Tennessee football got its first win of the season in impressive fashion. Tennessee defeated Syracuse 45-26 on Saturday thanks to a blistering 31-14 first half. Starting quarterback Joey Aguilar played so well that Volunteers fans may have already forgotten the name Nico Iamaleava.
Aguilar played well in his first game as the team's starter. He went 16-of-28 for 247 yards and three touchdowns. He also had six carries for 34 rushing yards.
One of his most impressive plays was a 73-yard touchdown to Braylon Staley in the second quarter.
“I came prepared,” Aguilar said. “I go into every game cool, calm and collected. [I've got] a little mellow flow to me. I get excited, obviously (on) good plays but I don't get too down on bad plays. Everybody looks to me on the team so I keep that composure and keep going.”
Aguilar looked comfortable in head coach Josh Heupel's unique offense. Now Volunteers fans are not as nervous about losing Iamaleava.
Former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava forced his way out of the program after conflicting NIL contract negotiations. Now he is the starting QB for UCLA.
Unlike Aguilar, Iamaleava struggled in his first game. He went 11-of-22 for 136 yards with one touchdown and one interception. The Bruins lost 43-10 against the Utes as a result.
Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel praises team for strong start to 2025 season
Heupel was pleased with how his team played on Saturday. Especially on offense.
Tennessee racked up 493 total yards of offense compared to Syracuse's 377. That is exactly what he wanted to see.
“Good start. A lot of positives, a lot of things we’re (going to) have to clean up as well,” Heupel said. “I'm proud of the way our guys came out and competed for the most part.”
The Volunteers were without freshman tackle David Sanders Jr., who was inactive with an undisclosed injury. Unfortunately the No. 1 tackle in the 2025 recruiting class will have to wait for his college football debut.
“Late in practice on Wednesday he kind of got nicked up,” Heupel said about Sanders. “We anticipated him being able to play. This morning, our medical staff felt like it just probably wasn't the right thing to do. We're always (going to) be mindful of our guys and their health. … It was hard for David when he got that news. He anticipated being ready to play.”
It is a great sign that Tennessee was able to win convincingly without Sanders in the lineup.
Next up for Tennessee is a home game against East Tennessee State on September 6th.
