That……was ugly.
The Tennessee Volunteers ended what had been an exciting and promising 2024 season with one of the biggest duds of a performance in a long time – which is saying something for this program in the 21st century – falling 42-17 to Ohio State in the first round of the College Football Playoff.
Nico Iamaleava completed just 14 of 31 attempts for only 104 yards. Peyton Lewis, who subbed in after injuries to Dylan Sampson and DeSean Bishop, led UT with 77 yards on 10 carries, most of which came in the waning minutes. Bru McCoy led Tennessee pass catchers with just 4 catches for 40 yards.
It was a disaster from the opening drive, with Tennessee seeming to force a quick punt, but Bryson Eason was called for a facemask on a sack of Will Howard. From there, things immediately went to pot, as Ohio State turned new life into a touchdown to freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith, who had two scores on the day.
Tennessee had zero answer for Ohio State’s passing game in the first quarter, as Howard picked the Vols’ secondary apart. Conversely, Tennessee’s offense had no answer for Ohio State’s physical front seven. By the end of the first quarter, it was 21-0, and the game felt very much over.
Tennessee made it interesting in the second quarter, outscoring the Buckeyes 10-0 punctuated by a Nico rushing touchdown with 20 seconds left in the half. The Vols found some modest success running the ball with #8, who finished with 47 yards on 20 carries with 2 touchdowns. The Vols trotted into the locker room down 21-10, but with the ball to start the second half.
Unfortunately, the second turned out just like the first half. A quick punt gave the ball right back to Ohio State, who went 6 plays in 65 yards to push the lead to 28-10. A punt and a turnover on downs for Tennessee the next two drives resulted in two more Ohio State touchdowns, and the absolute beatdown was on in Columbus before an Ohio Stadium crowd that had huge swaths of orange in it.
Unfortunately, that will be a long drive back. And speaking of long, Tennessee saw just how far they are away from being a real contender on the national stage. Josh Heupel and his staff are going to have to do some soul searching this offseason, because this was – or certainly should have been – a wakeup call.