Nico Iamaleava stats: Tennessee QB's best, worst moments in 31-17 loss to Georgia
ATHENS, Ga. — Nico Iamaleava’s strong start fizzled in the final three quarters of No. 7 Tennessee's 31-17 loss to No. 12 Georgia on Saturday.
Iamaleava was medically cleared from concussion protocol before the game, but he couldn’t lead the Vols to their first win over Georgia since 2016. The Bulldogs have now won eight straight in the series.
With the loss, Tennessee (8-2, 5-2 SEC) put its College Football Playoff chances in jeopardy. Georgia (8-2, 6-2) jumps back into the projected bracket with the win.
Here’s a quick rundown of Iamaleava’s performance against Georgia.
Nico Iamaleava’s stats
Iamaleava was 20-of-33 passing for 167 yards, no TDs and no interceptions against Georgia.
Through 10 games in the 2024 season, Iamaleava has completed 65% of his passes for 2,046 yards, 11 TDs and four interceptions.
Nico’s best: Strong start albeit brief
Iamaleava came out strong to help UT build a 10-0 lead in the first quarter.
He completed 8 of 12 passes for 69 yards in the first quarter, including some short and intermediate throws to prolong drives.
One of Iamaleava’s best plays was an 11-yard scramble on a third-and-8 play from the 17 to set up UT’s touchdown on its opening drive. When the pass rush came, he was decisive in pulling the ball down and running for the first down.
The Vols scored a touchdown three plays later.
Nico’s worst: Sacks and a few errant passes
The sacks weren't necessarily Iamaleava’s fault. But the Vols stalled when he was dropped by the Georgia pass rush.
Iamaleava was sacked three times in the first half, which ended one UT drive and limited another to a field goal.
Those sacks were even more glaring because UT’s vaunted pass rush barely touched Georgia quarterback Carson Beck.
Iamaleava also overthrew a deep pass to Dont'e Thornton and sailed a couple of passes high over the middle.
Grade: C-
Tennessee had numerous problems, but Iamaleava wasn’t at the top of that list. He completed short passes, scrambled away from pressure and kept plays alive. But it wasn't nearly enough.
Sure, Iamaleava didn't make big mistakes. But the Vols needed him to have a standout performance, and he instead was just serviceable.
Before Iamaleava left the Mississippi State game at halftime with concussion symptoms, he had played well in four consecutive halves. That included the second half against Alabama, all the Kentucky game and the first half against Mississippi State.
It hinted that Iamaleava had turned the corner. There was nothing in this game that suggested his progress has stopped. But he didn't appear to take a step forward either.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. X, formerly known as Twitter@AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Nico Iamaleava stats: Tennessee QB best, worst in 31-17 loss to Georgia
