Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava can cross one more task off his bucket list. The redshirt freshman won his first true road game as the Vols’ starting quarterback – with plenty of help from his friends.
The No. 6 Vols manhandled No. 16 Oklahoma 25-15 in Norman on Saturday as Iamaleava was efficient more than he was explosive, completing 13 of 21 passes for 194 yards and no interceptions.
While it may not show up on the stat sheet, Iamaleava did more than just record his first road win. He also overcame serious adversity against a stout defense, which forced two fumbles via strip sacks in the first half. His defense had his back.
The Vols forced and recovered two fumbles on the ensuing drives after Iamaleava’s turnovers negating any advantage the Sooners may have gained. On offense, Tennessee wasn’t the high-tempo, high-scoring team that many expected in the preseason, likening them to Tennessee’s 2022 team. These guys may be better.
The Vols’ new approach, which consists of defense and ball control, could prove to be more dominant than those flashy Vols that wowed the country two seasons ago. Tennessee’s defense was so dominant that starting quarterback Jackson Arnold was benched for freshman Michael Hawkins, Jr., in the second quarter. That’s not good for the Sooners.
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables should have just called it a night at that point. Hawkins wasn’t able to do much more than Arnold, who had three turnovers, against the Vols. However, Hawkins was able to lead the Sooners to a fourth quarter touchdown that broke Tennessee’s streak of consecutive quarters, 19, in which they didn’t give up a touchdown.
Tennessee’s offense wasn’t fully healthy and faced adversity on the road after Iamaleava’s fumbles. However, no Vol seemed rattled, especially Iamaleava, who also ran the ball 8 times for 15 yards. These Vols methodically chipped away at the Sooners while still taking their deep shots when they felt like it.
Iamaleava completed a 66-yard touchdown pass to wideout Donte’ Thornton in the first quarter and a 42-yard pass to receiver Bru McCoy to set up a field goal in the third quarter. However, Tennessee’s offense was more than willing to be more ground based and conservative on Saturday. Why? Well, the defense was part of it. So was another issue that Iamaleava had to deal with.
Tennessee was forced to overcome offensive line issues against the Sooners that couldn’t have been foreseen. The Vols had to go deep into their roster when starting right tackle John Campbell, Jr., left the game with a leg injury in the first half. That was just compounded by the fact that offensive tackle Lance Heard didn’t even make the trip to Oklahoma despite practicing last week.
That forced the Vols to play musical chairs at tackle. Starting left tackle Dayne Davis was forced to play right tackle when Campbell went down. Davis was replaced by sophomore Larry Johnson III, who hasn’t seen serious playing time in his career as a Vol. Got all that? No matter. Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel had everything under control.
In his fourth season as the Vols’ head coach, Heupel has shown a bit of everything on offense and defense. What do you defend? How do you stop that defensive line? If Heupel knows, he’s not telling. That’s up to opposing coaches to figure out.
One thing is certain. There should be no more concern about Tennessee’s young quarterback on the road in an SEC game. That conversation can finally be laid to rest – thanks to some of Iamaleava’s friends.
