NASHVILLE — Tennessee picked the most wonderful time of the year for its offense to finally light up a Southeastern Conference opponent.
Needing a victory at Vanderbilt to essentially clinch a coveted berth in the first 12-team edition of the College Football Playoff, the Volunteers rebounded from an early two-touchdown deficit Saturday to sail past the Commodores 36-23 before a mostly orange-clad crowd of 28,934 inside Vanderbilt Stadium.
Tennessee redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava completed 18 of 26 passes for 257 yards and four touchdowns, connecting with senior Dont’e Thornton for first-half scores covering 28 and 86 yards.
“Finishing the way that we needed to and we wanted to is always sweet,” Tennessee fourth-year coach Josh Heupel said. “These guys earned the right for this to be a big game, and they went out and took it. You’ve got to take it as a competitor when you’re in the arena, and it was a lot of fun inside of that locker room, obviously.”
Said Iamaleava: “I’m super happy we were able to secure that spot. Now the real work starts. It’s go time for us.”