Tennessee Favored Over Illinois in Music City Bowl After Key Opt-Outs

Oddsmakers favor Tennessee by about a touchdown, with absences on both sides steering expectations toward a pass-heavy game.

Overview

Kickoff is Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 5:30 p.m. ET at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, with TV coverage on ESPN.
Betting markets list Tennessee around -7.5 on the spread with a moneyline near -265 and a total in the high 50s to low 60s.
Both teams will lean on replacements, with Tennessee missing Chris Brazzell II, Colton Hood, Joshua Josephs and Arion Carter, and Illinois without Matthew Bailey, J.C. Davis and Big Ten sack leader Gabe Jacas.
Redshirt lineman Nathan Knapik is expected to make his first career start at left tackle for Illinois against a Tennessee pass rush averaging three sacks per game.
Vols quarterback Joey Aguilar is within 376 passing yards and 242 total-offense yards of Peyton Manning’s single-season UT records, and a Tennessee win would give Josh Heupel a fourth straight nine-win season as predictions point to a high-scoring contest.