As we will do throughout this football season, HawgBeat went behind enemy lines to gain insight on the No. 4 Tennessee Volunteers from VolReport Managing Editor Noah Taylor.
Led by fourth-year head coach Josh Heupel — the 2022 SEC Coach of the Year — Tennessee is off to a 4-0 (1-0 SEC) start in 2024.
The Volunteers started their season with a dominant blowout over Chattanooga before going on the road to defeat then-ranked No. 23 NC State, 51-10. Tennessee then welcomed Kent State to Neyland Stadium, where they defeated the Golden Flashes, 71-0. Tennessee's most-recent victory came at then-ranked No. 15 Oklahoma.
Starting for head coach Josh Heupel's squad at quarterback is redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava, who has completed 61-of-88 throws (69.3%) with seven touchdowns and two interceptions in four games.
In two games against Power Five competition (Oklahoma and NC State), Iamaleava finished 29-of-44 on throws (65.9%) with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
On the defensive side of the ball, Tennessee boasts the nation's No. 1 total defense (176.0 yards allowed per game) and it ranks No. 2 in scoring defense ( 7.0 points allowed per game) and No. 1 in defensive third down conversion percentage (17.0%).
Here is what Taylor had to say about Saturday's matchup, which is set to kick off at 6:30 p.m. CT at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville...
