Tennessee
Tennessee football vs Iowa: Our score prediction, scouting report for Citrus Bowl
ORLANDO, Fla. — Tennessee football is in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl for the first time since 2002.
The No. 21 Vols (8-4) play No. 17 Iowa (10-3) on Monday (1 p.m. ET, ABC) at Camping World Stadium.
Here is what to know about the matchup:
It’s really hard to score on Iowa
Iowa ranks No. 4 in scoring defense (13.2 ppg), No. 5 in total defense (274.8 ypg), No. 8 in passing defense (172.2 ypg) and No. 13 in rushing defense (102.5 ypg).
It doesn’t have a weakness, and most of its opponents have a hard time reaching the end zone.
The Hawkeyes lost 31-0 to Penn State and 26-0 to Michigan. They didn’t allow more than 22 points in any other game this season. Their other loss was 12-10 to Minnesota.
And they rarely give up big plays. Iowa allowed only one rush of 20 yards or more this season, the fewest in college football.
Nico Iamaleava must strike right balance in his first start
Iowa’s stingy defense will be quite a challenge for Tennessee freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who is making his first start after sixth-year senior quarterback Joe Milton opted out of the Citrus Bowl.
Iamaleava is ultra-talented as a former five-star recruit. But he’s also inexperienced, having played only 52 snaps in four games of mop-up duty this season.
He must be patient, knowing that any points the Vols score must be earned. But he also can’t be too conservative because Tennessee’s up-tempo, aggressive style is its best advantage over the slogging Hawkeyes.
Iowa might have the worst offense in the nation
The good news for Iamaleava is that Tennessee might have to score only 20 points to win.
Iowa has perhaps the worst offense in the nation. It ranks last among 133 FBS teams in total offense (238.8 ypg) and No. 130 in scoring offense (16.6 ppg).
The Hawkeyes won low-scoring close games because they were strong on defense and special teams, and they commit few penalties. They scored fewer than 20 points in Big Ten wins over Wisconsin (15-6), Northwestern (10-7), Illinois (15-13) and Nebraska (13-10).
Who isn’t playing really does matter
Milton, Jaylen Wright and Jabari Small opted out. That’s the Vols’ starting quarterback and two of their top three running backs. Iamaleava and running back Dylan Sampson will get their first starts.
Defensive end Tyler Baron and five defensive backs in the primary rotation entered the transfer portal. Freshman cornerback Rickey Gibson and sophomore safety Andre Turrentine will be among the new starters in the secondary.
Iowa didn’t have anyone opt out, and it didn’t suffer any major losses in the portal. But cornerback Cooper DeJean, a finalist for the Jim Thorpe Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy, suffered a season-ending leg injury in November.
TRACKING TENNESSEE OPT-OUTS Here are the Vols who won’t play in Citrus Bowl vs. Iowa
Tennessee score prediction vs. Iowa
Tennessee 24, Iowa 16: Iowa gets the low-scoring slugfest that it wants. But Tennessee finds the end zone enough times to break the 20-point threshold for coach Josh Heupel’s second straight bowl win.
Adam Sparks is the Tennessee football beat reporter. Email adam.sparks@knoxnews.com. Twitter @AdamSparks. Support strong local journalism by subscribing at knoxnews.com/subscribe.
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West Tennessee Man Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Enticement of a Minor
Jackson, TN – Garrett Baughman, 19, of Wildersville, Tennessee, has been sentenced to 20 years in prison for soliciting sexually explicit images and videos from a thirteen-year-old child. Joseph C. Murphy, Jr., Interim U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee, announced the sentence today.
📸: TBI Sex Offender Registry
Baughman was charged with one count of production of child pornography; one count of use of a facility and means of interstate commerce to persuade, induce, entice a minor to engage in sexual criminal acts; and one count of receipt of child pornography. Following his guilty plea to the enticement of a minor charge, United States Senior District Judge J. Daniel Breen sentenced Baughman to 20 years in prison and five years of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.
Additionally, Baughman must comply with the conditions of the Sexual Offender Registry upon his release.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Nashville-Jackson Resident Agency Child Exploitation Task Force and the Henry County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Caroline Parish prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.
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PRESS RELEASE FROM THE TENNESSEE LOTTERY:
$760,000 TENNESSEE CASH WINNER IN SNEEDVILLE, $510,000 DAILY TENNESSEE JACKPOT WINNER IN SAVANNAH
SNEEDVILLE/SAVANNAH – What a night! Two popular Tennessee Lottery in-state games saw jackpot winners last night: One player in Sneedville scored a $760,000 Tennessee Cash win, while another player in Savannah won the Daily Tennessee Jackpot top prize of $510,000.
The Tennessee Cash winning $760,000 ticket was sold at Fastop Market, 127 Tazewell Hwy. in Sneedville.
The Daily Tennessee Jackpot winning $510,000 ticket was sold at Pit Stop, 795 Clifton Road in Savannah.
No additional information is available until the prizes are claimed.
The Lottery reminds players to have fun and play responsibly.
About the Tennessee Education Lottery
The Tennessee Education Lottery Corporation operates from the revenue it generates through the sale of its products. Since January 20, 2004, the Lottery has raised more than $8 billion to fund designated education programs, including college grants, scholarships, and K-12 after-school programs. In addition to the educational beneficiaries, players have won more than $21.7 billion in prizes and Lottery retailers have earned more than $2 billion in commissions.
For additional information, visit tnlottery.com and follow the TEL on Facebook, X & Instagram.
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The Associated Press has released a new batch of college football rankings following week three of the 2025 college football season.
Week three of the 2025 college football season is in the books as teams all across the country turn their attention to week four. With another exciting week of college football now complete, the Associated Press has released another batch of college football rankings.
Multiple exciting games took place over the weekend and resulted in some massive upsets. Multiple teams inside the top-15 were upset, as 12th-ranked Clemson was defeated by Georgia Tech, 11th-ranked South Carolina was handled by Vanderbilt, and eighth-ranked Notre Dame suffered a shocking loss to Texas A&M at home.
The Georgia Bulldogs were another team to play in an exciting matchup, as they won an overtime thriller against the 15th-ranked Tennessee Volunteers on the road. The victory was the Bulldogs’ ninth consecutive win over the Vols and their fifth straight in Neyland Stadium.
The Bulldogs will be off for week four as they partake in their first bye week of the 2025 season. The Dawgs will return to action on Saturday, September 27th, when they host the Alabama Crimson Tide in Athens. It will be the first meeting between these two teams in Sanford Stadium since 2015.
Editor’s note**: This article will be updated as the rankings are released
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