The Nico Iamaleava era began with massive success on Monday afternoon in Orlando. Tennessee demolished Iowa in the Citrus Bowl, jumping out to an early lead behind the legs of the true freshman quarterback. Iamaleava scored three times on the ground, pushing the Volunteers out to a 21-0 lead.
Considering Iowa’s horrific offense, that was all she wrote. Tennessee went on to win 35-0.
Iamaleava looked great on the ground, but more importantly, he looked really comfortable running Tennessee’s up-tempo attack. He was decisive in the pocket, checking through his reads to find the open man most of the time. There wasn’t anything really dynamic about Tennessee’s passing attack, but that’s to be expected with Iowa’s stout defense. Iamaleava took what was given to him, which is all he needed to do on this day.
“I believe he’s gonna be a great dynamic player,” Josh Heupel said after the game. “And I know that. I thought he handled himself really composed all day long. Subtle things, little things, breaking the huddle, communication inside of the hall, controlling the run game. His eyes went in the right place. Great to see a young guy go out and perform in that way in his first career start.
The Rose Bowl is a unique event. It’s one of the most prestigious bowl games in college football history. For years, media members and fans have described the game as “The Grandaddiest of them All.” In 2018, the matchup between the No.
3 ranked Georgia Bulldogs and No.2 Oklahoma Sooners more than lived up to that reputation. With a shot at advancing to the national championship, this playoff battle was electric from start to finish. The two squads couldn’t have been more opposite.
With Oklahoma’s fast-paced offense and Georgia’s smothering defense, the matchup featured jaw-dropping plays, crazy lead changes, and timely turnovers, culminating in an epic shootout requiring extra time to determine a winner. Locked at 48 all in double overtime, Georgia found themselves in prime position to punch their ticket to the natty. The madness that preceded everything up to that point makes this game so special. So to figure out how we got there, let’s rewind.
The former No. 1 overall player in the class of 2023 certainly delivered in his first opportunity as Tennessee’s starter. You can make the argument that Tennessee’s offense looked about as strong as it had all year, putting up 383 yards against (statistically) one of the best defenses in the country.
Former Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker certainly took notice
