While there are usually plenty of blowouts at this time of year, Tennessee football put a record-breaking beatdown on Chattanooga on Saturday. The Vols won 69-3, and freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava was the star.
No. 15 Tennessee’s 66-point margin of victory is its largest for a season-opener in the AP Poll era, via SEC Network.
Vols head coach Josh Heupel was pleased with the outing, but still thought there was room for improvement, via On3’s Grant Ramey.
“Offensively, did some really good things early,” Heupel said. “Got to learn how to stay dialed in and finish a half, a quarter of the football game. But all in all good day. And obviously, specialists did a really, really good job for most of the day.”
Tennesee jumped out to a 38-0 lead over the Mocs just over 5 minutes into the second quarter as Iamaleava and company dominated. The five-star prospect tossed a program-record 314 yards and three touchdowns in the first half before Heupel pulled the starters. The performance provided a tantalizing preview of the young signal-caller’s potential.
Heupel commended Iamaleava’s outing but mentioned that the youngster still has maturing to do.
“Your perspective might be a little bit different than mine. But he knows those things too,” Heupel told reporters in the postgame presser. “He is a young player. Came out, played really efficiently, effectively, made plays down the field. There’s some things that he can control and be better and he knows that and he wants that too.”
How could Heupel find flaws in such a convincing victory?
Tennesee football can’t get too confident
© Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK
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It makes sense that Heupel was cautiously optimistic, as Chattanooga is not a Power 5 team. Anything less than a blowout would’ve been an unacceptable result for the Vols, as this was a tune-up game before the level of competition raised.
Next week, Tennessee faces No. 24 NC State on the road, as well as another away date with Oklahoma on September 21. The squad will need to be firing on all cylinders to beat those programs.
A good sign thus far is that the Vols’ offense looks multi-dimensional. Running back Dylan Sampson was also dominant, scoring three first-half touchdowns of his own, showing that he and Iamaleava could be a scary duo for opposing defenses to face this year.
Despite the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff format, though, Tennessee can’t assume it’ll walk into the postseason. Taking care of business against fellow ranked squads will be paramount.
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Publish date : 2024-08-31 12:39:00
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