Nico Iamaleava leads No. 25 Tennessee to 35-0 rout of No. 20 Iowa in the Citrus Bowl

Associated Press | Monday, January 1, 2024 4:39 p.m.

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava runs past Iowa defensive back Xavier Nwankpa (1) for a touchdown during the first half of the Citrus Bowl on Monday.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava ran for three touchdowns and threw for one in his first career start, and 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, and rushed for 27 yards.

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 and 238.8 yards per game.

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.

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.