The Illinis Fighting Illini are just hours away from playing the Tennessee Volunteers in the Music City Bowl in Nashville. Although the hype around the game is centered around both teams’desires to win nine games, there is an undersold element that adds to the drama entering the Big Ten-SEC matchup.
Illinois coach Bret Bielema met the media Saturday, revealing what it has been like to practice at Vanderbilt University since its arrival to Tennessee Christmas Day.
“Usually, the SEC is always in here. But I know Tennessee really didn’t want to use Vandy’s facility, which I understand,” Bielema said. “I understand rivalries. But we’ve been a benefiter of that. It’s an unbelievable facility. I talked to Coach (Clark) Lea before we came down here, and to have this facility has been absolutely awesome.”
Bielema kept his upbeat vibe afloat Monday, diving deeper into why this bowl game, among the ones he has coached in the past, carries weight.
“You create a memory,” Bielema said of bowl games. You create a moment. You create an opportunity for a family to come together and maybe share a bowl experience. My mom and dad went to bowl games with me. We didn’t really travel a lot as a family growing up. I remember the first time that I ever remember my parents traveling out of the state of Illinois was to come to the Rose Bowl game that I played in and to see my dad and my brothers and that experience was pretty, pretty awesome.”
Practice preferences or not, Bielema’s said the recollection of those moments wants to translate into his players feeling similarly.
“%3Cmeta%20charset%3D%22UTF-8%22%20%2F%3EI saw a couple parents in the lobby last night, just creating a memory that will last a lifetime – it’s just absolutely awesome,” Bielema said. “So thank you to the Music City Bowl and Liberty (Mutual Insurance) for obviously sponsoring, but super excited about this opportunity.”
Kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. ET from Nissan Stadium on ESPN.