The Illinis Fighting Illini are just hours away from playing the Tennessee Volunteers in the Music City Bowl in Nashville. Although the hype around the game is centered around both teams’desires to win nine games, there is an undersold element that adds to the drama entering the Big Ten-SEC matchup.

Tennessee place kicker Max Gilbert (90) kicks the ball during warm-ups at the 2025 Music City Bowl at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., on Dec. 30, 2025.

It took a miracle kickoff return by freshman Joakim Dodson for Tennessee to have a shot late, but that still ended up not being enough.