Tennessee’s win over Oklahoma was the epitome of a strong culture
Norman, Okla. – After the hiring of Josh Heupel, Vol Fans soon learned he could be the coach to turn the Tennessee football program around.
Not because he had a record of flashy and exciting offenses, but because he prioritized culture. An aspect of the program that had plenty of cracks it in highlighted by NCAA investigations.
Then in year two he snapped a 15-game losing streak to Alabama. However, the real turning point in this program might be their win over Oklahoma.
A truly incredible moment that the Tennessee Athletics film crew captured after the Vols took down then No. 15 Oklahoma on the road was when Vols quarterback Nico Iamaleava handed Heupel the game ball.
That 10-second exchange told us more about this team and its unity than anything else has or could.
That hand-off came from a first-year starting quarterback who just got his first win over an SEC team on the road who was ranked 15th in the country. Iamaleava gave away his game ball to his head coach because it did mean more.
You don’t do that for just anybody for just any reason.
That exchange told everyone this is a team, not a collection of individuals with unreal talent, but a team who loves and respects their head coach.
“I knew it was coach hype coming back, you know, to his original home. You know, he went to college here, you know, he coached here. So I know it meant a lot to him. He didn’t show it as much during the week, but we know what it meant to him and what it meant to us,” said Iamaleava.
That love for their coach also showed up during Heupel’s postgame conference when Luke Combs’ song, Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma was heard blaring from the team’s locker room.
The timing of this team is incredible.
Since the schedule release, Josh Heupel reinforced that the match-up wasn’t about him, the team repeatedly claimed it was just about two SEC teams meeting for the first time as conference opponents.
Still, you couldn’t deny there was another layer to this game.
In an emotional postgame speech in the locker room, Heupel acknowledged just that.
“This game was never about me coming back here, not for this football team, and I say all that they also understood that this one was a little bit different for me, personally, too, but that’s not what it was about. But I do appreciate you know their recognition of that and wanting that for me,” said Heupel.
It was Heupel’s first return to his home stadium in a decade… a return to a place where he won the 2000 BCS National Title, as offensive coordinator had one of the nation’s best offenses, and it came crashing down when he was fired in 2014.
In the 30 or so hours that Heupel and company were in Norman, his favorite part of the trip came at the end.
“Walking off that field with the win felt pretty good,” said Heupel.
While it was an away game for Tennessee, it was a home game for Heupel’s family.
A game his late mother very much looked forward too. There in spirit, Heupel also had the chance to connect with people who made profound impacts on his mom’s life.
“Friends across the state that know that she was looking forward to it. So it was a unique game to come back and have it be a road game for me and this football team, but a home game for a lot of my family,” said Heupel.
Heupel continued, “I’ve gotten a chance to meet a lot of people that had an impact on my mom while she was here, and there’s a bunch that I haven’t but I just want to say thank you for the relationships. And what you meant to her so thank you.”
Saturday was the signature win of Heupel’s time at Tennessee and for completely different reasons than their 2022 signature win over Alabama at home with Heupel smoking a cigar on the field.
This game will hold a special place for the former Oklahoma quarterback.
“it’ll go in the office, for sure,” said Heupel.