Tennessee vs. Illinois Prediction, Odds, Picks - December 30, 2025

Updated Dec. 29, 2025 3:05 p.m. ET

Data Skrive

The Tennessee Volunteers square off against the Illinois Fighting Illini in the Music City Bowl as 3.5-point favorites on December 30, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. ET on ESPN. The total has been set at 61.5 points for this game.

Last time out, the Volunteers fell to the Vanderbilt Commodores, with 45-24 being the final score. Against the Northwestern Wildcats in their last contest, the Fighting Illini won 20-13.

Keep up with college football all season on FOX Sports.

Tennessee vs. Illinois Game Information & Odds

When: Tuesday, December 30, 2025 at 5:30 p.m. ET
Location: Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee
TV: ESPN
Streaming: FOX One + ESPN Bundle

Tennessee vs Illinois Betting Information updated as of December 29, 2025, 2:45 p.m. ET.
Favorite	Spread (Odds)	Favorite Moneyline	Underdog Moneyline	Total	Over Moneyline	Under Moneyline
Tennessee	-3.5 (-105)	-159	+134	61.5	-111	-109

This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.

Tennessee vs. Illinois Prediction

Pick ATS: Illinois (+3.5)
Pick OU: Under (61.5)
Prediction: Illinois 32, Tennessee 28

Predictions are made by the Data Skrive betting model.

Learn more about the Tennessee Volunteers vs. the Illinois Fighting Illini game on FOX Sports!

Tennessee vs. Illinois Betting Insights

Based on the spread and over/under, the implied score for the tilt is Volunteers 32, Fighting Illini 29.
The Volunteers have a 61.4% chance to collect the win in this meeting per the moneyline's implied probability. The Fighting Illini have a 42.7% implied probability.
Tennessee has put together a 5-7-0 record against the spread this season.
Illinois has won seven games against the spread this season, failing to cover or pushing five times.

Tennessee vs. Illinois: 2025 Stats Comparison

	Tennessee	Illinois
Off. Points per Game (Rank)	40.8 (9)	29.3 (63)
Def. Points per Game (Rank)	28.8 (81)	23.3 (47)
Turnovers Allowed (Rank)	15 (54)	11 (12)
Turnovers Forced (Rank)	21 (22)	15 (72)

Tennessee 2025 Key Players

Name	Position	Stats
Joey Aguilar	QB	3,444 YDS (66.8%) / 24 TD / 10 INT 104 RUSH YDS / 3 RUSH TD / 9.5 RUSH YPG
DeSean Bishop	RB	983 YDS / 14 TD / 81.9 YPG / 6 YPC 12 REC / 127 REC YDS / 0 REC TD / 15.9 REC YPG
Chris Brazzell II	WR	62 REC / 1,017 YDS / 9 TD / 84.8 YPG
Star Thomas	RB	529 YDS / 7 TD / 44.1 YPG / 5.6 YPC 10 REC / 98 REC YDS / 2 REC TD / 14 REC YPG
Edrees Farooq	DB	58 TKL / 0 TFL / 2 INT / 2 PD
Edwin Spillman	LB	66 TKL / 3 TFL / 2.5 SACK / 1 INT
Arion Carter	LB	61 TKL / 3 TFL / 1.5 SACK
Joshua Josephs	DL	33 TKL / 3 TFL / 2 SACK

Illinois 2025 Key Players

Name	Position	Stats
Luke Altmyer	QB	2,811 YDS (68.1%) / 21 TD / 5 INT 188 RUSH YDS / 4 RUSH TD / 15.7 RUSH YPG
Hank Beatty	WR	64 REC / 826 YDS / 3 TD / 68.8 YPG
Kaden Feagin	RB	499 YDS / 7 TD / 41.6 YPG / 4.2 YPC 16 REC / 188 REC YDS / 2 REC TD / 20.9 REC YPG
Collin Dixon	WR	33 REC / 538 YDS / 5 TD / 44.8 YPG
Gabe Jacas	LB	39 TKL / 6 TFL / 11 SACK
Matthew Bailey	DB	69 TKL / 3 TFL
Miles Scott	DB	43 TKL / 3 TFL / 1 SACK / 3 INT
Dylan Rosiek	LB	38 TKL / 2 TFL / 1 INT / 1 PD