The Tennessee Volunteers and the Illinois Fighting Illini will clash in the Music City Bowl to close out each team’s season on Tuesday. The game will take place in Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans, in Nashville, TN.
While opt-outs and portal departures are common in today’s day and age, both Tennessee and Illinois will have their starting quarterbacks back at the helm for the game. Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar will be the starting signal caller for the Vols and Luke Altmyer will lead the Illini’s offense.
With both quarterbacks still in the fold, it could wind up being a high-scoring affair in the Music City. The over/under is currently sitting at , and it’s one of Bleacher Report’s Adam Kramer’s favorite bets for the game.
“While the total is massive on paper, this game screams fun and scoreboard explosions,” Kramer wrote.
When the game was first announced back in December, Tennessee opened up as the heavy 6.5-point favorite on FanDuel. That number has moved significantly in the Illini’s direction, though. With time winding down until the game, the Vols currently sit as a point favorite.
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Tennessee finished the regular season with the top scoring offense in the SEC at 40.75 points per game. The Vols’ defense didn’t perform nearly as well, which led to the firing of defensive coordinator Tim Banks. Tennessee’s defense finished 14th in the SEC in defense scoring by allowing 28.75 points per game.
But while Tennessee was at the top and near the bottom of the offensive and defensive numbers, Illinois was more in the middle of the pack in its conference for both. The Fighting Illini scored 29.3 points per game, which is good for 7th in the Big Ten. Illinois’ defense ranked 13th in its conference in defensive scoring, giving up 23.3 points per game.
“The keys, as I see it, are going to be figuring out how the 13th-best rushing attack in a 18-team Big Ten can have some success running the football on offense to make sure it’s not all on Luke Altmyer and the passing game to make things happen and then being able to get off the field defensively on third downs,” IlliniGuys’ Matthew Stevens told Rocky Top Insider about Illinois in a game preview. “Illinois has had one of the nation’s best third-down defenses this season and it’s bit them badly in road losses at Washington and Wisconsin. It hasn’t been about getting to a 3rd-and-8 situation for Aaron Henry’s defense, it’s been about containing the middle of the field options when the third-down scenario comes about.”
Here’s a look at some of the betting odds for the game on Tuesday evening in Nashville:
The Tennessee Volunteers (8-4) and the Illinois Fighting Illini will square off at 5:30 p.m. ET on Tuesday evening in Nissan Stadium. The game will be broadcast on ESPN. Stay tuned to Rocky Top Insider for more Tennessee football coverage.