CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The orange blobs came fast, way too fast, swirling around NC State quarterback Grayson McCall and the rapidly disintegrating pocket that was supposed to protect him. (“Supposed to” is the gist of it.) McCall at least tried to climb out of the chaos, searching desperately for an exit like a toddler lost in a house of mirrors.

But then, like a disoriented child, came the inevitable blow. In this case, it was Tennessee defensive end Dominic Bailey who flattened McCall, tossing the 6-foot-1, 220-pound passer like a rag doll onto the Bank of America lawn. As he did so, the football shot loose, and Bailey had the quick instinct to pounce on it.

A strip sack and fumble recovery in one, neatly packaged with a bow.

Just a hunch? It won’t be the last time the Vols make a play like this this season.

Because in No. 14 Tennessee’s eventual 51-10 win over No. 24 NC State — which, no, is not a typo — the Vols’ defense, and particularly their defensive line, looked every bit as good as their glossy offseason commercial. That unit rendered the Wolfpack, an outsider in the College Football Playoff contender, utterly inept. And Dave Doeren’s team isn’t without offensive talent; it has a three-time Sun Belt Player of the Year at quarterback, an All-ACC honoree at running back (Jordan Waters), a freshman All-American and the ACC’s reigning Rookie of the Year at receiver (Kevin Concepcion), and four returning starters along the offensive line.

And yet none of it mattered, not even a little bit. Tennessee’s defense held the Wolfpack without an offensive touchdown and to a paltry 143 total yards, including a miserable 2.9 yards per play. NC State’s 28 rushes produced a whopping 39 yards — including a 15-yard long by Hollywood Smothers, whose last name aptly describes what the Vols did to NC State’s ground game. (Poor Waters, whose seven carries accounted for… minus-4 yards.)

The stats — great for UT, nightmare for NC State — go on and on. If we count Bailey’s takedown in the third quarter, the Vols had three sacks, 13 (!!) tackles for loss and forced three turnovers, scoring 17 points in the process. Fortunately, Doeren replaced McCall — who had 15 of 24 for just 104 yards and a pick — midway through the fourth quarter, by which point the over (59.5) had already been reached, despite NC State having scored just three offensive points all night.

“Absolutely not what I expected,” Doeren said. “It felt like we were in a downward spiral and could never get back out.”

For the first time since 2022, Grayson McCall went an entire game without a touchdown pass. (Jim Dedmon / USA Today)

Thus, a game billed as a battle of the quarterbacks — McCall versus Tennessee freshman Nico Iamaleava, the Vols’ most anticipated passer since Peyton Manning — became a showcase for the Vols’ dominant D-line.

And you know what? For Tennessee fans, that should be just fine.

That’s largely because Iamaleava, facing his toughest test yet, came through. Maybe not the A-plus-plus he earned in a half against Chattanooga last week, but still a solid B-minus. In just over three quarters of work, he finished 16-for-23 with 212 passing yards and two touchdowns, plus another 65 yards and a score on the ground … but also threw his first two career interceptions, including an 87-yard pick-six when he was hit throwing. For that, Iamaleava deserves a pass — and because, well, Tennessee was already leading 37-3 at that point. But for the other one, an overthrown misfire in triple (or possibly quadruple) coverage? He’s got to own that, which he did.

“That first mistake, I was trying to squeeze it out,” Iamaleava said. “Too long — you know, I could have dropped it (or) run away, rushed, made a move.”

Overall, Iamaleava’s solid performance outweighed his two mistakes. He was better than “OK,” or how he himself rated his third career start. And if he had actually converted any of his other three potential touchdowns — a 61-yard bomb to tight end Miles Kitselman that was called back for a penalty and two other sideline ropes that narrowly fell incomplete into the end zone — he would have had even more highlights on the bench for a potential Heisman campaign.

Tennessee must be feeling good about Iamaleava’s position already: very good, but still a few tweaks away from great.

But that’s where this defensive line comes in. It gives Iamaleava time to blossom into the superstar many in the industry believe he’s on his way to becoming — and after countless offseasons against that fierce front, he knows it as well as anyone.

“That D-line,” Iamaleava said with a grin, “is filthy.”

It was clear early that NC State was in for a tough night in the trenches. Waters, who rushed for 124 yards and two touchdowns in NC State’s season-opening win over Western Carolina, had -6 yards on the Wolfpack’s opening drive and was found right in the backfield every time he took a handoff. And while Smothers found a bit more room to run in the second quarter — including three straight carries for 31 yards that put the Wolfpack inside Tennessee’s 16-yard line — the pressure on McCall was constant. Immediately following those three successful runs, edge Joshua Josephs broke through NC State’s offense line and caught a hand in McCall’s face as he threw; it was enough of a disruption for McCall to throw up his pass — which landed right in the grasp of safety Will Brooks, who promptly returned it for an 85-yard pick-six.

Tennessee 17, NC State 3.

Momentum, gone. Pressure, unlocked.

Ball game? Effectively over.

“They’re good, right? They’ve got speed on the perimeter and size up front. They’re an SEC football team,” McCall said. “It’s what we expected.”

But expecting something and dealing with it are two very different things — and NC State clearly couldn’t deal with the chaos the Vols created. The question is: Who can? This is the second straight week that Tennessee hasn’t let its opponent get into the end zone. That will undoubtedly change soon — maybe not next week against Kent State, but probably after that against Oklahoma — but it’s notable regardless.

When asked if this was the best defensive performance he’s had at Tennessee, 48-game starter and defensive tackle Omari Thomas said bluntly, “Probably.”

Between Iamaleava, Tennessee’s running game — which has yielded 249 rushing yards and three touchdowns on a 5.7 yards per carry clip — and this defensive line, the Vols appear to have all the necessary ingredients to make a College Football Playoff push. And again, that’s counting on Iamaleava as he is now, three starts into his college career, rather than as experienced as he should be after a full SEC gauntlet. Given that those inside Tennessee’s facility, and those in general who have come through Knoxville, already believe Iamaleava has the potential to be a first-round pick, it will be fascinating to see what heights he can reach.

And let’s be realistic: It’s going to take truly elite quarterback play to not only make the CFP but do damage there. Iamaleava has shown that in flashes, but it’s a small sample size.

Meanwhile, as he throws his first few interceptions, as he finds himself in noisy away games, as he faces defenses that are equal to his own team’s — “playing them every day kind of sucks,” Kitselman admitted — the Vols’ front seven should give the redshirt freshmen enough margin for error to keep this orange-checkered train on the tracks.

“If they keep playing like this,” said running back Dylan Sampson, “and we keep stringing it together, the sky’s the limit.”

(Top photo: Jim Dedmon/USA Today)