COLUMBUS, Ohio — Tennessee football’s season came to an end on Saturday night as Ohio State dominated the Vols’ 42-17 in the first round of the College Football Playoffs.
Perhaps the most surprising stat line of the night was Dylan Sampson totaling just six yards on two carries. Sampson exited the game early and ESPN’s Marty Smith reported that he was battling a hamstring injury. Sampson came back in for one play in the second half, catching a two-yard pass before again exiting the game.
But according to Tennessee coaches, they knew Sampson wasn’t at full strength entering the game and while they were hoping he could give it a go, they knew he wouldn’t be able to carry the same work load he has all season.
“End of the Vandy game, got dinged up, and it was soft tissue, and had been out the first couple weeks and got back with us,” Tennessee head coach Josh Heupel said. “Started building him through the week. Felt like he was in a good spot. Anticipated him not having the same type of load that he normally would have. Just early in the game kind of re-tweaked it and wasn’t available there for a while.”
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Sampson has been the engine that’s kept the Vols’ offense moving all season despite a lackluster passing game. The SEC Offensive Player of the Year totaled 1,485 yards and 22 touchdowns in the regular season. Both marks were the best in program history.
Tennessee’s offense was going to be fighting an uphill battle against Ohio State’s defense no matter who was out on the field but losing Sampson was certainly a major blow. But according to Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, the Vols knew it was a possibility that Sampson wasn’t able to go.
“We knew Dylan wasn’t at 100 percent,” Halzle said. “We knew he was going to go early and he was going to give it a shot. Whenever that guy is not at 100 percent— he’s SEC offensive Player of the Year, right, he makes everything go.So losing him and actually not even having him at full speed was tough. But that’s part of the job, is when you’re not healthy, when you’re not 100 percent, what are you going to do to get the job done. We didn’t get it done tonight.”
With Sampson out, Peyton Lewis totaled 10 carries for 77 yards and DeSean Bishop totaled 22 yards on seven carries. Bishop also exited the game in the second half with an injury. Nico Iamaleava had a more prevalent role in the rushing game, totaling 47 yards on a career-high 20 carries.
