Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava wasn’t the reason why the Vols lost to Georgia on Saturday. However, he certainly didn’t do enough to upset the Bulldogs.
“We put a lot of work in to win this game and came up short,” the redshirt freshman said following Tennessee’s 31-17 loss to Georgia in Athens, Ga. “Didn’t play smart in the second half. It’s going to sting. I’m just going to let it sting and learn from this.”
Iamaleava didn’t look to be affected from the concussion that was the talk leading up to the game. He was cleared to play late in the week and started strong against Georgia, leading the Vols to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter. The game was tied 17-17 at halftime.
“They adjusted well in the second half, but everything we were running, I thought, was still there,” Iamaleava said. “Got to do a better job at executing. We’ve got to flush this one and move on, man. Like coach says, this is (like) the NFL, got to move on and get ready for these last two games.”
The Vols will host UTEP next week and close out the regular season with a trip to Nashville to play Vanderbilt. The Vols, who are now 8-2 and 5-2 in the SEC, are likely out of the race for a conference championship. However, Tennessee could still make the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoffs with a strong finish to the season. During the broadcast, ESPN reported that the Vols have a better than 50-percent chance of making the College Football Playoffs even with the loss to Georgia.
“I give credit to Georgia,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. “They did what had to be done in the second half to to get a win. I love the effort that we played with. Played physical. I just didn’t do enough (to get) coaches and players together to get on the right side of the scoreboard.”
Iamaleava finished the game completing 20 of 33 passes for 167 yards. His longest completion of the night was just for 17 yards. Iamaleava also ran for 18 yards on 12 carries and showed no signs of any ailments from the previous week.
Iamaleava was also reportedly dealing with a sore left, non-throwing, shoulder. Iamaleava was knocked out of the Mississippi State game late in the second quarter and didn’t return in the second half in the Vols’ 33-14 win over the Bulldogs – from Starkville.
“Played well tonight,” Heupel said of Iamaleava after the Vols’ loss. “He really did. There’s some things that we’re close on. There’s some things we got to be better in protection. Keep them a little cleaner, but I thought he played really well tonight…It’s hard to win in this league. It’s a good football team that we just played…We’re a good football team too.”
That may well be the case. However, the Vols now need the College Football Playoff Committee to agree to as much. The new rankings will come out on Tuesday. The Vols will surely fall from No. 7, but it’s unknown how far Tennessee will tumble after losing to Georgia, which was ranked No. 12 before the game.
While Tennessee can still make the College Football Playoff, making a run in the newly devised tournament seems like a long shot, unless Tennessee can figure out how to make some long gains via the pass. Long-distance passing plays have eluded Tennessee against SEC competition and could, ultimately, keep them from making the College Football Playoff.
Missing out on downfield passes might keep the Vols from making the College Football Playoff. However, it also does’t make them nearly as exciting as they were when they last made a serious run at the playoffs in 2022 when the Vols were known for their downfield passing attack.
Now, the Vols are a ball-control team with a very good defense. That may be good – or even great – but no one knows how the College Football Playoff committee will judge the Vols, who have left themselves vulnerable, with two SEC losses.
