The temperature was blazing at Neyland Stadium on Saturday afternoon, but nobody was hotter than Nico Iamaleava.
Tennessee’s redshirt freshman, making his first home start, was surgical. He hit his first 10 passes, tied a school-record with 313 first-half passing yards and sparked the 15th ranked Vols to an easier-than-expected 69-3 victory over Tennessee Chattanooga.
Iamaleava connected with 10 different receivers in the first quarter and fired scoring passes of 3, 10 and 36 yards in a near flawless performance, albeit against a weaker opponent.
The Mocs were ranked No. 8 in the FCS preseason poll and are favored to win the Southern Conference, but that just signifies the difference in the SEC and the lower-level division.
Tennessee racked up 717 total yards – seven off the school record and the third-most in school history. UT had 300 yards rushing, 417 yards passing.
The Vols would have easily eclipsed that mark if coach Josh Heupel hadn’t rested Iamaleava and most of the offensive starters in the second half.
And how about this number: On 26 first-down snaps in the first half, the Vols gained a whopping 333 yards with eight gains of at least 16 yards. They had first-down completions of 23, 36, 61, 37 and 56 yards.
“The offense did some really good things early,’’ Heupel said in a massive understatement as the Vols led 38-0 after 20 minutes.
When a reporter suggested Iamaleava appeared to do nothing wrong in that first half, Heupel paused and said: “Your perspective might be different from my perspective. There are some things he can do better and he knows that.”
Heupel didn’t reveal what those things are.
But he did reveal he loves what Tennessee has at the skill positions.
Dylan Sampson had 12 carries for 124 yards and scored three touchdowns. He now has seven touchdowns in his last two season openers.
“He has the ability to do anything you want a running back to do,” Heupel said, adding that Sampson was “decisive” and made “violent cuts.”
Dont’e Thornton, the former Oregon transfer who played out of position most of last season before suffering an injury, had a huge day with three catches for 105 yards and two scores. He’s playing wide receiver where he is “extremely comfortable” Heupel said.
Thornton agreed.
“My whole football career, I played outside,” Thornton said.
His mindset in the offseason was: “Instead of the game getting to me, have fun with it. At the end of the day, it’s just football.”
Bru McCoy made a triumphant return from a gruesome ankle injury a year ago that required multiple surgeries. He worked diligently to be ready for the opener.
“It was a little bit surreal,” McCoy said of his return, which featured six catches for 88 yards. “I got the sweat going and it felt like I was at home.”
He said he could see the “light at the end of the tunnel” in May, but he lost his grandfather, Robert Snyder, before the season started. McCoy said he visited Snyder in the hospital and, for the first time, took off the boot that protected his ankle, displaying his progress.
“I can’t think of anybody that would be more proud of me,” McCoy said.
Tennessee’s offense wasn’t the only star of the show.
Freshman Justin Ross blocked a punt and returned it 49 yards for the final score of the game.
And Tennessee’s defense was solid. The Vols held UTC to 227 total yards and just 74 yards on 35 rush attempts. The Mocs also converted just 1-of-14 on third down.
“Everybody played like his hair was on fire,” said defensive end Tyree West, who had UT’s only a sack and forced a fumble.
The sack almost didn’t happen.
“The whole time, I was like,”Please don’t throw it, please don’t throw it,” West said.
West got his wish.
And Tennessee got a one-sided win.
