Nico Iamaleava threw for 257 yards and four touchdowns as No. 8 Tennessee stormed back from an early deficit to beat host Vanderbilt 36-23 in Nashville, Tenn., on Saturday.
Two of those scoring strikes went to Dont’e Thornton (three catches, 118 yards) while Dylan Sampson added 178 rushing yards on 25 carries.
Tennessee (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) held Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia to 8-of-17 passing for 104 yards and outsnapped (73-49) and outgained (538-232) the Commodores (6-6, 3-5).
The Vols won’t play in the SEC title game, but likely clinched a College Football Playoff berth and possibly a first-round home game.
Vanderbilt got 17 first-quarter points against the Vols, who’d given up just over 13 points a game. Tennessee scored 29 unanswered points starting with the second quarter until Pavia found Richie Hoskins with a 31-yard touchdown with 5:53 to play.
The Vols picked up where they left off in the first half as Iamaleava found Mike Matthews for a 14-yard TD pass with 8:43 left in the third for a 31-17 lead.
Tennessee’s Jackson Ross, punting for the first time all day, pinned the Commodores at their 4. Two plays later, the Vols tackled Sedrick Alexander for a safety.
Max Gilbert hit a 22-yard field goal on the Vols’ ensuing drive for a 19-point lead.
Tennessee averaged 10.3 yards per play and didn’t punt in the first half, but led just 24-17 thanks to turnovers (a 2-1 deficit), penalties (seven for 55 yards) and a Vanderbilt special teams touchdown.
Vanderbilt’s Junior Sherrill opened the game with a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown, and after CJ Taylor forced a Sampson fumble that Nick Rinaldi pounced on at Tennessee’s 26, Alexander scored on a 4-yard touchdown run to put the Commodores up 14-0 just 4:38 in.
Iamaleava found Thornton for touchdown throws of 28 and 86 yards, and then hit Miles Kitselman with 22 seconds left in the first half, giving Tennessee its first lead.
Vanderbilt’s Brock Taylor hit a 32-yard field goal with 4:01 remaining in the first quarter, but the Vols scored the half’s final 17 points, starting with Gilbert’s 50-yard field goal, which hit the crossbar and bounced over.
–Field Level Media
