2021 Music City Bowl Betting

The Music City Bowl is a college football bowl game that takes place at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee. Played in late December, it pits an SEC team against a Big Ten school. The 2021 Music City Bowl will see the Tennessee Volunteers (SEC) face the Purdue Boilermakers (Big Ten).

This contest should be quite entertaining when considering that Purdue (8–4) and Tennessee (7–5) are closely matched. Assuming you’d like to wager on this game, you can do so at the best betting sites in US. You can also pick up some betting advice through the following guide.

Established 2013

Caesars Sportsbook Bonus

$1,000 First Bet on Caesars
Promo Code: GAMBLING1000

Bet Now

Must be 21+ to participate. T&Cs apply.

2021 TransPerfect Music City Bowl

2020 was, by all accounts, a bad season for the Tennessee Volunteers. The team struggled to a 3–7 finish, after which head coach Jeremy Pruitt was fired. The Volunteers scored just 21.5 points per game last season, which ranked 109th nationally out of 128 teams.

New head coach Josh Heupel has engineered a turnaround in 2021 that’s seen Tennessee score 38.8 points—good for 21st nationally. The Vols have also racked up 459.0 yards per game, including 212.0 rushing yards. On defense, they give up 27.5 points per game and 404.6 yards.

A big catalyst for the offensive turnaround was an early quarterback switch from Joe Milton to Hendon Hooker. The latter has thrown for 2,567 yards, 26 touchdowns, and just three interceptions. Hooker has also rushed for 561 yards and five TDs.

As for the regular season, Tennessee started with a mediocre 2–2 record. However, it hit its stride during conference play and went 5–3 the rest of the way. The team’s 7–5 overall record and 4–4 SEC mark secured a spot in the 2021 Music City Bowl. The Vols have now been to college football bowl games in two out of the last three seasons.

The Boilermakers have been highly successful with the passing game. QB Aidan O’Connell has passed for 3,178 yards, 23 touchdowns, and eight interceptions. His favorite target, WR David Bell, has caught 93 balls for 1,286 yards and six TDs. This duo helped Purdue score 27.5 points per game and tally 340.5 passing yards during the regular season.

Defensively, the Boilermakers allow just 20.5 points and 194.6 passing yards per game. Safety Cam Allen leads the secondary with four interceptions on the year. Defensive end Kydran Jenkins has tallied the most sacks with five.

Purdue earned their spot in this bowl game via an 8–4 regular-season record. They finished with a solid 6–3 record against Big Ten teams. Purdues’ most-notable victories were over then-No. 2 Iowa (24–7) and then-No. 3 Michigan State (40–29). Outside of a 59–31 loss to Ohio State, the Boilermakers played reasonably close in its four losses.

Established 2009

FanDuel Sportsbook Bonus

Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets

Bet Now

Must be 21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER

Many US online sportsbooks began offering Music City Bowl odds shortly after the participants were announced on Dec. 5th. The majority of betting sites favored Tennessee with their opening lines. As you’ll see in the following sections, though, the current Tennessee odds of winning aren’t overwhelming. On a side note, sportsbooks will be offering many in-play betting opportunities once this bowl game starts.

Music City Bowl Moneyline Odds

The moneyline is a simple bet on which team will win. In order to even out the action, though, a moneyline bet/betting handicaps the favorite and underdog. You can see the average moneyline for Tennessee vs Purdue below:

• Tennessee -190
• Purdue +160

As seen above, the Vols are the favorite here and 3–2 straight up (SU) in their last five games. However, the Boilermakers are 4–1 SU within the same span.

DraftKings is among the betting sites offering good value on Purdue at +160. BetMGM is currently featuring the best value on Tennessee at -182.

Established 2018

BetMGM Sportsbook Bonus

Up To $1,500 in Bonus Bets If Your First Bet Loses
Bonus Code: GAMBLINGCOM

Bet Now

Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Must be 21+ to participate & present in OH. In partnership with MGM Northfield Park. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Visit BetMGM.com for T&Cs. US promotional offers not available in NY, NV, or Puerto Rico.

