CHARLOTTE – No. 12 Tennessee football could be bound for the Top 10 only two weeks into the season after soundly beating No. 23 NC State 51-10 on Saturday night.
The Vols (2-0) never trailed in the Duke’s Mayo Classic, an early season test against a ranked ACC foe.
And the UT defense punished NC State (1-1), extending its streak to 12 consecutive quarters without allowing a touchdown.
On Saturday, No. 7 Michigan lost to No. 3 Texas and No. 9 Notre Dame suffered an upset loss to Northern Illinois. So the Vols could climb into the Top 10.
UT is now 3-0 with redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava at starting quarterback, including Top 25 wins over Iowa in the Citrus Bowl and now NC State. The Vols’ next ranked opponent will be No. 13 Oklahoma on Sept. 21.
But UT’s next game will be Sept. 14 against Kent State at Neyland Stadium. Here are six takeaways from this win over NC State in front of a crowd of 72,730 at Bank of America Stadium.
Walk-on? Tennessee's Will Brooks makes play of game
Safety Will Brooks picked the perfect time to make the play of his life.
Late in the second quarter, NC State drove to the UT 16 and threatened to erase the Vols’ 10-3 lead.
But Brooks picked off a Grayson McCall pass and raced up the sideline for an 85-yard touchdown that broke the game open and extended UT’s lead to 17-3.
The pass was intended for tight end Justin Joly, but UT defensive end Joshua Josephs pressured McCall. It was the first interception of Brooks’ career. He is a walk-on who earned a starting spot this season.
The 85-yarder was the 10th longest interception return for a TD in UT history and the longest since Daniel Bituli’s 97-yarder against Alabama in 2017.
Nico Iamaleava with three TDs, two INTs
Iamaleava was 16-of-23 passing for 211 yards, two TDs and two interceptions. He also rushed for 65 yards, including a 31-yard TD.
It wasn’t a record-breaking performance like he had in his first two starts. Iamaleava had a UT bowl record three rushing TDs in the Citrus Bowl and 314 yards passing in a single half against Chattanooga for another school record.
Iamaleava threw an ill-advised pass into traffic for one interception. He was hit while throwing another pick, which was returned 87 yards for a TD.
But Iamaleava still got the job done for a notable win away from Neyland Stadium. He tossed a 45-yard pass to Squirrel White that set up a field goal. And he hit tight ends Miles Kitselman and Holden Staes on TD passes.
Tennessee defense dominates again
UT’s defense dominated NC State’s veteran offensive line, which returned four starters from last season.
The Vols have not allowed a touchdown since the fourth quarter of the Vanderbilt game, the 2023 regular season finale.
NC State gained only 143 yards of total offense, including 39 on the ground.
Brooks scored on the pick-6. Dominic Bailey recovered a fumble on a strip sack that led to a UT field goal. A fourth-down stop led to a TD. And Jeremiah Telander also recovered a fumble.
Dylan Sampson back in end zone, twice
Dylan Sampson continues to have a nose for the end zone.
The junior running back had TD runs of 9 yards and 34 yards. He added that to his three TDs in the Week 1 win over Chattanooga.
Last season, Sampson led UT with eight TDs while sharing the backfield with Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small.
Sampson rushed for 132 yards on 20 carries against NC State for his third consecutive 100-yard game, dating back to the Citrus Bowl last season.
Meanwhile, UT improved its record to 23-2 under coach Josh Heupel when rushing for at least 200 yards.
New kicker Max Gilbert almost perfect
Max Gilbert drilled field goals from 32, 36 and 45 yards to keep the Vols scoring when their offense struggled to finish drives. He missed a 53-yard field goal in the fourth quarter.
Gilbert, a redshirt freshman, has quietly had a strong start to his first season as UT’s starting placekicker. He is 5-for-6 on field goals, making a 36-yarder and 42-yarder against Chattanooga.
Josh Heupel in elite company vs. Top 25
UT improved to 9-8 against Top 25 teams under Heupel. Only Georgia’s Kirby Smart (16) and Kalen DeBoer (12), who coached at Washington and now Alabama, have more wins over Top 25 teams since 2021.
In 2021, the Vols went 1-4 against ranked opponents with a win over No. 17 Kentucky. In 2022, they went 6-1 against ranked opponents, including a win over No. 1 Alabama.
Last season, UT went 1-3 against ranked opponents with losses to No. 8 Alabama, No. 16 Missouri and No. 1 Georgia and a win over No. 17 Iowa. And now the Vols are 1-0 against ranked opponents in 2024.
Those are the US LBM Coaches Poll rankings at the time of the game.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Emailadam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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