NCAAF

Tennessee Volunteers at Vanderbilt Commodores

· NCAA - Football
10-2, 2-2 Away
Final
36 - 23

No. 7 Tennessee gives up 1st 14 points before rallying to rout Vanderbilt 36-23

Highlight: Iamaleava, No. 8 Tennessee rally to vanquish Vanderbilt

The Vols showed they can finish, which has them on the verge of hosting a College Football Playoff game.

Nico Iamaleava threw for 257 yards and four touchdowns rallying Tennessee to routing in-state rival Vanderbilt 36-23 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 victory to impress the College Football Playoff committee.

They beat Vanderbilt (6-6, 3-5) for a sixth straight season leaving the Commodores needing to win their bowl game to post their first winning record since 2013.

Better yet, the Vols rebounded from a nightmare start giving up the first 14 points by scoring 29 straight points. They led 24-17 at halftime on Iamaleava's first three TD passes.

“Once they took the momentum, we kind of allowed them to have it for the rest of the game," Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. "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.”

Junior Sherrill returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown for Vanderbilt to stun a mostly orange crowd. Dylan Sampson fumbled on the Vols’ second play from scrimmage, and Sedrick Alexanader's 4-yard TD run on a 26-yard drive put Vandy up 14-0 quickly.

Then Iamaleava got Tennessee going with a 28-yard TD pass to Dont’e Thornton Jr.

Tennessee got a break when Max Gilbert's 50-yard field goal bounced off the crossbar and over. Iamaleava found Thornton again on an 86-yard catch-and-run TD, then he tossed an 18-yard TD pass to Miles Kitselman.

“Nico I just thought played really well throughout the course of the football game ...,” Heupel said.

An early interception remained on Iamaleava's mind postgame. He also scrambled six times for 42 yards and wasn't sacked once.

“I still feel like I can do better,” Iamaleava said.

Iamaleava capped the opening drive of the third quartewith a 14-yard TD pass to Mike Matthews. The Vols added a safety by Tyre West and another Gilbert field goal.

Diego Pavia threw a 31-yard TD pass to Richie Hoskins late with Vandy's 2-point conversion failing for the final margin.

Poll implications Tennessee shook off yet another slow start. The Vols may move up a spot or two. The biggest question is whether the Vols get to host a playoff game at Neyland Stadium where they went undefeated.

The takeaways Tennessee put together TD drives of 91 and 96 yards in the first half. The Vols then beat Vandy at its own game of keepaway after not even managing 10 minutes of possession in the first half. They finished with the edge in that stat outgaining Vandy 538-212.

Vanderbilt had some of the best offensive success against Tennessee in the first half of any opponent this season. The Commodores had 114 yards rushing and 17 points by halftime against a defense that came in ranked sixth nationally allowing just 98.8 yards a game. The Vols also held 10 opponents under 20 points this season.

Lea said the Commodores ran just 11 plays to Tennessee's 44 after halftime.

Sampson's latest record The Tennessee running back, who set the program record with 22 rushing TDs this season, didn't reach the end zone for the first time this season. Sampson finished with 178 yards rushing to reach 1,485 yards for the season, topping the school mark of 1,464 set by Travis Stephens in 2001.

“I don’t know if anybody’s played the position better than he has this year,” Heupel said of a running back who wasn't among the Doak Walker finalists. “He’s special. He's dynamic.”

Up next Tennessee waits to hear its spot in the CFP field, while Vanderbilt learns its bowl destination Dec. 8.

How To Watch

How can I watch Tennessee Volunteers vs. Vanderbilt Commodores?
  • TV Channel: Volunteers at Commodores 2021 College Football, week 14, is broadcasted on ABC.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Commodores: 20.1%
Volunteers: 79.9%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

VAN TD 1st Period 14:47 Junior Sherrill 100 Yd Kickoff Return (Brock Taylor Kick)
VAN TD 1st Period 10:22 Sedrick Alexander 4 Yd Run (Brock Taylor Kick)
TENN TD 1st Period 8:48 Dont'e Thornton Jr. 28 Yd pass from Nico Iamaleava (Max Gilbert Kick)
VAN FG 1st Period 4:01 Brock Taylor 32 Yd Field Goal
TENN FG 2nd Period 8:33 Max Gilbert 50 Yd Field Goal
TENN TD 2nd Period 6:38 Dont'e Thornton Jr. 86 Yd pass from Nico Iamaleava (Max Gilbert Kick)
TENN TD 2nd Period 0:22 Miles Kitselman 18 Yd pass from Nico Iamaleava (Max Gilbert Kick)
TENN TD 3rd Period 8:43 Mike Matthews 14 Yd pass from Nico Iamaleava (Max Gilbert Kick)
TENN SF 3rd Period 1:09 Tyre West Safety
TENN FG 4th Period 8:24 Max Gilbert 22 Yd Field Goal
VAN TD 4th Period 5:53 Richie Hoskins 31 Yd pass from Diego Pavia (Sedrick Alexander Run for Two-Point Conversion)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/2633.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originTENN https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/238.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originVAN
29 1st Downs 15
11-15 3rd down efficiency 4-10
0-1 4th down efficiency 0-1
538 Total Yards 212
257 Passing 104
18/26 Comp/Att 8/18
9.9 Yards per pass 5.8
281 Rushing 108
47 Rushing Attempts 31
6.0 Yards per rush 3.5
13-102 Penalties 8-80
2 Turnovers 1
1 Fumbles lost 0
1 Interceptions thrown 1
33:35 Possession 26:25

Game Information

FirstBank Stadium

Location: Nashville, TN
Attendance: 28,934 · Capacity:
Full Standings

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