Nico Iamaleava says he’s heading to UCLA, a week after Tennessee announced the quarterback who helped the Volunteers reach last season’s College Football Playoff was no longer with the program.

The Tennessee Volunteers are moving forward without quarterback Nico Iamaleava with coach Josh Heupel giving his team a simple message Saturday.

The average final score over the first week of the College Football Playoffs: Winners 36, Losers 17.

Besides first-round games at on-campus sites, the expanded 12-team College Football Playoff also serves up something now for this postseason: cold-weather northern venues as opposed to bowl games in warm, sunny climates.

Coach Josh Heupel said No. 6 Tennessee should have quarterback Nico Iamaleava available on Saturday night when the Vols visit 11th-ranked Georgia.

Plenty of playoff contenders suddenly find themselves dealing with major injuries to notable players as the college football season reaches its halfway point.

Oklahoma's Jackson Arnold and Tennessee's Nico Iamaleava are the Southeastern Conference's wild-card quarterbacks.

No. 14 Tennessee visits No. 16 Missouri on Saturday for the first meeting between the SEC schools when both were ranked in the Top 25.

Trevor Etienne ran for a career-high 172 yards and a touchdown, Montrell Johnson scored twice and Florida upset No. 11 Tennessee 29-16 on Saturday night to extend the Volunteers’ losing streak in Gainesville to 10.

Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker will miss the rest of the season after injuring his left knee in the fourth quarter of the ninth-ranked Volunteers loss to South Carolina.

Jalin Hyatt caught five passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 3 Tennessee to a 44-6 victory over No. 19 Kentucky.

The Tennessee Volunteers are proving just how quickly a traditional powerhouse can rebound despite seeming lost for well over a decade.

Chase McGrath made a 40-yard field goal as time expired to give No. 6 Tennessee a 52-49 victory over No. 3 Alabama on Saturday.

It could well be among the marquee quarterback matchups of the season: Alabama’s Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young versus Tennessee’s rising star Hendon Hooker.

The Southeastern Conference was perhaps one blocked kick away from perfection on opening weekend, with a few impressive nonconference wins and some no-brainers.

Georgia moved up to No. 2 in the first Associated Press college football poll of the regular season.

The Atlantic Coast and Southeastern Conferences are welcoming plenty of transfers bouncing between throughout their Southern-footprint leagues.

Mitchell Fineran kicked a 39-yard field goal in overtime and Purdue finished off its best season since 2003 by overcoming a 14-point deficit and beating Tennessee 48-45 on Thursday in a record-setting Music City Bowl.

Stetson Bennett ran for a touchdown and threw for another as top-ranked Georgia remained perfect, wrapping up its Southeastern Conference schedule by routing Tennessee 41-17.

Top-ranked Georgia and No. 3 Alabama appear headed for a showdown in the Southeastern Conference championship game.

Bryce Young passed for 371 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two more scores, carrying No. 4 Alabama to a 52-24 victory over traditional rival Tennessee.

Emory Jones had two touchdown passes to go along with a career-high 144 yards rushing, leading No. 11 Florida to a 38-14 victory over Tennessee on Saturday night and extending nearly two decades of dominance in the series.

Southeastern Conference officials are trying to get back to normal on football game days, with stadiums filled with fans and grills being fired up outside, even in a portion of the country where the states have among the lowest COVID-19 vaccination rates.

The rich got even richer in the Southeastern Conference when the transfer floodgates opened wide.

New York Rangers coach David Quinn, middle rear, speaks to players during a timeout in the second period of the team's NHL hockey game against the Boston Bruins, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Boston. The Latest on the effects of the coronavirus outbreak on sports around the world:___The New York Rangers will be without coach David Quinn and his entire staff tonight against Philadelphia because of NHL COVID protocol. Kris Knoblauch, who coaches the Rangers’ top minor league affiliate, the American Hockey League’s Hartford WolfPack, will serve as acting coach. Kruger said Harmon is the only Oklahoma player to test positive or be in contact tracing. The Volunteers have had multiple positive COVID-19 test results among athletes and staff members in recent rounds of testing.

