It wasn’t just the outcome.
It was how it transpired.
After conquering Florida in Gainesville for the first time since 2003, the Tennessee Volunteers returned home to face Vanderbilt with the objective of defeating the Commodores for a seventh straight season. Tennessee had a 21-14 lead late in the second quarter, but Vanderbilt broke free from a 21-21 halftime deadlock and bolted to a surprising 45-24 blowout on Nov. 29 at Neyland Stadium.
The second-half devastation was thorough, as the Commodores racked up 279 yards behind Heisman Trophy runner-up Diego Pavia while holding the Vols to 102.
“We didn’t play how we were supposed to play in that second half, and it showed,” Tennessee graduate transfer quarterback Joey Aguilar said this past week in a news conference. “What happened, happened, and we flushed it pretty quickly after watching film. We’ve got one more game on our schedule, and that’s a blessing.
“We’ll be super excited to go out there.”
Tennessee’s final contest of its 2025 season will take place on Dec. 30, when the Vols (8-4) will be in Nashville to vie with Illinois (8-4) in the Music City Bowl. The first-ever matchup between the two programs will kick off at 5:30 p.m. Eastern at Nissan Stadium, and it will be televised by ESPN.
It’s no secret that bowl games have been fighting a relevancy issue in this era of the expanded College Football Playoff, which has a 12-team format for a second consecutive season and is expected to contain 16 teams sooner than later, but Vols players insist that the Music City Bowl matters.
That’s largely due to Vanderbilt, which posted its most lopsided win over Tennessee in Knoxville since a 45-0 blanking in 1905.
“There is a lot of motivation,” Vols receiver and Southeastern Conference freshman of the year Braylon Staley said. “You don’t want to come off a loss. We’ve had great practices. It’s the last game for some of these guys, and we get to share the field with them.”
Even if the Vols are motivated, they will have to overcome the absences of redshirt junior receiver Chris Brazzell II and junior linebacker Arion Carter, who have announced that they are bypassing their remaining eligibility and focusing on the NFL draft. A third prominent Tennessee player, redshirt sophomore cornerback Colton Hood, is reportedly considering an early departure as well.
When Tennessee traveled to Ohio State on this same weekend last season for a first-round playoff pairing, there was no discussion whatsoever of whether that game would be a springboard for this year. It was all about advancing to a Rose Bowl quarterfinal against Oregon, which the Buckeyes accomplished with their 42-17 whipping of the Vols.
Yet with Tennessee back in the bowl landscape this year, players were asked this past week if they view the Music City Bowl as the final game of this season or the first step to 2026.
“I see it as a start to next year,” freshman right tackle David Sanders said. “You’ve got some older guys who will opt out of bowl games, and younger guys get the opportunity to play one more game. We have a young O-line, so this will be like a fast-forward to next year.”
Said junior linebacker Jeremiah Telander: “It’s about finishing this season strong, but it’s also about the start to a new season. We still have some vets who are going to play their last game for us, and we want to send them out the right way.”
The Music City Bowl will mark the final game for Tennessee defensive linemen Dominic Bailey, Bryson Eason, Joshua Josephs, Jaxson Moi and Tyre West. It will also be the finale for defensive backs Jalen McMurray and Andre Turrentine, as well as for running back Star Thomas.
A Tennessee triumph would send the seniors off successfully and clinch a fourth consecutive season of at least nine wins, which the Vols last accomplished from 1995-99. It could also replace the loss to Vanderbilt as the lasting memory of the offseason.
“We played a good half of football in the first half, but the second half wasn’t really us,” Staley said. “Being able to get that out of our heads will be big. The next time we’re on the field, we’re going to show what we’ve got.”
Working at MBA
Tennessee has wrapped up its on-campus practices for the Music City Bowl.
The Vols will reconvene in Nashville on Christmas night before holding their first on-location workout Friday morning. They will practice four straight mornings at Montgomery Bell Academy leading up to the Dec. 30 contest.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.