Nico Iamaleava stood in the pocket but found no one open.

So he rolled to the right and did what quarterbacks are told not to do: He threw across his body toward the middle of the field.

But this time, it worked. The Tennessee redshirt freshman hit tight end Miles Kitselman for an unscripted 6-yard touchdown pass in the back of the end zone that helped spark the No. 7 Vols to a 28-18 victory Saturday night over Kentucky in Neyland Stadium.

“That’s a player making a play,” said UT coach Josh Heupel, “and understanding the traffic on the back side.”

It wasn’t the only special play made by Iamaleava, who turned in his best game of the season against decent competition.

Iamaleava completed 28 of 38 passes for 292 yards – he’d gone five games in a row without a 200-yard outing – and one touchdown with no interceptions. He had two would-be touchdowns dropped – by Chris Brazzell and Chas Nimrod – and had another knocked from a tight end’s hands.

Iamaleava easily could have had 400 yards and four scoring passes with a little more help from his receivers.

“(Iamaleava) had a great night,” Heupel said.

Iamaleava had not played great this season in SEC play. He ranked among the worst in the league in passing efficiency in conference games only.

But he showed a spark in the second half against Alabama in UT’s most recent game, and it carried over against the Wildcats (3-6, 1-6 SEC).

Iamaleava was at his best on Tennessee’s game-clinching drive in the fourth quarter. Starting from UT’s own 10-yard line, Iamaleava completed three straight passes to start the possession, then converted two third-and-7s before star running back Dylan Sampson powered in from 6 yards out to give the Vols (7-1, 4-1) a 10-point lead with less than 5 minutes remaining.

“We’ve got great trust in Nico,” Heupel said. “Quarterback is not a position of perfection. He’s a young quarterback who gets better with every play.”

Sampson’s second score of the game was aided by a push from several offensive linemen and even Iamaleava got into the act to help Sampson set the Tennessee record for rushing touchdowns in a season (19). Gene McEver set the record with 18 in 1929.

Sampson was a bit surprised he got the record on that run.

“I ain’t gonna lie,” he said. “I’m surprised they (officials) didn’t blow the whistle.”

But, he said of the record, “It’s a blessing. I want to see how far I can push it.”

The SEC TD rushing record in a season is 28 held by Alabama’s Derrick Henry.

But Sampson wasn’t totally pleased. He fumbled inside the Kentucky 25 in the second quarter, his second lost fumble in two games and the first two of the junior’s career.

“I was kind of frustrated with myself,” Sampson said. “That’s not in my nature. That can’t fly. There’s no excuse for that.”

Sampson’s fumble, several dropped passes and nine penalties were among the reasons Heupel said UT still hasn’t played to its potential.

“We left a lot out there,” Heupel said, noting three missed field goals and sacks contributing to blown  opportunities. “We’ve got to put all the pieces together to play our best football. We have a lot of things we can improve upon.”

The offense got off to another slow start, missing a field goal on the opening drive, dropping a scoring pass in the end zone, Sampson fumbling, then missing another field goal.

Tennessee finally got on the board when Peyton Lewis – subbing for Sampson after his fumble – scored on a one-yard run to cap a 14-play, 64-yard drive late in the first half. It marked the first time in four games UT scored in the first half.

Meanwhile, Tennessee’s defense didn’t play up to its SEC-leading standard. Kentucky marched to UT’s 5 on the opening drive but failed on fourth-and-2. The Wildcats scored on their next possession for a 7-0 lead. UK tacked on a field goal just before halftime for a 10-7 lead.

In the second half, UT’s defense set up two touchdowns. The first on a Joshua Josephs sack-fumble that was recovered by Jeremiah Telander at the UK 28. A Will Brooks interception was returned 66 yards to the UK 10 to set up another score.

Tennessee has now held each of its first eight opponents to less than 20 points, a program best dating to 1969. Yet, Josephs wasn’t happy that the Vols allowed Kentucky 360 total yards – 168 rushing.

“I feel like we gave up too many yards and too many points and too many big plays,” Josephs said. “That really sucks.”

While Kentucky did make some big plays, Tennessee made more – thanks to Iamaleava.