CBS Sports revealed their early top 25 rankings for the 2025 season and they have the Tennessee Vols at No. 9, just ahead of the LSU Tigers. 

While explaining the ranking for the Vols, CBS Sports' Dennis Dodd offered a horrendous take on Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava's performance in the College Football Playoff against the Ohio State Buckeyes. 

Dodd thinks Iamaleava was "exposed" in the game against Ohio State. 

"Nico Iamaleava was exposed a bit playing in the cold against an elite defense at Ohio State in the CFP," wrote Dodd. 

I don't see how anyone watched that game and had that takeaway. 

Sure, the final stat line wasn't eye-popping for Iamaleava — 14-of-31 for 104 yards and two rushing touchdowns to go along with 47 rushing yards — but it wasn't terrible either. 

The game was long over by this point, but Nico Iamaleava was still competing his ass off. Certified dog. pic.twitter.com/O0Yr9QI6KH

— zach ragan (@zachTNT) December 22, 2024

Elite move by Nico. He showed his toughness tonight. Playing in that game on that stage will be huge for his continued development. pic.twitter.com/lcuxITd2u7

— zach ragan (@zachTNT) December 22, 2024

Anyone who watched that game knows that the moment wasn't too big for Iamaleava. Despite the early deficit, he continued to compete at a high level and he was responsible for the Vols' only two touchdowns on the night. 

The biggest takeaway from Iamaleava's performance was the fact that he was under constant pressure throughout the game. Combine that with his wide receivers struggling to gain separation and it was an impossible situation for the young quarterback. I'm not saying Iamaleava played a perfect game — he certainly left some plays on the field — but suggesting that he was "exposed" is total nonsense.  

You know, the national media's view of Iamaleava is quite bizarre. The national media absolutely loves Texas Longhorns QB Arch Manning (and rightfully so, he's a talented player), while often looking for reasons to discount Iamaleava. But they seem to be completely ignoring the fact that Arch and Nico are part of the same recruiting class and only one of them has led their team to a College Football Playoff appearance. 

There's a lot of folks in the national media that have no clue when it comes to the development of young athletes. It seems that Dodd is one of those folks. 

Ohio State’s championship run confirms there’s a big change Josh Heupel must make in order to win a championship at Tennessee

Results don’t lie