Betting

Tennessee vs Illinois Preview & Picks – Back Volunteers For Music City Bowl Victory

leigh-copson
16 Dec 2025
leigh-copson
Leigh Copson 16 Dec 2025
Share this article
Or copy link
  • Tennessee vs Illinois picks for Tuesday, December 30
  • Music City Bowl is taking place at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee
  • Preview, predictions, stats & form
(Getty Images)

Tennessee vs Illinois Preview & Picks

Tennessee are backed to wrap up their season with a Music City Bowl victory.

The Volunteers ended the regular season with a rough loss to Vanderbilt, but Joey Aguilar and this offense can make enough plays to end their campaign on a high.

  • Tennessee were 8-0 against unranked teams in the regular season
  • Illinois are 1-2-0 ATS in games against ranked teams
  • The Under hit in 2 of Tennessee’s previous 3 road games
  • The Under has cashed in each of Illinois’ last 4 games

Head To Head

  • This will be the first time that the two teams have met

Tennessee Form

Tennessee suffered four defeats to ranked teams during the regular season, but eight wins was enough to ensure a Bowl game appearance.

The Volunteers opened with back-to-back non-conference wins, before suffering the first of their four losses as they dropped their SEC opener at home to Georgia, 44-41.

They rebounded with a non-conference victory, and backed that up in conference play as they beat Mississippi State 41-34 and Arkansas 34-31, only to then lose 37-20 at Alabama.

Tennessee failed to build on a 56-34 victory over Kentucky as they lost 33-27 to Oklahoma, but they rebounded with a non-conference win before beating Florida 31-11.

The Volunteers endured a miserable end to the season though, as they lost 45-24 at home to Vanderbilt.

Illinois Form

Illinois lost three of their final six regular season games to finish 8-4, but that was enough to land them this meeting with Tennessee.

The Fighting Illinois broke into AP’s top 10 early in the season as they won three non-conference matchups, but their rise was quickly halted by a defeat in their Big Ten opener.

They were blown out at Indiana 63-10, but rebounded over the next couple of weeks to beat USC 34-32 and Purdue 43-27.

Illinois’ momentum was then halted by a 34-16 loss to Ohio State and a 42-25 defeat at Washington, although they bounced back to beat Rutgers 35-13 and Maryland 24-6 at home.

The Fighting Illini failed to make it three-in-a-row as they were beaten 27-10 in Wisconsin, but they did conclude the regular season with a win, beating Northwestern 20-13.

Verdict

Tennessee’s final outing of the regular season was a stinker, but we are backing them to bounce back.

There will be some opt outs here, but Joey Aguilar is expected to feature and he can be the difference as the Volunteers sign off with a victory.

Best Bet1: Tennessee -5.5 Spread @-111.11 at Stake.us - 4 Units
Best Bet2: Under 60.5 Total Points @-111.11 at Stake.us - 2 Units
Tennessee -5.5
Spread
@-111.11 - 4 Units
55 Stake Cash no deposit & 550,000 Gold Coins & 5% Rakeback
Use promo code NEWBONUS

Sign up with the code NEWBONUS. When you verify your account get 25 Stake Cash for free PLUS 250,000 Gold Coins and 5% Rakeback! No deposit required. Login each day for the next 30 days and get an additional 30 Stake Cash AND 300,000 Gold Coins. 21+ only. T&Cs apply. Excludes WA, NY, NV, ID, KY, MI, VT, NJ, DE, WV, PA, RI & MD.

Bet at Stake.us
Under 60.5
Total Points
@-111.11 - 2 Units
55 Stake Cash no deposit & 550,000 Gold Coins & 5% Rakeback
Use promo code NEWBONUS

Sign up with the code NEWBONUS. When you verify your account get 25 Stake Cash for free PLUS 250,000 Gold Coins and 5% Rakeback! No deposit required. Login each day for the next 30 days and get an additional 30 Stake Cash AND 300,000 Gold Coins. 21+ only. T&Cs apply. Excludes WA, NY, NV, ID, KY, MI, VT, NJ, DE, WV, PA, RI & MD.

Bet at Stake.us

See also