Tennessee Football opens as favorite against Illinois in the Music City Bowl

Tennessee Football on Sunday opened as a 5.5-point favorite over Illinois in the Music City Bowl in Nashville, according to odds set by BetMGM, with the total at 61.5. 

The Vols (8-4) and Illini (8-4) on December 30 are scheduled for a 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time start on ESPN at Nissan Stadium. 

The full bowl season schedule and bowl matchups were announced on Sunday afternoon, following the release of the 12-team College Football Playoff bracket.

Tennessee against the spread this season

The Vols went 5-7 against the spread during the regular season, covering a 13.5-point spread against Syracuse, a 39.5-point spread against ETSU, as a 3.5-point underdog against Georgia, as an 8.5-point favorite at Kentucky and as a 4.5-point favorite at Florida.

Tennessee failed to cover a 38.5-point spread against UAB, a 7.5-point spread at Mississippi State, a 10.5-point spread against Arkansas, an 8.5-point spread at Alabama, a 3.5-point spread against Oklahoma, a 42.5-point spread against New Mexico State and a 2.5-point favorite against Vanderbilt.

The over hit in eight of Tennessee’s 12 regular-season games.

Illinois against the spread this season

Illinois went 7-4-1 against the spread this season, with the over hitting five times and the under hitting seven times.

The Illini were favored against Western Illinois (-48.5), at Duke (-2.5), Western Michigan (-27.5), at Purdue (-7), Rutgers (-13.5), Maryland (-17), at Wisconsin (-9) and Northwestern (-7). They were underdogs at Indiana (+6.5), USC (+6.5), Ohio State (+14.5) and at Washington (+3.5).

Illinois covered against Western Illinois, Duke, Western Michigan, USC, Purdue, Rutgers and Maryland. The Illini didn’t cover against Indiana, Ohio State, Washington and Wisconsin. The Northwestern game on November 29 was a push. 

Tennessee history in the Music City Bowl

Tennessee and Illinois have never met in football, but the Vols have made three appearances in the Music City Bowl.

Tennessee lost to North Carolina 30-27 in the Music City Bowl in December 2010, beat Nebraska 38-25 in December 2016 and lost to Purdue 48-45 in December 2021 to cap the first season under head coach Josh Heupel.

Illinois went 8-4 during the regular season, losing 63-10 at Illinois, 34-16 at home against Ohio State, 42-25 at Washington and 27-10 at Wisconsin. The Illini beat Western Illinois, Duke, Western Michigan, USC, Purdue, Rutgers, Maryland and Northwestern.

Five SEC teams made the College Football Playoff. No. 9 Alabama goes to No. 8 Oklahoma in the first round, No. 7 Texas A&M hosts No. 10 Miami and No. 11 Tulane plays at No. 6 Ole Miss. Georgia as the No. 3 seed got a bye to the Sugar Bowl. 

Vanderbilt will play Iowa in the ReliaQuest Bowl and Texas will face Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. Missouri will face Virginia in the Gator Bowl and LSU will face Houston in the Texas Bowl. Mississippi State plays Wake Forest in the Mayo Bowl.