Nico Iamaleava threw for 257 yards and four touchdowns rallying No. 8 (CFP) Tennessee from a 14-point deficit within the first five minutes to rout in-state rival Vanderbilt 36-23 Saturday.

The Volunteers (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference) needed a big victory to impress the College Football Playoff committee enough to earn a home playoff game in December.

They beat Vanderbilt (6-6, 3-5) for a sixth straight season.

Better yet, they rebounded from a nightmare start giving up the first 14 points by scoring 29 straight points. They led 24-17 at halftime on Iamaleava’s first three TD passes.

Junior Sherrill returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown for Vanderbilt to stun a mostly orange crowd. Dylan Sampson fumbled on the Vols’ second play from scrimmage, and Sedrick Alexanader’s 4-yard TD run on a 26-yard drive put Vandy up 14-0 quickly.

Then Iamaleava got Tennessee going with a 28-yard TD pass to Dont’e Thornton Jr.

Tennessee got a break when Max Gilbert’s 50-yard field goal bounced off the crossbar and over. Iamaleava found Thornton again on an 86-yard catch-and-run TD, then he tossed an 18-yard TD pass to Miles Kitselman just before halftime.

Iamaleava capped the opening drive of the third quarter hitting Mike Matthews with a 14-yard TD pass for a 31-17 lead. The Vols added a safety by Tyre West and another Gilbert field goal.

Diego Pavia threw a 31-yard TD pass to Richie Hoskins late with Vandy’s 2-point conversion failing for the final margin.

Laughery rushes for 3 TDs as bowl-bound Illinois tops Northwestern: Aidan Laughery rushed for three touchdowns and No. 23 Illinois topped Northwestern 38-28 on Saturday to reach nine victories for the first time since its 2007 Rose Bowl season.

Pat Bryant dashed in to score off Luke Altmyer’s 43-yard pass early in the third quarter as Illinois (9-3, 6-3 Big Ten) struck for touchdowns just over 4 minutes apart early in the third quarter to open a 28-10 lead in what had been a tight game.

Altmyer, who threw for 170 yards, had a TD himself on a keeper from the 1-yard line early in the second quarter. David Olano added a field goal in the fourth to cap Illinois’ scoring.

Laughery, a sophomore running back, rushed for a career-best 172 yards and topped 100 for the first time. He entered with only one TD this season and two for his career. He had a career-long 64-yard run for a score early in the second half.

Northwestern’s Devin Turner intercepted Altmyer twice, including for a 13-yard touchdown return late in the first quarter. Thomas Gordon caught Jack Lausch’s 15-yard TD pass with a minute left, then the Wildcats added a two-point conversion to complete the scoring.

Northwestern (4-8, 2-7 Big Ten) didn’t pack it in as hosted its second game this season at Wrigley Field, this time on a breezy sunny day with game-time temperature of 20 degrees.

Daily scores two TDs to help Army hold off UTSA: Bryson Daily tied the American Athletic Conference record for single-season touchdowns and threw for a season-high 190 yards and a score to lift Army to a 29-24 win over UTSA.

Army (10-1) finished the regular season 8-0 in the AAC and earned the right to host the championship game on Friday.

Daily rushed for 147 yards, his academy-record ninth straight 100-yard game, and two touchdowns.

Casey Larkin sealed Army’s 10th victory of the season, picking off Owen McCown at the Black Knights’ 10 with 1:14 left.

Georgia rallies to beat Georgia Tech in 8 overtimes: As the clock crept past midnight in a marathon for the ages, Nate Frazier finally ended it for No. 7 Georgia with a little 3-yard burst that may have locked up the biggest prize of all.

Another trip to the College Football Playoff.

Frazier ran for a 2-point conversion in the eighth overtime after Georgia pulled off an improbable fourth-quarter comeback, giving the Bulldogs a 44-42 victory over Georgia Tech on a Friday night that stretched into Saturday morning.

“The overtime was epic,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “What a great game.”

After falling behind 17-0 at halftime and being dominated most of the game, the Bulldogs (10-2) showed plenty of grit in their bid for a spot in the 12-team playoff — no matter how they fare in next weekend’s Southeastern Conference championship game.

“That’s for someone else to decide,” Smart said. “Our opportunity is in front of us.”

Carson Beck threw five touchdown passes — two of them in OT — in a game the Bulldogs never led until after regulation ended 27-all. He finished 28 of 43 for 297 yards.

Georgia Tech (7-5) was powered by Haynes King, who ran for for three touchdowns and threw for two more.