Tennessee Football Learns Bowl Game and Opponent

The Vols learn their final contest during selection Sunday.

Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar (6) looks around the stadium after losing a NCAA football game between Tennessee and Vanderbilt at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Nov. 29, 2025. | Angelina Alcantar/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Tennessee Volunteers have entirely wrapped up their 2025 regular season as they finish the season with only four losses, despite losing a large majority of their football team during the transfer portal period in the off-season. This forced the Tennessee Volunteers to use a lot of new guys and a lot of guys who were expected to be rotational players, as the majority of their roster is on the younger side with 50% of their roster currently freshmen.

The Tennessee Volunteers winning over six games allows them to play one more game, which is a game that they will be playing for a bowl championship. The Tennessee Vols have been one of the better teams on the offensive side of the football this season, while their defensive struggles never really mellowed out at any point of this season, which many like to blame as the issue. However, football is a team effort, and the Vols truly exceeded expectations considering all of the adversity that they had to battle during the offseason.

The Vols have learned their opponent and ball game, which will be the final game of this season before they turn their focus completely to the new season ahead, which will begin next year. The Vols will be participating in a bowl game that will feel more like a home game, as they will be inside a stadium that is inside the state lines.

Who Will Tennessee Play

Tennessee wide receiver Chris Brazzell II (17) moves the ball while grabbed by New Mexico State safety Armahn Hale (2) during an NCAA college football game on November 15, 2025, in Knoxville, Tenn. | Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Vols will be playing against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Music City Bowl, which is a bowl game in Nashville, Tennessee. This is quite the distance to travel for Illinois, while this is a minor road trip for the Vols.

This game is slated for a Tuesday, as this game is scheduled to be played on Tuesday, December 30th, 2025, at 5:30 PM EST. This game will be played on the same field that the Vols played on in Heupel's first year, when they were defeated by the Purdue Boilermakers in questionable fashion. This is also the same field that the Vols played on just two seasons later when they defeated the Virginia Cavaliers with Joe Milton as their starting QB.

This is going to be a team that can battle test the Vols, as Illinois has a lot of solid pieces, and this is no easy matchup for the Big Orange, but the Vols will enter this game prepared with the hopes of winning this game, and putting a bow on the 2025 season.

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