Tennessee coach Josh Heupel: ‘The momentum is a completely different game the last three quarters’
After Tennessee’s defense was able to overwhelm NC State en route to a 51-10 win over the Wolfpack in the Duke’s Mayo Classic at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday night, Volunteers coach Josh Heupel appeared to be pleased with that unit’s action.
“Excited about the way the football team came out and performed,” Heupel told reporters after the game. “Defensively, just in elite performance from really start to finish. Played so well against the run, tight coverage, applied pressure to the quarterback. Just a really good performance and proud of what they did.”
Tennessee’s defense limited NC State to just 143 total yards of offense, including just 27 in the second half. Graduate quarterback Grayson McCall only threw for 104 yards with an interception, while the Wolfpack running backs rushed for 39 yards on 28 attempts.
McCall’s lone interception was the turning point in the game as Will Brooks took it the other way for a touchdown, flipping the momentum to a two-score game in the second quarter. NC State never threatened again as Tennessee controlled the game the rest of the way.
Heupel, Tennessee’s fourth-year coach, believed that was key in his team’s win.
“It was a part of the straw that broke the back of them, you know what I mean?” Heupel said. “It started creating momentum for us.”
That helped the Volunteers have the momentum for the rest of the game, in Heupel’s eyes.
“Just from fourth down stops to turnovers, the momentum is a completely different game the last three quarters of the football game,” Heupel said.
While the Volunteers’ defense was rolling, its offense found a rhythm to take advantage of the energy it was given. Redshirt freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava finished 16-of-23 passing with 211 yards, two touchdown passes and a pair of interceptions.
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Heupel was impressed by his young signal-caller, who had yet to make a start in front of a hostile crowd. But in his third start under center for the Volunteers, he proved he was more than capable of handling himself in a tough situation.
“I thought all in all (he) played really well,” Heupel said of Iamaleava. “He played within himself, he responded extremely well to adversity. I think that’s one of the things we really haven’t seen from him yet. Really proud of his demeanor and being ready to come play the next play independently. Which is what you have to do as a quarterback.”
But for everything that Iamaleava did for the Volunteers, it was Tennessee’s defense that was the story of the game. The Vols were able to keep NC State out of its attacking territory as the Wolfpack only ran 28% of its plays inside of Tennessee territory.
For Heupel, who acknowledged the history of Tennessee football, defense is what he hopes the Volunteers can pride themselves on this season. Against NC State, it seemed like the Vols were off to a hot start.
“The standard at Tennessee is to be elite on defense. This is the home of Reggie White, Al Wilson, Eric Berry.”
