CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Tennessee football made a statement in its first test of the season, splattering No. 24 NC State 51-10 in the Duke’s Mayo Classic.
A Will Brooks pick six gave Tennessee breathing room in the second quarter and from there it was all Vols as they annihilated the Wolfpack in the neutral site game.
Here’s four quick takeaways on the win.
Tennessee Controls The Line Of Scrimmage
The most obvious advantage Tennessee had entering the game was that its defensive line was much better than NC State’s offensive line on paper. That proved true very early in the game.
Even on the first drive of the game when NC State moved the ball well, its run plays accounted for -3 yards, 0 yards and -3 yards. In the first quarter, the Wolfpack had -10 yards on four designed runs and they had very little success running it in the second quarter outside of two runs when Tennessee’s third string defensive line was in the game.
NC State’s offensive line held up okay enough in pass protection but Tennessee still consistently pressure the quarterback.
On the other side of the ball, Tennessee ran the ball with success all night. NC State runs a unique 3-3-5 defense and the Vols answered by running more 12 personnel (two tight end sets) than I’ve ever seen under Josh Heupel. Tennessee’s pass protection was also strong as Nico Iamaleava wasn’t sacked and had a good amount of time to throw most of the game.
The result was Tennessee achieving a 249-39 advantage on the ground. When you do that, you’re going to win most games. That proved to be the case in the season opener.
Double Dip Puts The Game Away
Tennessee truly took control of the game when Will Brooks 85-yard pick six gave them a 17-3 lead midway through the second quarter.
But it was with the double dip around halftime when they opened up a sizable lead that all but put the game away. Credit Tennessee’s defense and special teams for setting up the double dip. After the pick six they forced a three-and-out and a nice Squirrel White punt return gave them the ball in NC State territory.
A holding penalty kept Tennessee from having much chance of scoring a touchdown on the drive but the Vols moved the ball enough to set up a 45-yard field goal which Max Gilbert knocked in.
Tennessee promptly went 75 yards in 10 plays and 4:33 seconds to open up the second half. Iamaleava hit Ethan Davis for four yards to open the drive and then found Squirrel White for 22 yards on a third down. However, Tennessee did most of its damage on the ground with seven runs— five from Dylan Sampson and two from Iamaleava including a fourth down conversion.
After attacking NC State down hill, Tennessee went play action and slipped tight end Miles Kitselman out the weak side who was wide open for a 15-yard touchdown.
Josh Heupel loves deferring to the second half and he showed the reason why again, turning a 17-3 game into a 27-3 game before NC State could even touch the football.
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Nico Iamaleava Good Not Great
Many were circling this game as Nico Iamaleava’s coming out scene on the national stage. It didn’t quite prove to be that but the redshirt freshman quarterback did play well in the lopsided win.
Iamaleava did make one freshman mistake, throwing it late and into traffic over the middle and NC State made him pay with an interception. He threw another interception— a third quarter pick six— but his arm was drilled as he threw and the ball went right in the air to a defensive back. Not a great play by Iamaleava by any means but hard to put that one only on him.
Besides that, Iamaleava performed well. He was on time and accurate with the football and ended up completing 16-of-23 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns
Perhaps the best part of Iamaleava’s night was the play he made with his legs. He moved the sticks three times on third or fourth downs on both scrambles and designed quarterback runs. One of those designed quarterback runs was a 31-yard touchdown and Iamaleava finished the night with 65 rushing yards.
The best play of Iamaleava’s performance didn’t end up counting when he bought just enough time and heaved it down field to Miles Kitselman for what would have been a 57 yard touchdown if it wasn’t for an illegal man downfield penalty.
Iamaleava didn’t quite kickstart his Heisman Trophy campaign against NC State, but he did play good football in the first big game start of his career.
Tennessee’s Secondary Holds Up
Tennessee’s defensive backfield was its biggest question entering the season and Chattanooga did little to test it in the Vols’ season opening win.
But with veteran quarterback Grayson McCall and a group of talented pass catchers, NC State had what it took to test the Vols young and unexperienced secondary.
They aced the test.
Tennessee gave up a few plays underneath but very few plays down the field as NC State totaled just 104 passing yards on 22 attempts.
Star slot receiver Kevin Concepcion five passes for 53 yards but NC State’s outside receivers did nothing. There was buzz around cornerbacks Rickey Gibson and Jermod McCoy entering the season and they were both really good against the Wolfpack. Then there was obviously the pick six from Brooks that opened the game up.
Time will tell how good NC State’s passing attack ends up being but the Vols absolutely shut it down.
