Tennessee’s 2025 season ends on a sour note with a 30-28 loss to Illinois

The Tennessee Vols’ up and down 2025 season ended on a down note on a chilly Tuesday night in Nashville, as UT fell to Illinois 30-28. Illinois kicker David Olano knocked through a 29-yarder as time expired for the walk-off win.

Joey Aguilar’s 200+ yard passing streak came to an emphatic end, as he threw for only 121 yards on 14/18 passing with no touchdowns or interceptions. DeSean Bishop led UT on the ground with 93 yards on 19 carries and 2 touchdowns. Mike Matthews was the Vols’ leading receiver with 3 catches for 43 yards.

Tennessee started off the game strong. The Vols’ defense forced a turnover on downs in their own end of the field on a shovel pass break up on fourth down on the game’s first drive. Then, Tennessee’s offense went to work, marching 67 yards in 11 plays and finding the end zone on an Aguilar scramble for 7 yards.

Illinois would answer back with a 9-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that ended when Luke Altmyer threw a dart to Justin Bowick in the end zone to tie up the game. The two teams went scoreless through most of the second quarter, with Max Gilbert pushing a field goal wide right from 39 yards. The Illini would convert their 30-yard attempt and take a 10-7 lead into the locker room.

The Illini took a double-digit lead in the third quarter when Aguilar was sacked and fumbled after Illinois’ only punt of the game. The ball bounced away and was eventually recovered in the end zone by Illinois for a touchdown.

Tennessee fought their way into the end zone on the next drive. After going 74 yards and facing fourth down, Bishop just barely reached out and got the ball over the goal line – a bit of irony after the Vols’ were called short against Purdue in a similar moment four years ago.

However, the Vols’ defense had been figured out by that point by the Illinois coaches and Altmyer, and the Illini cruised down the field for another score to retake a 10-point lead at 24-14 late in the third quarter.

Tennessee wasn’t done yet, going 79 yards in 14 plays early in the fourth quarter to draw back to within 24-21 on a 12-yard Bishop touchdown.

After Tennessee’s defense got a stop and held Illinois to a field goal, Joakim Dodson returned the kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown with a little over 5 minutes left. But I might have been the only person shaking my head at that point watching it happen, because I knew what was coming next.

Tennessee’s defense did what it did for most of the day, concede yardage and first downs. And Illinois was able to march down the field and convert a key fourth-and-1 in field goal range. That eventually allowed them to run down the clock and kick a game-ending field goal.

A tough end to a season that came in with a lot of question marks and leaves with many as well.