Tennessee football capped off its regular season on a strong note Saturday afternoon. The Vols jumped out to an early lead and coasted to a 48-24 victory over instate rival Vanderbilt.
Both teams scored touchdowns on their opening drives of the game but Tennessee’s offense kept rolling while the Commodores’ offense struggled to recreate its first drive success.
The biggest entertainment happened between plays when a first half brouhaha broke out between the Vols and Commodores.
Here’s four quick takeaways on the Vols’ victory.
Joe Milton III Turns In His Best Performance
Tennessee senior quarterback Joe Milton III hasn’t been very good this season. But he used his best performance of his career against Vanderbilt on Saturday afternoon.
Milton’s previous Tennessee high was 287 passing yards. In the first half against Vanderbilt, Milton completed 15-of-20 passes for 252 yards and three touchdowns.
The super senior quarterback started his Senior Day fast, completing his first three passes including a 56-yard touchdown to Ramel Keyton.
Against the outmatched SEC foe, Milton was accurate with the football and made a number of plays happen when his protection broke down.
Milton ended the game completing 22-of-32 passes for 383 yards and four passing touchdowns while adding two more touchdowns on the ground. The super senior quarterback totaled career highs in passing yards and touchdowns. In fact, Milton’s six touchdowns were the most from a Tennessee player since Jonathan Crompton totaled six against Memphis in 2009.
Milton’s had a disappointing season but he capped it off with his best performance. Milton torched the Vols’ instate rival and propelled Tennessee to an 8-4 (4-4 SEC) record.
Big Game For Tight Ends
Two other Tennessee seniors that had big days were tight ends Jacob Warren and McCallan Castles. The duo were the recipients of two of Milton’s four touchdown passes in the win.
Warren caught two long passes from Milton including a 46-yard touchdown where he made a sliding catch on a slightly under thrown ball. The Knoxville native finished with 82 receiving yards in his final game at Neyland Stadium.
Castles had the more impressive touchdown, running a beautiful double move and hauling in a Milton pass for a 10-yard touchdown. The South Lake Tahoe native finished with three catches for 47 yards in his final game at Neyland Stadium.
Castles and Warren’s touchdowns were the seventh and eighth from Tennessee tight ends this season. That marked the Vols’ most since 2007 when Tennessee tight ends totaled nine touchdowns.
Hunter Salmon also caught two passes for 21 yards in the fourth quarter.
More From RTI: Which Tennessee Seniors Did and Did Not Participate In Senior Day Festivities
Improved Third Down Defense
One of my three keys for Tennessee football against Vanderbilt was for its defense to do a much better job getting off the field on third down.
The last two weeks, Missouri and Georgia combined to convert 20-of-30 third down attempts against Tennessee’s defense.
But the Vols flipped the script and dominated the outmatched Commodores on third down. Vanderbilt converted just three-of-12 third down attempts and began the game one-of-nine on third down.
Tennessee followed the formula against the Commodores that I laid out in my preview. The Vols won early downs and forced Vanderbilt to play in third-and-long all game. That allowed Tennessee’s solid pass rush to feast against the Commodores’ bad offensive line.
The Vols’ defensive line lived in Vanderbilt’s backfield for most of the game but especially on third downs. Tyler Baron recorded a sack and while James Pearce Jr. recorded just 0.5 sacks, he affected a multitude of plays with his pass rush.
Limited Nico Iamaleava Playing Time
Tennessee fans didn’t get to see as much of freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava as they would have liked in the lopsided win. Iamaleava checked into the game with 12:47 left in the fourth quarter and played two drives.
Iamaleava led the Vols 42 yards on his first drive before Warren dropped a third down fastball and Heupel sent out the field goal unit. Charles Campbell’s 41-yard field goal missed.
On his second drive, Iamaleava drove Tennessee 66 yards into the red zone before Gaston Moore replaced him to get some Senior Day action in the final minute of the game
The five-star freshman completed nine-of-12 passes for 66 yards in the regular season finale. Iamaleava primarily threw short passes and screens but was accurate and on time with the football. He also converted a third down with a speed option run.
