Nico Iamaleava helmet crack: Tennessee’s ugly start vs. Ohio State includes the QB’s broken helmet

On By Littum

Tennessee fans packed themselves into Ohio Stadium as best they could before Saturday’s College Football Playoff game against Ohio State, but they quickly quieted down.

The Volunteers got off to a disastrous start, getting burned through the air and struggling to keep pace on the offensive side of the ball. QB Nico Iamaleava didn’t even complete a pass in the first quarter, instead throwing four incompletions and taking two sacks.

Adding insult to injury, an Ohio State hit in sub-freezing temperatures actually left Iamaleava’s helmet with a massive crack.

Here’s the moment that sent Iamaleava to the sidelines to change gear.

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Nico Iamaleava helmet crack

Iamaleava’s helmet cracked on a hit by Ohio State’s Cody Simon on Tennessee’s opening possession. The helmet absorbed a blow from the side of Simon’s helmet, and with temperatures below freezing, a crack of about six inches instantly appeared.

Tennessee officials tried to find another helmet for Iamaleava on the sideline, though they had little time because the hit forced a Volunteers punt.

The moment mirrored Patrick Mahomes’ helmet incident in last season’s playoff game against the Dolphins in even colder conditions. Mahomes’ helmet didn’t just break — a piece of it actually shattered instantly.

It was always a possibility that California-born Iamaleava would have a tough time in the cold, but Tennessee’s problems early in Saturday’s game against Ohio State ran deeper than just the passing game.

A cracked helmet was the least of the Vols’ problems, but it was certainly symbolic of how much went wrong for Josh Heupel’s team in the first quarter.

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