Josh Heupel’s Tennessee Volunteers took care of business against their rival Vanderbilt Commodores on Saturday. The Vols needed a win to likely secure a spot in the College Football Playoff, and the team escaped with a 36-23 victory after falling behind early.

For much of the season, Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson has carried the offense to victory. The star RB did it again on Saturday, rushing for 178 yards on the day.

After the game, Heupel commented on his star player and said no other RB has played better than Sampson in 2024. Of course, this comes just after Sampson was snubbed from the Doak Walker Award finalist list.

“Nobody in the country has played that position better than him this season,” Heupel said. “He’s played it as well as anybody I’ve ever had.” 
Heading into Week 14, Sampson was 7th in the country with 1,307 rushing yards. The RB set a Tennessee record for rushing TDs in a season with 22.

That’s high praise for Sampson as Heupel has had several talented RBs at Tennessee. Jabari Small and Jaylen Wright are both in the NFL now after playing for Heupel at Tennessee, and neither broke records like Sampson.

Sampson played in all 12 games for the Vols this season and eclipsed the 100-yard mark in all but 2 games. The finale against Vanderbilt was Sampson’s best game from a yardage standpoint all season.

Now, Sampson will likely have the opportunity to show off his skills on the biggest stage in the College Football Playoff.