it's important. You could say it's not," Aguilar said. "I'm excited to go out there and play one more time for this team."
Aguilar and Altmyer guided strong attacks during the regular season. Aguilar topped the SEC regular season with 3,444 passing yards and accounted for 27 total touchdowns, while Altmyer passed for 2,811 yards with 21 TDs and just five interceptions.
Altmyer will need to adjust to someone else minding his blind side, however, as left tackle J.C. Davis opted out of the game and declared for the draft.
Illinois coach Bret Bielema has mulled multiple options for a replacement, including redshirt freshman Nathan Knapik and reserve guard Brandon Hansen.
The Volunteers' opt-outs include wide receiver Chris Brazzell II, linebacker Arion Carter, edge rusher Joshua Josephs and defensive backs Colton Hood and Jermod McCoy.
"We feel good about where we're at," Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. "Guys that are here are ready to go play."
Tuesday marks the first time that Tennessee and Illinois will meet in football.
Bielema is aiming to become the first coach in program history to earn a bowl victory in consecutive seasons. Illinois also is bidding to win at least nine games in successive seasons for the first time.
Heupel has led Tennessee to at least eight victories in four of his five seasons at the school.
--Field Level Media
TENN vs ILLInjury report
Tennessee's Injuries
| Player | POS | Status | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No injuries to report. | ||||
Illinois's Injuries
| Player | POS | Status | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No injuries to report. | ||||
QB Passing StatsRecent Games
| Date | Score | YDS | Att | Comp | Comp % | Y/A | TD/Int | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| J.Aguilar | Nov 22, 2025 | FLA 11 - TENN 31 | 204 | 22 | 17 | 77.3 | 9.3 | 1/0 | 170.2 |
| J.Aguilar | Nov 15, 2025 | TENN 42 - NMSU 9 | 204 | 23 | 17 | 73.9 | 8.9 | 1/2 | 145.4 |
| G.MacIntyre | Nov 15, 2025 | TENN 42 - NMSU 9 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | 8.5 | 0/0 | 121.4 |
| J.Merklinger | Nov 15, 2025 | TENN 42 - NMSU 9 | -2 | 2 | 1 | 50.0 | -1.0 | 0/0 | 41.6 |
| J.Aguilar | Nov 1, 2025 | TENN 27 - OKLA 33 | 393 | 45 | 29 | 64.4 | 8.7 | 3/2 | 150.9 |
| J.Aguilar | Oct 25, 2025 | UK 34 - TENN 56 | 396 | 26 | 20 | 76.9 | 15.2 | 3/0 | 242.9 |
| Date | Score | YDS | Att | Comp | Comp % | Y/A | TD/Int | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| L.Altmyer | Nov 29, 2025 | ILL 20 - NW 13 | 136 | 15 | 10 | 66.7 | 9.1 | 0/0 | 142.8 |
| L.Altmyer | Nov 22, 2025 | WIS 27 - ILL 10 | 248 | 35 | 21 | 60.0 | 7.1 | 0/0 | 119.5 |
| L.Altmyer | Nov 15, 2025 | ILL 24 - MD 6 | 172 | 25 | 15 | 60.0 | 6.9 | 2/1 | 136.2 |
| L.Altmyer | Nov 1, 2025 | ILL 35 - RUTG 13 | 235 | 31 | 19 | 61.3 | 7.6 | 4/1 | 161.1 |
| L.Altmyer | Oct 25, 2025 | WASH 42 - ILL 25 | 199 | 34 | 22 | 64.7 | 5.9 | 2/2 | 121.5 |
TENN vs ILL Offense vs Defense
Key Stats League ranks in parenthesis
| OFFENSE |
Off. Rank | Stat | Def. Rank | DEFENSE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 482.0 | (3) | Yards | (62) | 350.7 |
| 6.6 | (20) | Yards/Play | (47) | 5.3 |
| 174.8 | (35) | Rush Yds | (47) | 124.2 |
| 38.2 | (29) | Rush Att | (51) | 31.7 |
| 4.6 | (52) | Yards/Rush | (54) | 3.9 |
| 307.2 | (5) | Pass Yds | (95) | 226.5 |
| 34.9 | (20) | Pass Att | (123) | 34.2 |
| 23.2 | (11) | Comp | (129) | 21.6 |
| 66.3 | (19) | Comp% | (96) | 63.0 |
| 13.3 | (27) | Yards/Comp | (16) | 10.5 |
| 8.8 | (13) | Yards/Att | (45) | 6.6 |
| 155.9 | (15) | QB rating | (63) | 130.9 |
| League Avg. |
|---|
| 373.0 |
| 5.6 |
| 154.3 |
| 36.0 |
| 4.3 |
| 219.3 |
| 30.5 |
| 18.9 |
| 61.9 |
| 11.6 |
| 7.2 |
| - |
More Stats
| OFFENSE |
Off. Rank | Stat | Def. Rank | DEFENSE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1.5 | (63) | Sacks | (38) | 2.1 |
| 11.7 | (95) | Sack Yds | (--) | 10.3 |
| 0.8 | (83) | Intercepts | (108) | 0.5 |
| 0.4 | (65) | Fumbles | (29) | 0.8 |
| 6.3 | (92) | Penalties | (81) | 5.9 |
| 55.6 | (93) | Penalty Yds | (80) | 52.2 |
| League Avg. |
|---|
| 2.0 |
| 13.3 |
| 0.8 |
| 0.5 |
| 6.0 |
| 52.7 |
Points
| OFFENSE |
Off. Rank | Stat | Def. Rank | DEFENSE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40.8 | (2) | Score | (73) | 23.2 |
| 13.8 | (1) | 1st Q | (85) | 5.7 |
| 11.2 | (10) | 2nd Q | (50) | 6.4 |
| 8.6 | (8) | 3rd Q | (51) | 4.6 |
| 6.2 | (74) | 4th Q | (79) | 6.6 |
| League Avg. |
|---|
| 26.4 |
| 5.8 |
| 8.0 |
| 5.7 |
| 6.7 |
Special Teams
| OFFENSE |
Off. Rank | Stat | Def. Rank | DEFENSE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10.2 | (48) | Yards/Punt Ret | (16) | 4.2 |
| 24.6 | (1) | Yards/KO Ret | (29) | 22.5 |
| 18.0 | (84) | FG Att | (19) | 15.0 |
| 14.0 | (86) | FG Made | (46) | 14.0 |
| 77.8 | (92) | FG% | (121) | 93.3 |
| League Avg. |
|---|
| 9.6 |
| 20.5 |
| 88.7 |
| 67.5 |
| 76.2 |