By Rock Westfall
When the Tennessee Volunteers routed the helpless Kent State Golden Flashes 71-0 to improve to 3-0, Vol Nation started talking crazier than usual, which is saying something. All of a sudden, 4-star freshman sensation quarterback Nico Iamaleava was being touted for the Heisman Trophy, coach Josh Heupel was ranked with General Neyland, and the national championship was said to be a fait accompli.
Next, things were over the top when Tennessee beat Oklahoma 25-15 to improve to 4-0. The Vols defense put Oklahoma’s 5-star sophomore starting QB Jackson Arnold on the bench, where he is likely to stay through the rest of the season. Tennessee won the game primarily on defense, holding OU to 222 yards and forcing three turnovers while enforcing a 35:41 time of possession.
Heupel exacted his long-sought revenge from the program that fired him as offensive coordinator, and the Vols were seen as an SEC front-runner.
But for Iamaleava, a funny thing happened along the way to the Downtown Athletic Club in New York City, host of the Heisman Trophy presentation. He was a pedestrian 13-21 for 194 yards and a TD while getting sacked three times against the Sooners. Although it was a solid performance; it was not lights out.
After the win, Tennessee had a bye week to bask in the glow of the smiles of cute coeds, replay videos of their newfound glory, and relentlessly admire its press clippings. Sure enough, the Vols stepped into a trap at Arkansas, losing to the Razorbacks 19-14 as overvalued 14-point favorites.
The loss was a kick to the gut for Tennessee. Now, the question is whether the Volunteers can get over themselves and learn from the loss. This week, the Vols host the resurgent Florida Gators at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN in a game that will draw plenty of attention.
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Nico Iamaleava runs out of bounds with no time left and Arkansas takes down #4 Tennessee!pic.twitter.com/M2JkCOmBBO
— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) October 6, 2024
Nico And Heupel Flummoxed at Arkansas
The loss at Arkansas was an embarrassment for Iamaleava and Heupel. It was easy for the duo to light up Kent State, but not so much against the SEC Razorbacks. Tennessee was frustrated by clever Arkansas defensive alignments used specifically against the Vols. Heupel failed to adapt against the mix of delayed blitzes and pullbacks.
To Heupel’s credit, he conceded that his coaching staff could have been better and admitted that the Vols did not have a clean game. There were too many breakdowns in pass protection, and Iamaleava often held on to the ball too long, not being able to make decisions or find open receivers. The Razorbacks’ alignment and movement fooled Iamaleava and his linemen. Iamaleava lost confidence, and it showed.
“We didn’t play clean,” Heupel said. “Some of that’s Nico. Some of that’s the guys around him. Structurally, that’s what the last couple opponents have decided to play against us. (We are) certainly capable last week of attacking and performing better than we did in the run game and in the pass game. Some of the things that we control, we did not handle very well. Communication was a big part of it.”
Of great concern is that Nico has been sacked seven times in Tennessee’s two SEC games, a stark contrast to the three non-conference blowout wins. The constant pass-rush pressure seems to be getting into his head.
“Some of (pass protection problems) is just one-on-one battles,” Heupel said. “Love those guys. Believe in those guys. Those two, like pretty much everybody offensively, can perform at a higher level as we go and have performed at a higher level than they did the other night. Some of that’s just ordinary things — fundamentals, technique, assignment-alignment and technique.”
Tennessee will need to get things figured out against the productive Florida pass rush.
Nico Iamaleava explains what happened on the final play of the game that sealed Tennessee's loss to Arkansas.
Watch: (https://t.co/2axFtQoTko) pic.twitter.com/GbjdWMChX5— Paige Dauer (@PaigeDauerFDP) October 6, 2024
UT Reality Check – Iamaleava Can Cancel Plans for NYC
Iamaleava capped off his bad night by running out of bounds at the Arkansas 15-yard as he ran out of time to end the game. It was symbolic of a bad loss for Tennessee in which the offensive line, quarterback, and coaches all deserved F’s for their grades.
The bloom is off the rose for Iamaleava, Heupel, and the Vols. Now the pressure is on to recover with a win against a lightly regarded Florida team and a head coach, Billy Napier, who is on one of the hottest seats in the land. But Florida is coming off wins against Mississippi State and UCF, stemming the tide, at least temporarily.
Tennessee and Vol nation were too intoxicated with the easy success in the non-conference portion of the schedule only to get a cold slap of SEC reality. If they are of championship caliber, they will storm back strong against the Gators.
Big Orange now has a freshman quarterback who is losing confidence, is in a rut, and is up against enemy defenses that are cracking his and the coaches’ codes. Tennessee now faces a season that could quickly become a crisis if things don’t soon turn around.
Josh Heupel kicking an onside kick up 30 vs. Josh Heupel playing a team with an actual pulse. pic.twitter.com/TbTx1iAGJu
— lee (@senor_crappy) October 6, 2024
