Tennessee (9-4, 4-4 SEC) defeated Iowa (10-4, 7-2 Big Ten) 35-0 on Monday at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida, site of the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl.
Following the game, third-year head coach Josh Heupel gave a recap of the Vols’ victory.
Heupel exclaimed, “Very proud of our team, our program.” “I considered it as we were getting ready, but when they entered the meeting and took to the practice field, they were really deliberate and focused. They competed fiercely and were engaged. That was accurate in our domestic preparation. While we were here, it was accurate. At the same time, they relished the bowl celebrations. They played with what seemed to be proper preparation and pride in their performance, and I thought that was a great balance.
At the line of scrimmage, you project a defensive, aggressive, and disruptive image. really spent the whole day handling the run game. played well with the boot and left the field on third downs. The front exerted tremendous pressure throughout. All day, James (Pearce Jr.) performed admirably. He was in the backfield and caused the quarterback discomfort all day long—clearly, everyone saw the big pick. Sufficiently offensive and effective. Iamaleava’s Nico played incredibly well. a fresh start. Nothing was too big for him to handle. never gave way. incredibly calm and in charge,
In addition to doing an incredible job of decision-making and communication, he also made plays with his feet. We performed well together throughout all three phases in the end. That was our predicament going into this one. We played a really good football team today that has been very successful this season, but during coach Kirk Ferentz’s tenure, the team has gained a lot of respect for him and the way he runs his program. Fantastic way to begin the ’24 season and wrap up the 2023 one.
