Josh Heupel turned into Woody Hayes on Saturday night. Or better yet, Bud Wilkinson.
The Tennessee coach who loves to score in rapid-fire fashion, went conservative against Oklahoma, electing to run the ball, run the clock and play field position in the second half as the No. 6 Vols outplayed No. 13 Oklahoma 25-15 in Heupel’s return to his alma mater.
Heupel’s reliance on his defense didn’t follow his usual script. But the way Tennessee’s defense was stuffing the Sooners, Heupel went old fashioned.
It wasn’t exactly 3 yards and a cloud of dust like Hayes, or the conservative nature of Wilkinson, the former Oklahoma coaching great, but it was darn close.
The victory was Tennessee’s first over a ranked opponent on the road since 2006 – a stretch of 18 years and 28 defeats.
It also marked Heupel’s first return to Norman since being fired as the Sooners’ offensive coordinator after the 2014 season.
It was billed as a revenge game for Heupel, but he tried to stay away from that story line.
“This game was never about me,” said Heupel, now 10-8 against ranked opponents. “It was about this ’24 journey with the football team. But I appreciate they realized it was important for me. And I wanted to get a W.”
Indeed, he did. But instead of romping up and down the field at warp speed, the SEC opener for both teams turned into a defense struggle.
“The offense was a little bit different game (plan) as the game unfolded,” explained Heupel. “In the second half, we pulled it back a little bit … with the way the defense was playing.”
Defensive coordinator Tim Banks had Oklahoma’s number. He held the Sooners to 222 total yards on 68 plays. He limited Oklahoma’s run game to 36 yards on 34 attempts. He flustered quarterback Jackson Arnold into three turnovers that led to him being benched at the end of the first half.
“The defense played lights out”, Heupel said.
That led Heupel, who led Oklahoma to the 2000 national championship, to pull the reins. He might also have been swayed by two lost fumbles by quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who was a pedestrian 13 of 21 passes for 194 yards and one touchdown.
Oddly, after each Iamaleava fumble – one at UT’s own 5-yard line – the Vols got the ball back on the next play.
Tennessee, which entered the game averaging over 63 points and 639 total yards, punted more times in the first quarter (4) than it had all season (2). Jackson Ross had eight punts in all.
Oklahoma’s stout defense held the Vols to a mere 345 total yards, 151 on the ground. The high-scoring Vols had just 47 yards on their first 11 snaps.
Running back Dylan Sampson, who had gained over 100 yards in each of the first three games, got a hard-earned 92 on 24 carries.
Tennessee managed a field goal and a 66-yard scoring pass from Iamaleava to Dont’e Thornton to take a 10-3 first-quarter lead. UT has now outscored foes in the opening period 78-3.
The Vols got a safety when Jayson Jenkins tackled Jovantae Barnes in the end zone for a 12-3 advantage. The lead grew to 19-3 at halftime, at which point Heupel decided protecting the lead was more prudent than trying to add to it.
The strategy worked, although the Sooners made it close with two fourth-quarter touchdowns, the first TDs allowed by the Vols in 19 quarters.
“Great road win, coming to a great environment against a really good football team,” said Heupel, who notched a rare victory when not scoring at least 30 points.
“I can’t say enough about our performance. We dominated the line of scrimmage. We made it uncomfortable for their quarterback. We played tight coverage. We got off the field on third down. It was awesome to watch.
“It was a good win.”
And a satisfying win for a man who got a taste of revenge against the team that unceremoniously fired him a decade ago.
