ORLANDO, Fla. — Between opt outs and transfer portal losses, the future of the Tennessee football program was the focus of its Cheez-It Citrus Bowl bout with Iowa.

For a couple of hours on New Year's Day at Camping World Stadium, that future looked bright.

Against one of the top defenses in college football, freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava dazzled at times and looked like a freshman in others in his first career start. So did the Vols' young running backs and their defense. The result was a 35-0 win that felt out of reach before halftime.

TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM

ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION

Iamaleava was just 12-of-19 passing for 151 yards and a touchdown, but he rushed 15 times for 27 yards and three touchdowns as No. 21 Tennessee (9-4) posted nearly 400 yards of total offense.

There was little No. 17 Iowa (10-4) could do offensively against the Vols' defense, which forced three turnovers and sacked quarterback Deacon Hill five times. The Hawkeyes mustered just 173 yards with 60 passing.

Tennessee EDGE rusher James Pearce Jr. accounted for three tackles, one tackle for loss, one sack and one interception.

Both Tennessee and Iowa's opening drive resulted in sacks. Elijah Herring grabbed Hill for a loss and the favor was returned with Iamaleavea being sacked on third-and-long.

Jackson Ross' ensuing punt came off of the side of his foot and over to the Iowa sideline. It set the Hawkeyes up in plus territory at the 47-yard line. Iowa reached the doorstep with third-and-goal but Hill's pass to the end zone was intercepted by Andre Turrentine, providing the Vols' defense with a big stop.

Tennessee was unable to turn the takeaway into points, but two runs from running back Dylan Sampson and another from Iamaleava on the Vols' next possession put them in the red zone for the first time late in the first quarter.

Iamaleava capped the seven-play with a 19-yard touchdown run up the middle on second down to give Tennessee a 7-0 lead just seconds into the second quarter.

Tennessee again looked methodical, put together an 11-play drive that ate up more than five minutes of clock and included one fourth down conversion on a Seldon run.

On third-and-1 inside the 10, Seldon picked up another first, setting up Iamaleava for his second rushing touchdown, this one from three-yards out to extend the Vols' lead to 14-0 with eight minutes, 12 seconds left in the half.

That deficit was a sizable one for Iowa's slow-paced offense.

Outside of his first punt, Ross settled in and kept Iowa pinned back for the most part, particularly in the third quarter as the Hawkeyes started two of their first three drives of the second half inside the 10.

With Iowa backed up to its own goal line, Pearce knocked the ball free of Hill and Dominic Bailey recovered at the 2-yard line.

Iamaleava extended the ball across for his third rushing score and a 21-0 advantage with less than two minutes to go in the third.

It wasn't the only time that Pearce was responsible for a touchdown.

He intercepted Hill and returned it 52 yards down the sideline on the second play of the fourth quarter to put Tennessee up four scores, 28-0.

Iowa found some semblance of life when backup quarterback Marco Lainez entered in the fourth. He picked up multiple first downs on runs and got the Hawkeyes within striking distance before being stopped on fourth down with inside nine minutes to go.

With the ball back, Sampson rushed for a 31-yard gain and Iamaleava book-ended another scoring drive with his first touchdown pass of the game, an 18-yard strike to tight end McCallan Castles.

-- Iowa's offense doesn't get many opportunities to score, so when the Hawkeyes benefited in field position because of Ross' punt and were hovering around the goal line, an early touchdown could have swung momentum in a big way. Turrentine grabbed it back--literally. His first career interception kept it scoreless.

-- Iamaleava used his legs on Tennessee's first scoring drive, which covered 73 yards in seven plays. He rushed for 15 yards and a first down to set the Vols up in the red zone, then scored on a run two plays later to pull ahead.

-- There wasn't much going for either offense through much of the third quarter. Both teams traded punts but Tennessee's defense created opportunity with Pearce stripping the ball from Hill, leading to a recovery and eventually Iamaleava's touchdown run.

-- On a day dominated by the Vols' defense, Pearce put the exclamation mark on the performance with his fourth quarter interception that went for a touchdown and a commanding 28-0 lead.

-- Pearce had an impressive sophomore campaign on Tennessee's defensive front and it was appropriate for him to finish it off in similar fashion. He was dominant and was responsible for two Vols' touchdowns.

-- Herring was one of the young linebackers thrust into a bigger role after an injury to Keenan Pili earlier this season. The sophomore linebacker made an impact right out of the gate with a sack and finished with four tackles and two tackles for loss.

-- Iamaleava was exactly what the Tennessee coaching staff could have hoped for in his starting debut. He was efficient running the ball, escaping the pocket and picking up yards.

–––––

– TALK ABOUT IT IN THE ROCKY TOP FORUM.

– ENJOY VOLREPORT WITH A PREMIUM SUBSCRIPTION.

– SUBSCRIBE TO THE VOLREPORT YOUTUBE CHANNEL.

– FOLLOW VOLREPORT ON TWITTER: @TennesseeRivals, @TMansfieldMedia, @ByNoahTaylor, @RealTBannerman, @RyanTSylvia, @Dale_Dowden, @ShayneP_Media, @TylerIvens, @Hunter_DeNote.

–––––