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Watch: Nico Iamaleava's two touchdown runs against Iowa in the Citrus Bowl

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•01/01/24•

GrantRamey

Tennessee Football Nico Iamaleava Previews First Start In Citrus Bowl

Nico Iamaleava is on the board with two touchdowns in his first career start. No. 21 Tennessee’s five-star freshman quarterback ran 19 yards on a draw for the first touchdown of the afternoon against No. 17 Iowa in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl on Monday afternoon and ran for 3-yard touchdown on the next drive.

Iamaleava scored on the first play of the second quarter, after a pair of Tennessee drives that ended in punts. It was the first rushing touchdown of his Tennessee career and his second touchdown with the Vols. 

Iamaleava doubled Tennessee’s lead on his second rushing touchdown in the second quarter. The drive went 68 yards on 11 plays and included one fourth-and-1 conversion by freshman running back Cameron Seldon.

He completed 4 of 8 passes for 42 yards in the first quarter against the Hawkeyes and had three runs for seven yards before the 19-yard touchdown run. He was sacked twice over Tennessee’s first two possessions.

Iowa drove 43 yards to the Tennessee 4-yard line late in the first quarter, but on third down quarterback Deacon Hill was intercepted in the end zone by Tennessee’s Andre Turrentine to eliminate the Hawkeye scoring threat.

Iamaleava accounted for his first career touchdown in Tennessee’s 59-3 Homecoming win over UConn on November 4, throwing a 19-yard touchdown to tight end McCallan Castles. 

Entering Monday’s game, Iamaleava had completed 16 of 26 passes for 163 yards and the touchdown while playing in four games during the regular season. He had rushed five times for 48 yards.

No. 21 Tennessee vs. No. 17 Iowa: How To Watch

Kickoff Time: Monday, January 1, 1 p.m. Eastern Time

TV: ABC

Streaming: FuboTV

Radio: WNML-FM 99.1 in Knoxville. The Vol Network radio broadcast can be heard on local affiliates across the state of Tennessee. 

Location: Camping World Stadium (60,219)

Bowl History: Tennessee in the Citrus Bowl

Tennessee beat Maryland 30-23 on December 17, 1983 in its first Citrus Bowl appearance. The Vols returned to the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day in 1994, losing 31-13 to Penn State.

It was back-to-back wins in the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day 1996 and New Year’s Day 1997. 

The Vols beat Eddie George’s Ohio State team 20-14 in the driving rain in Orlando in 1996, capping an 11-1 1995 season, and beat Northwestern 48-28 in 1997 to finish the 1996 season at 10-2.

Tennessee returned to the Citrus Bowl on New Year’s Day 2002, the last appearance in Orlando for the Vols, and beat Michigan 45-17.

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