How Tennessee Football Will Make History Today

Tennessee football will make history in the final game of the season, but how?

Smokey flexing inside Neyland Stadium | @MusicCityBowl

The Tennessee Volunteers will be tasked with playing in their final game of the season on Tuesday, as they won more than six games, which qualified them for a bowl game. The Vols finished the regular season with a record of 8-4, which was a fall off from the year prior, but they also exceeded expectations after losing nearly 40 players in the off-season. That is a large bulk, and the youngest team in the SEC still made some solid headlines.

The Vols will be playing in the Music City Bowl game, which is the same bowl game that the Vols played in during Josh Heupel's first season. That game is against Purdue, but this time the Vols will be up against the Illinois Fighting Illini, who are looking to finish their season strong under the authority of Bret Bielema. When you take a look at how the season went for both of these teams, you have to imagine that this game will be one of the headliner games across the bowl season.

Tennessee Will Make History Regardless of the Outcome

Nov 29, 2025; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Volunteers running back Desean Bishop (18) celebrates with teammates after a touchdown against the Vanderbilt Commodores during the first half at Neyland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn Images | Randy Sartin-Imagn Images

Fans may have forgotten that no matter the outcome of this game, the Vols are making history. That is because this is the Vols' final football game in the Nike uniforms. The Vols were signed through this season by Nike, but didn't sign an extension with them and will be back with Adidas (who they were with prior to being with Nike). The Vols are expected to be a headline program for the Adidas brand come next season, and they will have some new uniforms that they have some creative control over.

In the final game with the Vols repping the Nike check, the Volunteers will be wearing their traditional white uniforms due to them being the away team by bowl game regulations. The Vols will sport white pants as well instead of wearing the orange britches for one final time in the Nike cycle.

The Vols will hope to end the season the right way, as they have hopes of securing their 9th win of the season, but nothing is for sure. This being said, the Vols were heavy favorites, and they are now slight favorites in Vegas after multiple injuries and opt-outs have caused the Vols to dig deep into their bag of young guys and put together a roster for what will be the most important game of the season for the orange and white.

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