Ranking Nico Iamaleava's 2024 Performances: #5 Kent State

Nico Iamaleava is one of the largest topics of conversation in college football ahead of his redshirt sophomore season with the UCLA Bruins.

After a stellar redshirt freshman season with the Tennessee Volunteers that led them to their first ever College Football Playoff appearance, Iamaleava entered the transfer portal after a NIL dispute that was largely publicized and turned him into one of the most polarizing figures in college football.

He finished last season leading the Vols to a 10-3 record and passed for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions on 63.8% (213-334) completion percentage. With that being said, let's rank Iamaleava's best performances of the season, moving onto No. 5 -- Sept. 14 vs Kent State.

This was yet another dominant 71-0 shutout for Tennessee and a game where Iamaleava played in just the first half. He finished with 173 yards on 10-of-16 (62.5%) completions for a touchdown. He added 31 rushing yards on five carries and ended with a 174.0 passer rating and an ESPN Adjusted QBR Rating of 82.4.

Much like the last few games on this ranking series, the only reason a game like this isn't higher on the list is because of the strength of the opponent. Looking back now, this game probably should be ranked lower than the UTEP and Mississippi games, given how little Iamaleava did in his first half compared to what he did against the other two opponents.

Iamaleava led the Vols to 37 first-quarter points and a 541 to 23 yardage differential in the first half, which is insane. He also accrued 21 first downs in the half.

His only touchdown was a massive 53-yard pass to Chris Brazzell II with 5:56 left in the first quarter to extend the lead to 16-0.

A game like this as a redshirt freshman is pretty promising. It also gives hope to Bruins fans because it shows how good Iamaleava will/can be against lesser opponents. UCLA won't be playing as bad opponents this season as Tennessee did last season, being in the Big Ten and only having three non-conference games, but the Bruins should be favored against their first three opponents anyways.

They open the season against Utah, UNLV and New Mexico before opening up Big Ten play against Northwestern. Coupling Iamaleava's expected leap ahead of his redshirt sophomore season and how good he was against non-conference opponents last season, UCLA has a great chance at starting next season 4-0.