The Illinois football team walked into Nissan Stadium in Nashville looking for some hardware and walked out with a 30-28 win over the Tennessee Volunteers.
The Illini were able to secure their second bowl win of the Bret Bielema era, with their first coming just last year in the Citrus Bowl against South Carolina. This is the first time the Illini have won back-to-back bowl games in over a decade, with former coaches Ron Zook and Vic Koenning achieving the feat in 2010 and 2011.