What had appeared to be a sleepy but solid win for the Tennessee Volunteers over a cellar-dwelling Mississippi State team turned out to be anything but that by the time the clock hit all zeroes on Saturday night inside Neyland Stadium.
The Vols’ 33-14 win over the Bulldogs was never in doubt. The Vols jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a dime to Squirrel White for 34 yards and extended the lead to 14-0 early in the second quarter on a 73-yard catch and run by Dont’e Thornton, Jr. Tennessee took a 20-7 lead into the locker room at halftime.
However, it was injuries that marred the game for the Vols, and it hit them in a place they simply couldn’t afford. Nico Iamaleava left the game after the second quarter with what was deemed to be an upper body injury. The broadcast noted that Nico was in the locker room and would not be returning to the sideline.
Iamaleava wasn’t the only impact offensive player to leave the game with injury. RB Dylan Sampson left the game with what appeared to have been an ankle or shin issue, but fortunately for the Vols, he was able to return to the game. He looked perfectly fine on a nifty 33-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter.
Thornton, who led the Vols with 104 receiving yards and a touchdown on 3 catches, ended up leaving the game as well with what also appeared to be an upper body injury.
As the team never released what the injuries were, I’ll refrain from speculating on them. However, you hope that Iamaleava and Thornton are ok. Obviously their availability for next weekend’s game against Georgia is going to be a topic closely followed throughout the week.
The Vols managed to slowly fight their way through a game that turned out to be uncomfortably close at 23-14 at one point, with Gaston Moore coming in and leading the Vols on two scoring drives. Moore didn’t have to do too much, going 6/9 for 43 yards, but he had some important throws on the drive where the Vols pushed the lead back out to 30-14.
Now, fans wait to see what Josh Heupel has to say about his offensive stars after the game and during the upcoming week. At this point, that’s of the highest importance to this program.