NORMAN, Okla. — Josh Heupel delivered high fives and hugs as he left Owen Field. When he reached the visiting team’s tunnel in the corner of the end zone, he went to the wall where Tennessee fans were reaching for their head football coach. He slapped more hands, jumping to reach the last one just before he entered the shadows. 

As Heupel continued toward the Tennessee locker room, his father, Ken Heupel, stepped in his path. The father and son slapped chests, then shared a few words and a hug that neither seemed to want to walk away from.

After a few pats on the back, he went to celebrate with his sixth-ranked Tennessee football team, the one that helped him leave his Oklahoma Memorial Stadium homecoming with an emotional 25-15 win over No. 15 Oklahoma.

“This game was never about me coming back here,” Heupel said during his postgame press conference. “Not for this football team.”

Josh Heupel exits, 10 years later, with teary eyes pic.twitter.com/fZY92bqMnj

— @GrantRamey (@GrantRamey) September 22, 2024

‘We’ve got a good football team, got high expectations’

The tears in his eyes after he hugged his dad said otherwise. So did the direct line Nico Iamaleavea made after the final snap, handing his head coach the game ball and getting his own hug. 

“I say all that,” Heupel said, “they also understood that this one was a little bit different for me personally too. That’s not what it was about. But I do appreciate their recognition of that and wanting that for me.”

Heupel acknowledged the magnitude of the game this week, even if he wasn’t going to put himself in the center of it. This was his return after 10 years away, after being fired as co-offensive coordinator by former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops —  the coach he played for and won a national championship with, then coached under for nine seasons. 

“It meant something to be here,” Heupel said, “and to play and to win, yes. But that’s just not what it was about in coming back here.” 

Up Next: No. 6 Tennessee at Arkansas, October 5

Instead, it was about continuing an undefeated start to the season through four games. It was about leaning on a hard-nosed defense in a hostile environment. And Iamaleava, the redshirt freshman, handling the noise in his first true road start.

It was about splash plays — like the 66-yard touchdown pass from Iamaleava to Dont’e Thornton and the chunk plays to Bru McCoy down the field — and ball control. It was about running the ball eight straight times on a touchdown drive in the second quarter to build a 19-3 lead, then taking any remaining air out of the Sooners in the second half.

“We’ve got a good football team, got high expectations,” Heupel said. “They continue to compete extremely hard every day to grow to become better. 

“This was our first road test in the league. Tonight was about this ’24 football team and really proud of how they performed.”

And it was about taking a minute to soak in that performance, and everything it meant, on the way back to the locker room. 

“Walking off that field with the win,” Heupel said, “felt pretty good.”

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