Watch: Tennessee's James Pearce returns interception for touchdown in Citrus Bowl
James Pearce Jr. led Tennessee’s defense in sacks during the regular season, with 8.5. He led the Vols in tackles for loss, with 13.0. He led the team in quarterback hits, too, with 15.
The 6-foot-5, 242-pound sophomore is more than just a pass rusher, though. He intercepted Iowa quarterback Deacon Hill early in the fourth quarter Monday in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl and returned the pick 52 yards for a touchdown, increasing Tennessee’s lead to 28-0 with 14:15 to play.
A MENACE WE SAY.
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) January 1, 2024
James Pearce Jr. pick six!
📺 ABC
📲 https://t.co/4jF6avyAgv pic.twitter.com/EtZJqxRPKs
Tennessee’s defense was dominant against Iowa’s offense, one of the worst in college football. The Vols held
Hill to just 7 of 18 passing for 56 yards and picked him off twice, with defensive back Andre Turrentine coming up with an interception in the end zone to stop Iowa’s only scoring threat in the first half.
Tennessee, meanwhile, got three rushing touchdowns from five-star freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava to go up 21-o after three quarters. Iowa’s defense, one of the best in the country entering the game, had only given up four rushing touchdowns in 13 games before facing the Vols.
Iamaleava completed 9 of 16 passes for 119 yards before Pearce’s Pick 6, while making his first career start. The Vols ran 43 times for 169 yards and the three Iamaleava touchdowns before the defense got in on the scoring.
Iamaleava started the second quarter with a 19-yard touchdown run up the middle for the game’s first points. It capped a seven-play, 73-yard touchdown drive that covered 2:13. Iamaleava before the touchdown had completed 4 of 8 passes for 42 yards and rushed three times for seven yards.
On the next possession Iamaleava ran three yards to double Tennessee’s lead and give him two rushing touchdowns in the second quarter. The drive went 68 yards on 11 plays and included one fourth-and-1 conversion by freshman running back Cameron Seldon.
Hill was sacked and fumbled on the Iowa 3-yard line late in the third quarter, with the Vols recovering and Iamaleava cashing in the turnover two plays later, running two yards for his third rushing touchdown of the day.
The 28 points scored by the Vols against Iowa through the first minute of the fourth quarter were the second most scored against the Hawkeyes this season, with Penn State being the only opponent to score more, beating Iowa 31-0 on September 23.
No. 1 Michigan beat Iowa 26-0 on December 2 in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis.