Music City Bowl Point Spread Odds

A point spread bet/betting takes points away from the favorite (minus sign) and gives them to the underdog (plus sign). The average 2021 Music City Bowl point spread is as follows:

• Tennessee -4.5 (-115)
• Purdue +4.5 (-105)

The Vols are only 2–4 against the spread (ATS) in their last six games. Purdue has fared better in this category, going 4–1 ATS in their last five contests.

Many sites, such as PointsBet, are taking -115 juice on the Vols and just -105 juice on Purdue. If you like Purdue at +4.5, then you’d definitely want to consider this deal. Another route involves going for the better odds while facing -110 juice. BetMGM is currently providing the best spread on Tennessee at -4 (-110).

Music City Bowl Over/Under Odds

Betting on the over/under (totals) involves deciding if the teams will go over or under the given point total. The majority of sports gambling sites are offering the following totals line right now:

• Purdue vs Tennessee
• Over 63.5 (-110)
• Under 63.5 (-110)

At first glance, this line presents an easy case for the over because both teams average 66.3 points together. However, Purdue holds opponents to 20.5 points per game and Tennessee allows 27.5 points—good for 48.0 points total.

If you like the under here, then PointsBet is offering a good deal with a 64.5 over/under (-110). Other major US betting sites are sticking with the 63.5 over/under right now, which favors over bettors.

Music City Bowl Prop Bets

College Football Playoff (CFP) matchups aren’t the only bowl games that feature prop bets. The Music City Bowl will also give you plenty of chances to place these wagers. Here are some of the interesting prop bets that we’ve seen so far:

• First-half winning margin
• Race to 10 points
• Race to 20 points
• Will a special teams or defensive touchdown be scored
• First team to call a timeout

Established 2012

DraftKings Sportsbook Bonus

Bet $5, Get $200 Instantly in Bonus Bets
+ Get a No Sweat NBA SGP Every Day of NBA Playoffs

Bet Now

Must be 21+ and present in OH. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

The Vols have captured one Music City victory, while Purdue will be making their second appearance in this game. You can see the winners of the last 10 Music City Bowls below:

The winners of this bowl game have been evenly dispersed so far. Louisville and Kentucky, however, have managed to win multiple Music City Bowls:

Established 2018

BetMGM Sportsbook Bonus

Up To $1,500 in Bonus Bets If Your First Bet Loses
Bonus Code: GAMBLINGCOM

Bet Now

Bonus Bets Expire in 7 Days. One New Customer Offer Only. Must be 21+ to participate & present in OH. In partnership with MGM Northfield Park. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Visit BetMGM.com for T&Cs. US promotional offers not available in NY, NV, or Puerto Rico.

Earlier, we discussed advice for choosing betting sites with favorable odds. Now, we’ll look at specific bets that you should target when wagering on this game.

History Favors the Underdog Purdue

For whatever reason, the Music City Bowl is a hotbed for upsets when compared to other bowl games. Here are a few examples:

• 1999: Syracuse (+3) defeated Kentucky 20–13.
• 2002: Minnesota (+7) beat Arkansas 29–14.
• 2005: Virginia (+6) toppled Minnesota 34–31.
• 2006: Kentucky (+10) beat Clemson 28–20.
• 2008: Vanderbilt (+4) defeated Boston College 16–14.

These are just some instances of an underdog winning in Nashville. The history of this bowl game indicates that the Boilermakers may not be underdogs at all.

Purdue +4 Point Spread

When playing as the underdog, the Boilermakers are 11–4 ATS in their last 15 games. They also went 5–2 ATS in their last seven contests of the regular season. That said, we like Purdue’s spread (+4 at BetMGM) going into this matchup. Alternatively, you can currently take the -4.5 spread at PointsBet with just -105 juice.

Under 63.5

As highlighted earlier, Purdue and Tennessee combine for 66.3 points. Defensively, though, they’re collectively holding opponents to 48.5 points. If you split 66.3 and 48.5 down the middle, you’re looking at a 57.4 average point total. This number is nearly six points off the common totals line.

Tennessee -190

The Vols and Boilermakers are close on paper. That said, it feels difficult to take Tennessee at -190 (or -182 at BetMGM currently). But then again, this team has gone 5–0 straight up in their last five contests against Big Ten teams.