Most of what happened in the Citrus Bowl in Florida was that the Hawkeyes were exposed as just a bad team. However, many position groups for Tennessee Football were able to cash in on that. We graded on a curve, though, when breaking down each unit. Here is our report card for the Vols in their dominating shutout victory over Iowa.

Quarterback: A

Nico Iamaleava had a breakout game, going 12-of-19 for 151 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 27 yards and three more scores. He had no turnovers. That stat line isn’t great, but given how Iowa plays soft coverage in its 4-2-5, Iamaleava’s patience was the key. If he had help elsewhere, his stat line would have been way better too.

Running back: C+

Help elsewhere for Iamaleava starts at running back. Dylan Sampson carried it 20 times for 133 yards, and Cameron Seldon added 13 carries for 55 yards. So why is this grade so poor? Well, Seldon’s vision was poor on too many runs. Most notably, though, Sampson’s pass blocking was so bad that it outweighs all of his great runs. Add in a drop he had on a shovel pass, and this is easily a C.

Tight end: B+

Most of the blocking issues weren’t by the tight ends, but pass blocking flaws in general have to somewhat fall on them. Still, McCallan Castles caught an 18-yard touchdown pass in his final game with the Vols, and Jacob Warren also had a nine-yard grab, so both of them stepped up in what was a very physical game.

Wide receiver: C

Again, nobody did anything spectacular enough to help Iamaleava. Meanwhile, Ramel Keyton, despite leading the team in receiving with three catches for 51 yards, had a bad day in his final game. The senior wideout stopped running on what would have been a touchdown pass, and he also dropped a perfect pass over the middle. That’s enough for a C.

Offensive line: C-

Run vs. pass blocking was night and day for the Tennessee Football offensive line Monday. Against an elite Iowa front seven, they paved the way for over 230 yards on the ground. However, helped by Sampson, they were awful pass blocking, giving up six sacks. It was a makeshift line with Dayne Davis, Ollie Lane and Jackson Lampley starting, and it showed.

Defensive tackle: B+

Until Iowa made the switch at quarterback and went with dual-threat Marco Lainez, the Vols were giving up fewer than two yards a carry in the run game. Omari Thomas was the anchor, coming up huge on two stops on Iowa’s only drive in the red zone to set up a third down interception. Bryson Eason and Elijah Simmons stepped up at times too.

Defensive end: A+

While the tackles were solid, the ends played one of the best games ever. Tyre West had one and a half sacks, and Roman Harrison assisted on a sack. Then there was James Pearce Jr., who stepped up beyond anybody with a strip-sack and a pick-six in the game. The Vols didn’t look like they’ll miss Tyler Baron at all after the way this unit performed.

Linebacker: A-

Struggling with Marco Lainez when he came into the game is the only reason this unit doesn’t get an A+. Elijah Herring was a star with two tackles for a loss and a sack along with a pass breakup. Jeremiah Telander also had a tackle for a loss, and Aaron Beasley had two solo tackles. Keep in mind this was against a slow Iowa team, but it was still impressive.

Defensive back: A

Did Tennessee Football just trim the dead wood by losing so many players in the secondary? Sure, Iowa’s pass offense is bad, but the Vols made it look worse even by those standards. Andre Turrentine had an interception on the day, and UT held Iowa to 9-of-25 through the air with just 60 yards and no scores. That’s impressive.

Kicking game: C

Jackson Ross shanked a punt, and the Vols had an interference on a fair catch. Luckily for them, that didn’t matter, but if this was a close game, Iowa wins off field position, so it could have proven costly. Given how much of an advantage Ross turned into this year, that was a letdown. Charles Campbell was fine, though, making every extra point and not attempting a field goal.

Return game: D

Dee Williams and Squirrel White both made some big mistakes here. Williams lost two yards on one punt return and three yards on another, and then White came in and attempted a return for no gain. With no kickoff returns, this was all we had to go by, and as a result, the unit has to get a D. Everything about it was below average for Tennessee Football.