Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava made a critical mistake in the final moments of the Volunteers’ upset loss to Arkansas on Saturday night.
With just 6 seconds remaining and the Vols down 19-14, Tennessee faced a 4th-and-6 from the Arkansas 20-yard line. They needed a touchdown to win—there were no other options. However, Iamaleava appeared to lose track of the situation.
Under pressure in the pocket, Iamaleava scrambled and ran for a first down, diving out of bounds, unaware that time had already run out. That marked the end of the game.
Nico Iamaleava’s awareness rating on CFB25 is getting bumped to a 0 in the next update
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) October 6, 2024
It’s hard to imagine going out that way, not realizing it was the last chance. Iamaleava seemed to think he could stop the clock and have another play, but he was too late.
In that scenario, he should have thrown the ball into the end zone for a shot at victory. Instead, he denied his team any chance to pull off the win.
This marked Tennessee’s first loss of the season, while Arkansas improved to 4-2.
