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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Tennessee
Tennessee Football Set To Host Florida State WR Malik Benson
Former Alabama and Florida State WR Malik Benson is set to visit Knoxville soon.
Tennessee will be the host of a very talented wide receiver’s visit. Tennessee will be hosting Florida State wide receiver transfer Malik Benson on a visit.
Benson is a former Alabama Crimson Tide and Florida State Seminole wide receiver. Before committing to the Tide, Tennessee was heavily in the conversation to land Benson. Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama were the finalists for the talented wideout.
Benson finished his season with 311 yards and one touchdown. In the season prior with Alabama, he finished with 162 yards and one touchdown.
Benson will visit both Tennessee and Oregon after calling off his Texas A&M visit.
Tennessee still awaits news from Mike Matthews on if he plans to continue the transfer process. If he does that will be the sixth departure to the portal at the wide receiver position. The Vols will need to bring talent in from the portal to even the playing field and it starts with a big impression from Benson.
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Tennessee
Titans Predicted to Land Aaron Rodgers, Explosive WR
The Tennessee Titans have a lot of holes to patch this coming NFL offseason, and perhaps none are more important than finding a new quarterback.
While the Titans’ easiest path to a franchise quarterback will be selecting one in the NFL Draft, they could also potentially pursue the free-agent mark or trades to discover an answer.
Lately, more and more momentum has been building toward Aaron Rodgers becoming Tennessee’s next signal-caller, and if that does happen, the Titans will certainly need to surround him with some more weapons.
Cory Kinnan of Daft on Draft recently put together a mock draft and has Tennessee landing both Rodgers and Missouri Tigers wide receiver Luther Burden III during the offseason.
“With a ton of needs on an aging roster, the Titans are not in the position to take a quarterback,” Kinnan wrote. “This could be a team that gets in the market for Aaron Rodgers, so they get him a target here in Luther Burden III. Not the receiver you expected? He’s my WR1 so why not slot him first in this mock draft?”
Burden is widely viewed as one of the most explosive playmakers in this year’s draft class and is coming off of a 2024 campaign in which he caught 61 passes for 676 yards and six touchdowns in what was actually a down year for him.
Last season, he hauled in 82 receptions for 1,212 yards and nine scores.
The idea of the Titans gambling on Rodgers is a risky one, considering that the 41-year-old has not looked like himself with the New York Jets this year.
Rodgers is also under contract for 2025, so Tennessee would either have to trade for the future Hall-of-Famer or hope that the Jets cut him in order to add him.
It should definitely be an interesting offseason in Music City.
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Tennessee
Titans Named Trade Spot for Disgruntled Superstar WR
The Tennessee Titans spent a whole lot of time addressing their receiving corps last offseason, signing both Calvin Ridley and Tyler Boyd in free agency.
That gave the Titans a rather fearsome wide receiver room that also included DeAndre Hopkins heading into the 2024 NFL campaign.
It didn’t exactly go according to plan, however, as Tennessee traded Hopkins before the deadline, Ridley struggled in the first half and Boyd has mostly been a non-factor.
That means the Titans will absolutely have to pursue other playmaking options this coming offseason, and one such possibility could be New York Jets star Garrett Wilson.
There is speculation that Wilson could ask for at trade in the coming months, as the third-year wide out does not exactly seem enthralled with playing for Aaron Rodgers.
Should the Jets place Wilson on the trade block, there would be no shortage of suitors for the Ohio State product, and Tennessee would absolutely represent a prime landing spot.
Bleacher Report’s Alex Kay has listed the Titans as a potential destination in the event of a Wilson trade and even feels that Wilson represents the best possible solution for the ailing squad.
“Cooking up a deal with the Jets that includes multiple Day 2 picks and even a potential future Day 1 pick in exchange for Wilson looks like the best option,” Kay wrote. “Executing such a move would allow the Titans to retain their lofty 2025 draft position, putting them in range to bring in a QB to pair with Wilson.”
A tandem of Wilson and Ridley would certainly be impressive, especially considering that Ridley has picked it up a bit during the second half of 2024.
Wilson has hauled in 97 receptions for 1,053 yards and seven touchdowns this season and is under team control through 2026.
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