Illinois will be going for its second straight bowl victory when they take on Tennessee this week, and the Illini are breaking out a special uniform combination.
Illinois had an 8-4 regular season, winning three of their final four games, and they’ll be hoping to capture their ninth win when they face the Volunteers at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium.
This weekend, the Fighting Illini revealed that they will wear an all-navy look in Nashville for Tuesday’s game, including navy blue helmets, jerseys and pants.
Tennessee has not yet announced their uniform combination for the game, though they are serving as the visiting team, meaning that they may go with an all-white look, with orange accents.
Tuesday will mark Illinois’ 22nd all-time bowl game and their third consecutive appearance in a postseason game. All three of those games have come against SEC opponents, with a loss to Mississippi State in the 2023 ReliaQuest Bowl and a win over South Carolina in last year’s Citrus Bowl.
That 21-17 triumph marked the first time Illinois had ever beaten an SEC opponent, and they’ll be aiming for their second straight win over an opponent from that conference when they face the Volunteers.
It will also mark the first time Illinois has ever played Tennessee on the gridiron.
Overall, Illinois is 9-12 in bowl games, and they haven’t won consecutive bowl games since winning the Texas Bowl and the Fight Hunger Bowl in back-to-back seasons in 2010 and 2011.
Kickoff between the Illini and Volunteers is set for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, with the game airing on ESPN.
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