Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava has been superb in one game this season. The Vol phenom will have to be better this week.

As a full-time starter, there will be plenty of firsts for Iamaleava this season. Beating Chattanooga in Week One was his first start in Neyland Stadium. However, Iamaleava should be in a more familiar setting this week as the Vols face a ranked foe in a neutral site. After all, he’s done that in a 35-0 whipping of then No. 20 Iowa in the Citrus Bowl. Now, it’s on to No. 24 North Carolina State in the Duke’s Mayo Classic.

It was almost a given that Iamaleava was going to play well in his first game at home. Why? The Vols were playing Chattanooga, which was woefully overmatched. However, Iamaleava wasn’t happy after the game. Likely following Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel’s lead, Iamaleava said the Vols had to avoid “not falling asleep” against future opponents and must “keep our foot on their throat” when the Vols have a lead. However, let’s be honest, Iamaleava was pretty darn good, completing 22 of 28 passes for 314 yards and three touchdowns.

“I think he did really good,” Tennessee center Cooper Mays said. “He’s always been kind of the same guy every day and…there’s a little bit of an unknown that he hadn’t played in Neyland. I’m sure that he was feeling a little bit of nerves originally. But you can’t tell that. And obviously the way he played, you couldn’t tell that either. He did a really good job and he kind of handled it like a pro.”

The job gets more difficult against the Wolfpack on Saturday at 7:45 PM. Ask Mays about the Wolfpack and he’s been impressed by the front seven he’ll face on Saturday. 

“I think they do some really good stuff defensively from an all-around standpoint,” Mays said. “I think they’re a hard-nosed defense that plays really hard. They’ve been doing that for a few years now and this year won’t be an exception, I’m sure. Got good talent, the things that they do schematically and how hard they play. They do a really good job.”

The common notion is that the ACC is soft. That may be true for some of the teams in the “other” southern conference, but it’s not true for all the teams. Mays said N.C. State is definitely one of the teams that will rely on physicality up front on defense.

“I think there’s definitely some really good teams that kind of stand out in the ACC; N.C. State being one of them, especially last year. They they did some really good things, especially on the defensive side of the ball.”

There is one difference from last year. N.C. State lost one of its best players from the 2023 team when linebacker Payton Wilson was selected in the third round of the NFL Draft in April. However, one player doesn’t make the Wolfpack’s defensive front.  

Tennessee’s offense should certainly be well rested for the mayonnaise game on Saturday. The Vols’ starters only had to play a half in the 69-3 win over the Mocs. That will help Tennessee be fresh on Saturday and throughout the season as the Vols hope to make the College Football Playoff and win a national championship.

“It’s big time,” Mays said of having a half off last week. “I think you’ve got to go out, like Nico was saying about going out there and making sure we handled our business the right way and doing things the right way. That way you can have the luxury of getting out. You’ve got to take advantage of those opportunities when it’s time.

“If you get a team that you feel like you can get out early on and, and is kind of inadequate, you have to do it because…you’re trying to go all the way. That’s a long stretch of a season. You got to do the right things to make sure that you make it all the way through.”

So Iamaleava has done this before. He’s played, succeeded and won at a neutral site game. However, the game won’t really be neutral as tens of thousands of Tennessee fans will make the trip to Charlotte to watch the game. Does the support help in such an environment?

“It’s huge,” Mays said. “We need every bit of that. Everybody knows Tennessee fans are great. It’s huge. 

“Big time.”

Fuel up Tennessee fans. The Vols need you in Charlotte.