With just a week to go until Tennessee and Illinois square off in the Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl, we’re starting to get a clearer picture of what the Vols will look like when they take the field in Nashville. On Tuesday, the bowl’s official account gave fans a sneak peek at Tennessee’s uniform setup, posting an image of the game patch stitched onto wide receiver Braylon Staley’s No. 14 white jersey.
That confirms the Vols will be wearing white tops for the bowl game, continuing the Music City Bowl’s tradition of alternating home and away designations between the SEC and Big Ten teams. This year, it’s Tennessee’s turn to be the away team-which means they’ll call the opening coin toss, though that hasn’t exactly been a lucky charm for them this season.
What we don’t know yet is what color pants Tennessee will pair with the white jerseys. All season long, Josh Heupel’s squad has leaned into the clean, all-white “stormtrooper” look whenever they’ve had the chance.
But there’s still a possibility they switch things up with orange pants-something they haven’t done yet this year with the white tops. That combo would offer a fresh twist heading into a postseason matchup that carries some added intrigue.
This will be Tennessee’s fourth appearance in the Music City Bowl, and they’ll be looking to even their record in the event. The Vols are 1-2 in their previous three trips to Nashville’s NFL stadium.
Back in 2010, they wore orange jerseys in a heartbreaking loss to North Carolina. Six years later, they broke out the Smokey Grey and notched their only win in the bowl, taking down Nebraska in 2016.
Most recently, they wore white uniforms in a tough overtime loss to Purdue in 2021.
As for this season’s uni trends, Tennessee has gone all-white three times, going 2-1 in those games. They dropped a tough one in Tuscaloosa but picked up road wins at Kentucky and Florida in the same icy look. The Vols also went 1-0 in their Smokey Grey alternates, 2-0 in all-orange, 3-2 in their traditional orange-and-white home set, and 0-1 in the black “Dark Mode” uniforms.
On the field, both teams come into the Music City Bowl with identical 8-4 records, but they’ve taken different paths to get there. Illinois, representing the Big Ten, finished 5-4 in conference play. Their most impressive win came against USC, while their losses came at the hands of Indiana, Ohio State, Washington, and Wisconsin.
Tennessee, meanwhile, went 4-4 in the SEC, with its defeats coming against some of the nation’s toughest teams: Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, and a surprising stumble against in-state rival Vanderbilt. Despite the ups and downs, the Vols have shown flashes of the high-powered offense and aggressive defense that have defined the Heupel era.
Kickoff is set for Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 5:30 p.m. ET at Nissan Stadium, with ESPN carrying the broadcast. Whether it’s white-on-white or a splash of orange in the mix, Tennessee will be looking to close out the season with a statement-and maybe a little bowl game redemption.