Nico Iamaleava left the game with an upper-body injury at the end of the first half, and Dylan Sampson missed a significant portion of the second and third quarters. However, Tennessee Football managed to escape the Mississippi State Bulldogs with an ugly 33-14 win Saturday night in Knoxville, Tenn., at Neyland Stadium.
Heupel said Iamaleava was held out of the second half for precautionary reasons but is expected to be back when the Vols take on the Georgia Bulldogs next week. Sampson came back in during the second half to help put the game away for Rocky Top.
UT’s passing game finally came alive with Iamaleava for the first time since September, as he hit Squirrel White for a 34-yard touchdown pass on the Vols’ first opening drive on 4th and 6. Then, in the second quarter, Iamaleava hit Dont’e Thornton for a 73-yard touchdown pass to go up 14-0.
MSU scored a touchdown to cut it to 14-7, but UT hit two field goals to go into halftime up 20-7. In the second half, Gaston Moore had to step in for Iamaleava. UT had to punt on its opening drive, but Jayson Jenkins did have a strip sack to set up a 51-yard field goal from Gilbert that put them up 23-14.
A touchdown by MSU cut the lead to 23-14, but Tennessee Football then went on a seven play 75-yard drive capped off by a 33-yard touchdown run from Dylan Sampson to put the Vols in complete control 30-14. Rocky top then hit a field goal on the next drive, which is how the game finished 33-14.
Iamaleava was 8-of-13 for 174 yards and two touchdowns while carrying the ball four times for 22 yards before his injury. Sampson had 30 carries for 149 yards and a touchdown, and Dont’e Thornton led the team in receiving with three catches for 104 yards and a score.
With the win, Tennessee Football, ranked No. 7 in the CFP, improves to 8-1 and 5-1 in SEC play as they get set to visit Georgia next week. Mississippi State, meanwhile, falls to 2-8 and 0-6 in SEC play and is about to enter a bye week before the Missouri Tigers come to town.
