Luke Altmyer was an unstoppable force Tuesday night in the Music City Bowl.
Nothing was getting in the way of a milestone victory in his 35th and final start as Illinois’ quarterback: not Tennessee’s 94-yard, go-ahead kickoff return touchdown in the fourth quarter, and especially not a official who found himself in the path of the redshirt senior earlier in the night.
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Altmyer incidentally trucked that ref on a 14-yard run during a third-quarter touchdown drive, and he responded with another touchdown drive after the pixie dust settled from the Volunteers’ special teams magic.
Altmyer, once an Ole Miss transfer who ended up authoring a three-season legacy at Illinois, already led all active FBS quarterbacks with six career game-winning drives in the final minute or overtime. The Starkville, Mississippi, native had one more in him. David Olano made a 29-yard field goal as time expired.
With the 30-28 victory, the Fighting Illini (9-4, 5-4 Big Ten) recorded back-to-back nine-plus-win seasons for the first time in program history. They won 10 games in 2024, and Altmyer picked up where he left off to stitch together an impressive 2025 campaign.
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Meanwhile, Tennessee (8-5, 4-4 SEC) suffered another gut-wrenching defeat in a season that also included one-score losses to Georgia and Oklahoma, a pair of College Football Playoff teams.
This story is being updated.
