Nashville, TN (AP) – Illinois coach Bret Bielema had a bit of a history lesson the night before the Music City Bowl on just what his Fighting Illini could accomplish with one more win.

David Olano kicked a 29-yard field goal as time expired, and Illinois beat Tennessee 30-28 Tuesday night to finish 9-4. The Fighting Illini also posted the first back-to-back nine-win seasons in program history along with winning the first game between these programs.

“We don’t have to read about other years anymore,” Bielema said. “I think people usually either read about history or write history, and this group’s writing history and I think we’ll continue to do that.”

Olano’s winning kick was his third field goal of the game. Luke Altmyer threw for 196 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score. Leon Lowery Jr. recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, and Illinois had four sacks.

Tennessee (8-5) finishes the season having lost two straight held to a season-low 278 yards total offense. The Vols also missed out on a fourth straight season with at least nine wins.

“Obviously everybody’s disappointed, but this has got to be something that you take with you through the offseason and probably use this as motivation and give us a chance to get better and get stronger,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said. “And we’ll be back ready to roll in ’26, I promise you that.”

The Fighting Illini helped the Big Ten stay undefeated this bowl season, improving to 6-0. The Southeastern Conference dropped to 2-5 with this loss.

Tennessee trailed by as many as 10 points twice and took a 28-27 lead when Joakim Dodson returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown with 4:58 left. It was the freshman’s first kickoff return of his career.

Illinois never gave the ball back.

“Really cool to end it that way,” Altmyer said.

DeSean Bishop also ran for 93 yards and two TDs, and Joey Aguilar ran for a TD for Tennessee.

Illinois smothered a Tennessee offense that ranked inside the top 10 nationally for yards per game, averaging 40.8 points. The Vols had scored at least 40 in seven games during the regular season. Illinois finished with 417 yards total offense.

The Fighting Illini went up 17-7 after Joe Barna sacked Aguilar and stripped the Tennessee quarterback of the ball, which bounced into the end zone where Lowery covered it up for the TD with 11:48 left in the third quarter.

Altmyer made it 24-14 with a 2-yard keeper late in the third quarter.

Takeaways

Illinois didn’t have leading tackler with outside linebacker Gabe Jacas, the Big Ten Conference sack leader, having opted out for the NFL draft. The defense, ranked 56th nationally holding opponents to 23.3 points a game, turned in its best performance this season.

Tennessee played without three defensive starters. On offense, the Vols didn’t have lineman Wendell Moe, who started 11 games but was on crutches, and Chris Brazzell II, the SEC’s leading receiver, who opted out to prepare for the NFL draft. Aguilar also snapped a streak of 36 straight Division I games throwing for at least 200 yards.

Up next

Illinois has to find a replacement for Altmyer. Bielema also has to replace a left tackle with J.C. Davis heading to the NFL draft.

Tennessee needs an experienced quarterback in the transfer portal. Aguilar is among the plaintiffs with Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia seeking to stop the NCAA from enforcing eligibility rules against former junior college players. George MacIntyre is a freshman, with Faizon Brandon, an early enrollee.

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