Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava received more than his fair share of preseason talk while there was plenty of hand wringing about the Vols’ supposedly thin running back position. That hasn’t been the case since tailback Dylan Sampson took over the reigns in Tennessee’s backfield.
“He sparked it,” Tennessee coach Josh Heupel said after the Vols beat Alabama 24-17 on Saturday night in Neyland Stadium. “The guys up front did a really good job in the second half.”
Heupel was, of course, referring to the Vols’ offensive line, which led the way for Sampson, who ran for 139 yards on 26 carries and two touchdowns. The junior began to break through Alabama’s defense as he punched in a two-yard touchdown with 6:32 left in the third quarter and then a three-yard score with 1:00 later in the third. Sampson’s touchdowns have mounted quickly and could prove to be legendary.
Sampson has 17 rushing touchdowns this season and 30 in his career. With the two scores, Sampson passed Tony Thompson, who had 16 scores in 1990, and tied Reggie Cobb, who posted 17 touchdowns in 1987, for the second-most single-season rushing touchdowns in Tennessee history. Only Gene McEver, who had 18 touchdowns in 1929, has more. Sampson now has six outings this season with multiple rushing touchdowns after no other Volunteer this century (2000-24) had even five in a single season.
The only Tennessee running back with more rushing touchdowns in the last 90 years is James Stewart, who had 35 from 1991-94. The other two players ahead of Sampson are Gene McEver, who holds the record with 37 touchdowns from 1928-31, and quarterback Joshua Dobbs, who ran for 32 touchdowns from 2013-16.
Tennessee trailed for most of the game with an offense that was struggling, especially in a scoreless half. The Vols have played three consecutive games without a touchdown in the first half, which hasn’t happened since 1963. Then, Sampson made his presence felt in the third quarter and helped the Vols to a comeback victory against Bama, which was ranked No. 7 coming into the game. The Vols are likely to rise in the polls after coming into the contest at No. 11.
Tennessee never led until just under six minutes remained in the game. The Vols trailed 17-14 in the beginning of the fourth quarter, but never let the lead grow to two scores thanks to a defense that never stopped playing hard and an offense that didn’t get down on itself even as it struggled for most of the first three quarters.
“This group loves competing,” Heupel said in the post game melee as fans charged the field. “They love competing together. They will answer the bell every round. We have a chance to be a really good team. There are some things we have to continue to improve upon, but there’s nothing better than standing in Neyland Stadium listening to this with 102,000.”
