While Nico Iamaleava and UCLA face chaos, Josh Heupel brings calm to Tennessee despite loss to Georgia

Josh Heupel issued a sincere statement to the Tennessee Volunteers after the overtime loss against the Georgia Bulldogs. The head coach’s words only underline the starkly different reality for Nico Iamaleava and the UCLA Bruins.

When Iamaleava opted to enter the NCAA transfer portal and enroll at UCLA, he knew fans in Knoxville would never forget it. Now, the Vols are among the best teams in the SEC, while the Bruins are among the worst in the Big Ten.

UCLA and Tennessee will be compared all season long. The quarterback exchange involving Iamaleava and Joey Aguilar was one of the biggest storylines in college football during the offseason. Now, it’s only reasonable that both signal callers will be intertwined.

Both the Bruins and Vols lost in their week 3 outings. However, while UCLA’s plan backfired with DeShaun Foster being fired, Heupel and Tennessee’s papers aren’t burning after a 44-41 loss to Georgia. The polarized stances are best exemplified by Heupel’s message after the game.

Nico Iamaleava at Neyland Stadium on November 02, 2024 in Knoxville, Tennessee.

“It’s going to hurt,” Heupel said, per On3. “And we need to drink all that in and taste all of it, because if we’re going to move forward and be the team that we’re capable of, this feeling tonight’s got to be a part of what continues to propel us and the urgency and the focus and everything that we do.”

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Lick your wounds and come back stronger

Losing to the Dawgs in such heart-crushing fashion hurts for Heupel and the Volunteers. Tennessee has now lost nine straight games against Georgia. However, the NCAA season is long, and there is a lot of college football left to be played. For Tennessee, it’s all about learning from their mistakes and putting the defeat on the back burner.

It may be easier said than done, but it’s not like the Vols have many other options. Moreover, the school put on a great showing against a powerhouse in the NCAA.

Moving on

The story could’ve been much different hadn’t it been for Max Gilbert missed field-goal in the last seconds of the game. Tennessee would’ve won the game at Neyland Stadium and boast a 3-0 record going into week 4. Still that is now water under the bridge for Heupel and company.

The Volunteers face a great opportunity to bounce back and find their mojo next week. On September 20, the UAB Blazers will visit Knoxville in what should be a comfortable win for Heupel and Tennessee. Of course, anything can happen on Saturdays, but if the Vols are serious about their season aspirations, they cannot slip up.