Josh Heupel made it clear that his No. 7 Tennessee Volunteers couldn’t have started their final regular season game any worse, giving up 14 points in the first five minutes.
However, the Vols showed they knew how to finish strong, keeping their hopes alive for a College Football Playoff spot.
Nico Iamaleava threw for 257 yards and four touchdowns, leading Tennessee to a dominant 36-23 win over in-state rival Vanderbilt on Saturday.
“Finishing the way that we needed to and that we wanted to always is sweet, and these guys earned the right for this to be a big game,” Heupel said. “They went out, they took it.”
The Volunteers (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference; No. 8 CFP) needed a big win to impress the College Football Playoff committee. They defeated Vanderbilt (6-6, 3-5) for the sixth straight year, leaving the Commodores needing to win their bowl game to achieve a winning record for the first time since 2013.
The Vols quickly rebounded from a tough start, scoring 29 unanswered points after giving up the first 14. They were up 24-17 at halftime, thanks to Iamaleava’s first three touchdown passes.
“Once they took the momentum, we kind of allowed them to have it for the rest of the game,” said Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea. “And you got to credit Tennessee. I mean, obviously, they were playing for the playoffs and credit coach Heupel and his team for their winning performance.”
Vanderbilt stunned the mostly orange crowd early when junior Sherrill returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. On Tennessee’s second play, Dylan Sampson fumbled, and Sedrick Alexander ran for a 4-yard touchdown on a 26-yard drive, putting the Commodores ahead 14-0.
Iamaleava then got Tennessee going with a 28-yard touchdown pass to Dont’e Thornton Jr. The Vols caught a break when Max Gilbert’s 50-yard field goal hit the crossbar and went over. Iamaleava connected with Thornton again for an 86-yard touchdown, and later threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Miles Kitselman.
“Nico I just thought played really well throughout the course of the football game …,” Heupel said.
Iamaleava admitted an early interception stayed on his mind, but he also scrambled six times for 42 yards and wasn’t sacked once.
“I still feel like I can do better,” Iamaleava said.
Iamaleava finished the third quarter with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Mike Matthews. The Vols added a safety by Tyre West and another field goal by Gilbert.
Diego Pavia of Vanderbilt threw a 31-yard touchdown pass to Richie Hoskins late in the game, but their two-point conversion attempt failed, leaving the final score at 36-23.
