NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Tennessee Volunteers will face Illinois in the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl today at Nissan Stadium, marking the first-ever matchup between the SEC and Big Ten schools.
Both teams enter the game with 8-4 records, giving the Vols a chance to secure another nine-win season and end on a positive note after their last outing — a 45-25 loss to Vanderbilt about a month ago.
Tennessee is familiar with this bowl game, having played in the Music City Bowl multiple times before. The Vols fell to Purdue in overtime in 2021 but defeated Nebraska in 2016. That 2016 game featured future NFL stars Alvin Kamara, now with the New Orleans Saints, and Jauan Jennings of the San Francisco 49ers.
The game kicks off at 4:30 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.
"This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy."
September 11, 2001 is a day most associate with terror and tragedy. Austin Pollack shares a story from that day about hope and persistence: the effort to save a little girl’s life – with an organ donation. The problem? The young patient was in Houston, and her life-saving liver here in Nashville. With the grounding of all civilian aircraft, how could it be done? “Nobody ever said this isn’t possible.”
- Rhori Johnston