Nebraska’s search for an identity in a changing college football landscape. On the latest AP Top 25 College Football Podcast, Steven Godfrey of Banner Society joins the AP’s Ralph Russo to take on the task of finding each conference’s most egregious underachiever. And how USC being unable to maximize its potential hurts all of college football. Plus, new Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea joins the show and shares his vision for transforming the Commodores. ___Follow Ralph D. Russo at https://twitter.com/ralphDrussoAP and listen at https://westwoodonepodcasts.com/pods/ap-top-25-college-football-podcast/Ad___More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25

FILE - Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn argues a call during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama in Auburn, Ala., in this Saturday, Nov. 30, 2019, file photo. Central Florida hired Gus Malzahn as its football coach Monday, Feb. 15, 2021, a little more than two months after he was fired by Auburn. (AP Photo/Vasha Hunt, File)Central Florida hired Gus Malzahn as its football coach Monday, a little more than two months after he was fired by Auburn. UCF lost both its athletic director (Danny White) and football coach (Josh Heupel) to Tennessee last month. Auburn fired Malzahn in December, paying a $22 million contract buyout to the coach, after the Tigers went 6-4 this past season.

New Tennessee NCAA college football head coach Josh Heupel, left, shakes hands with University of Tennessee athletics director Danny White after being presented a jersey speaks during an introductory press conference at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2021. If anything, I was trying not to hire the coach from UCF.”White hired Heupel on Wednesday as Tennessee's 27th head coach and fifth coach, not counting interim or acting coaches, since the end of the 2008 season. Heupel said he wasn't deterred by the NCAA investigation that started with the firing of Tennessee's last coach, Jeremy Pruitt. “I believe in a very, very bright future for Tennessee football,” Heupel said. White was hired on Jan. 21 and his first job was to find a new coach.

(AP Photo/George Frey, Pool)Preparing for the Boca Raton Bowl proved a bit of a slippery slope for the Central Florida Knights. All part of Heupel’s plan to bring a dose of fun to the bowl game with some of the customary pageantry halted because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “A really good football team,” Heupel said. “Kind of reminds me of why you don’t play football in Provo in December,” Sitake joked. They're 0-3 in Florida bowl games, including losses in the 1976 Tangerine Bowl, 1985 Florida Citrus Bowl and 2014 Miami Beach Bowl.

ORLANDO, Fla. Central Florida doesn't get as much national attention as other high-scoring programs, but the Knights' offense is right up there with the best in the country. UCF puts its high-octane attack on display Saturday against visiting Houston in an American Athletic Conference affair. Houston had a close loss of its own last weekend, dropping a 34-31 decision against SMU. Houston topped UCF 31-24 in the last meeting, back in 2016, overcoming a 21-3 halftime deficit. PREDICTION: UCF 50, Houston 31

Dillon Gabriel #11 of the UCF Knights hands the ball off to Greg McCrae #30 the first half against the Florida Atlantic Owls at FAU Stadium on September 07, 2019 in Boca Raton, Florida. Pittsburgh has 17 players on its roster who are natives of Florida, which is second only to 40 from Pennsylvania. UCF senior LB Nate Evans leads the way with 18 tackles for a defense ranked 13th in the nation in yards against per contest (253). The Knights beat Pittsburgh 45-14 last year while registering 568 yards and the Panthers won the only other meeting 52-7 in 2006. PREDICTION: Central Florida 35, Pittsburgh 21More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

Stanford beat Northwestern 17-7 in the opener before falling 45-20 in its Pac-12 lidlifter at USC last week and senior quarterback K.J. They've done a lot, they've won a lot and they play the game fast but they play the game well." Killins, who has 217 yards from scrimmage in the first two games, needs one TD to become the fourth player in school history with 30. Stanford senior LB Casey Toohill leads the team with a pair of sacks and boasts 12 tackles - 3.5 for a loss. PREDICTION: Central Florida 35, Stanford 24More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.

We gotta go earn it, gotta go prepare the right way this week to go play our best football on Thursday night." "I expect (Wimbush) to play championship-caliber football," Heupel told reporters of the senior, who played 20 games with the Fighting Irish. UCF junior WR Gabriel Davis led the team last season with 53 catches and 815 receiving yards. Senior DB Andrew Hines had three interceptions last year for Florida A&M, which was picked third in the preseason MEAC poll. PREDICTION: Central Florida 45, Florida A&M 14More college football scoresCopyright 2019 by WDIV ClickOnDetroit - All rights reserved.