Rucker: Maybe Tennessee Wins. Maybe Nico Iamaleava Wins. Maybe Nobody Wins.

Rucker: Maybe Tennessee wins. Maybe Nico Iamaleava wins. Maybe nobody wins.

Tennessee's annual Orange & White Game had multiple players playing for both teams in a 14-14 game nobody won. One hopes that wasn't a sign of things to come for both Nico Iamaleava and the now-Iamaleava-less Vols this season, and for college football as an institution in the long run.

Nico Iamaleava saga addressed during live gameplay in College Football 26

Tennessee fans just can’t quite get away from Nico Iamaleava. Even College Football 26 makes reference to Iamaleava’s stunning departure, which rocked the college football world this past spring. Iamaleava left the program on the eve of Tennessee’s spring game and ultimately ended up at UCLA. “The 2024 season for Tennessee had some highs,” Rece Davis says in the game. “Wins over Bama, Florida and Oklahoma. Man, did it end with a thud when they …