Tennessee’s offense was not a thing of beauty as the Vols beat Florida on Saturday. The Vols’ defense, however, was gorgeous. at times in front of raucous crowd of over 100,000 fans in Neyland Stadium.
Despite Tennessee coach Josh Heupel’s well-known penchant for scoring points by the bunches, the Vols relied on one of the nation’s best defenses to top the Gators in overtime 23-17. Tennessee gave up 361 yards to Florida, but continually made one magnificent play after another to keep the Vols in the game. Those plays were in dire need as the Tennessee’s offense continued to struggle, especially in the passing game, which accounted for just 169 of the Vols 312 total yards.
Iamaleava addressed the issue of the Vols’ mistakes on offense, but not until after giving his defensive counterparts some kudos. Tennessee’s defense registered three sacks, 12 tackles for a loss, four defended passes and an interception as they stymied the Gators and took over the game in overtime, in which the Vols didn’t even allow a field goal.
“It feels great man,” Iamaleava said of his defense. “They’re doing a great job. We’ve got to do a better job of complimenting them when they get a stop or three and outs.”
That’s an understatement. The Vols’ offense continually missed on opportunities and were repeatedly called for penalties, especially at offensive tackle, as they seemed intent on falling flat against Florida.
“We just keep shooting ourselves in the foot man,” Iamaleava said. “A lot of penalties out there. When we’d have a big play, we’d be right back and started off at first-and-20. Just haven’t been helping ourselves out with the penalties that we’ve been shooting ourselves with. The first drive we fumbled the ball. On me. I’ve got to do better with the handoff.”
Iamaleava was referring to a botched handoff intended for running back Dylan Sampson, which was recovered by Florida. Later in the game, Tennessee EDGE rusher James Pearce, Jr., managed to force a fumble at the goal line just as the Gators were about to score. Shortly thereafter, Iamaleava threw an interception into coverage in which he stared down his receiver.
“Stuff like that I’ve got to be better,” said Iamaleava, who completed 16 of 26 passes for 169 yards and an interception. “We’ve got to operate at a higher level. We just can’t keep shooting ourselves in the foot.”
Despite the win, Iamaleava admitted that the struggles on offense are frustrating. Before Sampson’s six-yard touchdown run in the third quarter against Florida, Tennessee had failed to score a point in five of its previous six quarters of football. The Vols had failed to score a touchdown in seven of the last eight quarters before Sampson found the end zone.
“Very,” Iamaleava said when asked if the recent issues have been frustrating. “I think coach Heup and them do a great job of keeping us calm on the sideline and going out there and letting our hounds go for 12 rounds.
“That was really our mentality. Coach Heup preached that it was going to be a boxing fight going into it and it very much was.”
It was, indeed, that sort of game. The Vols should be used to it. Tennessee has been in two other tight games during this season, a 25-15 win at Oklahoma and a 19-14 loss to Arkansas. Whatever becomes of the Vols’ season, it has become apparent that Tennessee is going to have to show up and fight in every single round.
