How Luke Altmyer put everything on display to claim Music City Bowl glory in final game

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — With 4:58 left in the fourth quarter, Tennessee’s Joakim Dodson muffed a kickoff, and for at least a brief moment, the thought of a game-sealing recovery by Illinois swirled in all of Nissan Stadium’s minds.

A thrilling victory, free of headspinning drama to secure Illinois’ second-straight bowl win. That brief illusion quickly slipped away from the Illini. The ball was recovered by none other than Dodson himself and taken 94 yards for a touchdown to put Tennessee up 28-27. A momentum-shifting touchdown to take a one-point lead for the first time since the first quarter.

Quarterback Luke Altmyer’s frenetic rushing prowess became the engine for the perfect theatre to cap off Illinois’ season. Soon after, Illinois running back Aidan Laughery added a huge 21-yard chunk to put Illinois in a prime position to go up a score. And further advance the drive Altmyer’s was orchestrating.

“He would tell you that he’s gone through so much that it’s propelled him to where he is, and he’s ice cold in these moments, that’s who he’s become week-in and week-out,” Laughery said after the game..

But the drive stalled ahead of the two-minute warning. And a mystifying spot put Illinois in 4th-and-one at the Tennessee 31-yard line, leading to a stomach-churning play with the game on the line.

After a brief timeout where the refs reviewed whether or not the fourth-down spot was on point, they upheld the call. Illinois had gone 0-for-2 on fourth down the entire day. That’s when an unlikely hero emerged. Tight end Jordan Anderson firmly set in motion the game-sealing drive with a 13-yard chunk gain to put Illinois in threatening territory.

Quickly, Illinois found itself in a less-than-ideal 2nd-and-6, with 1:51 to go. Field goal position was secured. The lingering problem? Too much time left on the clock. With a couple of Tennesse timeout left as well.

And then Altmyer and his offensive line drew a defensive false start. Truly putting all of Altmyer’s skill sets on display.

“Knowing the ball was in Luke’s hands to end the game, he’s done it six other times this season, we really trusted him,” Illinois safety Miles Scott explained.

With a sprinkle of proper time management and a handful of handoffs, Illinois set up kicker David Olano for a game-winning and almost mindbending 29-yard field goal, 30-28.

“Throughout the drive, my mindset is: ‘How can I set my team up?’” Altmyer said. “We got a PAT and had a lot of confidence in (Olano). We did it against USC, which was a lot harder. I had all the confidence in the world to put them in a good position. And we did it.”

Altmyer’s legacy

Altmyer had long become accustomed to shouldering the weight of Illinois’ success, consistently carrying Illinois to the finish line of almost every win throughout the last two seasons as the Illinois quarterback.

He threw an impressive 18-yard touchdown down the middle to Illinois wide receiver Justin Bowick to begin on offense.

But on a day that seemed poised to spotlight the fifth-year senior quarterback, who brushed shoulders with the all-time great Illinois quarterbacks in his three-year tenure in Champaign, it seemed the night was trending to be a defensive one.

“He took a chance on us; he had a million other opportunities. I love the fact that he stayed with his team, which really gave us a chance to have it,” Illinois head coach Bret Bielema. “Now he’s coming out of here about as confident and with a very, very bright future.”

And the unit with the lion’s share of scrutiny all season long found itself with a sense of vindication on Tuesday night, for at least a quarter, as they churned out a couple of momentum-shifting plays. But it wasn’t long before they once again began to stumble and their deadly sins reared their ugly heads.

Bend. Bend. Bend…. Snap.

Both units ran on opposite tracks throughout the course of the game, though. As the defense began to fray, a drowsy offense was, once again, awoken by an energized Altmyer, who resurged from his middle-eight cocoon. Altmyer felt obligated to light a fire under the offense against a team that once sought to recruit his services and lure him back to the SEC.

A place where he once dreamed of quarterbacking glory. Back to the region where he once failed, a place that led him to a circuitous route to quarterbacking glory in the middle of Big Ten country.

Altmyer threw 20-for-33 for 196 yards and one touchdown; he was the kicker was him, adding 10 rushes for 54 yards in critical spots. All of it en route to an emotional, dramatic win to top off his collegiate quarterbacking career.

“Playing with Luke’s been awesome. One of my best friends on the team. He’s just a competitor, he studies his craft, and obviously, you’ve seen his ability to win big games,” Illinois center Josh Kruetz said. “It makes you want to block even harder.”

Of course, the headliner is the defense’s most memorable play of the night. As Tennessee looked to rev up its offensive engine, which averaged 40.8 points throughout the 2025 season.

‘A bunch of underdogs’

The Liberty Mutual Music City Bowl featured two identical teams, beyond the record. Both teams had unique momentum and drew preseason college football playoff hype. Both teams that dropped at least one game grew to lament. Both teams failed to show up in some of the biggest games of the season.

Both seasons didn’t unfold the way they had wanted it. And those two programs, nearly identical, turned out to be oh-so different after all.

Illinois came into Nashville as betting underdogs.

“That’s just my story, man, just doing things the right way, being tough as nails, whatever it takes to win, just go do it and preparation,” Altmyer said. “All those guys in the locker room are a bunch of underdogs.”

in their fifth seasons at the helm of their respective programs. In the end, Illinois emerged as the underdog victor. And Altmyer got his fairytale ending to his underdog story.