Tennessee football to play Purdue in Music City Bowl

Tennessee will play Purdue in the TransPerfect Music City Bowl.

The game will be at Nissan Stadium in Nashville on Dec. 30 (3 p.m. ET, ESPN).

UT (7-5) reached the bowl after winning three of its final four games in Josh Heupel’s debut season. He became the fifth UT coach in the past 70 years to earn bowl eligibility in his first season.

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Purdue (8-4) is coached by Jeff Brohm, the former Western Kentucky coach. The Boilermakers won four of their past five games.

"It's a great opportunity for us to put the finishing touches on the positive momentum we have created over our first 11 months," Heupel said in a school release. "I am especially thrilled for our seniors, who get one more chance to compete. Purdue is an outstanding and well-coached team. I look forward to seeing all of Vol Nation in Nashville, and I know our team has appreciated your support the entire season."

It will be UT’s third appearance in the Music City Bowl. The Vols lost 30-27 in double overtime to North Carolina in the 2010 Music City Bowl under former coach Derek Dooley. And they beat Nebraska 38-24 in the 2016 Music City Bowl under Butch Jones.

This will be the Vols' 54th bowl game, the fifth most in college football history, with an all-time record of 29-24. They have won their past four bowls.

"There is extraordinary love and support for the Vols in and around Nashville, and it will be incredible to see Big Orange fans from all across the country converge in the midstate to celebrate our football team during bowl week," said UT athletic director Danny White. "We're all incredibly proud of our football student-athletes, coaches and staff for earning this postseason opportunity."

Reach Adam Sparks at adam.sparks@knoxnews.com and on Twitter @AdamSparks.

This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee football to play Purdue in Music City Bowl