Nico Iamaleava leads No. 25 Tennessee to 35-0 rout of No. 20 Iowa in the Citrus Bowl
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - Freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava ran for three touchdowns and threw for one in his first career start as No. 25 Tennessee shut down No. 20 Iowa’s Division I-worst offense to beat the Hawkeyes 35-0 in the Citrus Bowl on Monday.
Iamaleava, a prized recruit for Volunteers coach Josh Heupel, stepped in for senior Joe Milton, who opted out of the game to prepare for the NFL draft. The 19-year-old threw for 151 yards; his 27 rushing yards included three scores.
ORLANDO, FL - JANUARY 01: Tennessee Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) celebrates a touchdown with teammates during the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Iowa Hawkeyes on January 1, 2024 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fl. (Ph
Dylan Sampson rushed 20 times for 133 yards for the Vols (9-4), and Tennessee’s defense did the rest against an Iowa offense that came in averaging 16.6 points per game and 238.8 yards.
The Hawkeyes (10-4) were blanked in consecutive games to close the season after falling 26-0 to No. 1 Michigan in the Big Ten championship game. Iowa’s defense gave up more than 20 points for the third time this season — all of them in shutout losses.
ORLANDO, FL - JANUARY 01: Iowa Hawkeyes running back Terrell Washington Jr. (8) runs with the ball during the game between the Tennessee Volunteers and the Iowa Hawkeyes on January 1, 2024 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Fl. (Photo by David Rose
The shutout was the largest in Citrus Bowl history. East Carolina beat Maine 31-0 in 1965, when the game was known as the Tangerine Bowl.