Josh Heupel wins in return to Oklahoma as No. 6 Tennessee tops the Sooners 25-15

Updated Sep. 22, 2024 1:36 a.m. ET

Associated Press

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Tennessee coach Josh Heupel won in his return to Oklahoma — the same school he quarterbacked to a national championship in 2000 and fired him as offensive coordinator after the 2014 season — as Nico Iamaleava passed for 194 yards to help the sixth-ranked Volunteers defeat the Sooners 25-15 on Saturday night.

Iamaleava took the game ball to Heupel shortly after the game ended.

“I know it meant a lot to him," Iamaleava said. "He didn’t show it as much during the week, but we know what it meant to him and what it meant to us.”

Heupel downplayed the circumstances, instead focusing on his team's success.

“This game was never about me coming back here, not for this football team," he said. "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 their recognition of that and wanting that for me.”

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables was the defensive coordinator on the team Heupel led to the national title. He said it was a tough loss.

“I’m disappointed in our team tonight," Venables said. "It’s not one of those moments where you’re happy for him (Heupel) because you’re not. But that just kind of comes with the territory.”

Dylan Sampson ran for 92 yards and a touchdown, Dont'e Thornton Jr. had a 66-yard touchdown reception and Bru McCoy had four catches for 92 yards for the Volunteers.

Tennessee (4-0, 1-0 Southeastern Conference) held No. 15 Oklahoma to 222 yards in the Sooners' first-ever SEC game.

It wasn't the up-tempo style one might expect from a Heupel-coached team. Tennessee had the ball for nearly 36 minutes and rode its defense.

“Your team forms its own identity each year, and it’s my responsibility to put them in a position to play a complete game together and find the best way to win," he said. "And tonight, that’s how the game unfolded.”

Jovantae Barnes ran for a score and caught a touchdown pass for Oklahoma (3-1, 0-1). Michael Hawkins Jr. passed for 132 yards in relief of starter Jackson Arnold for the Sooners, who was benched late in the second quarter after completing 7 of 16 passes for 54 yards and an interception.

Venables said Hawkins and Arnold will compete for the starting job heading into Saturday's game at Auburn. He said Hawkins, a freshman, handled the situation well.

“Mike is — he’s confident," Venables said. "He’s loose in the right way. The moment’s not going to overwhelm him, even though he’s a young guy.”

Oklahoma defensive back Kendel Dolby was carted off in the second quarter after a gruesome injury to his lower right leg. Venables said it was a dislocated ankle, and Dolby soon will have surgery.

All wasn't bad for Oklahoma. The Sooners actually recovered fumbles by Iamaleava twice in the second quarter, only to have Arnold fumble the ball back to Tennessee on the next play both times. Oklahoma gained minus-20 yards in the second quarter as Tennessee took a 19-3 lead at the break.

Tennessee led 22-3 when Hawkins led the Sooners down the field and found Barnes for a 2-yard touchdown pass. The extra point failed after a personal foul penalty turned it into a 35-yard kick. That ended Tennessee's run of 19 consecutive quarters without allowing a touchdown, dating back to last season.

The Volunteers closed it out and earned a quality road win to start league play.

“We’ve got a good football team," Heupel said. "We’ve got high expectations. And 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 I’m really proud of how they performed.”

The takeaway

Tennessee: The offense was solid, despite struggling with injuries to starting offensive tackles Lance Heard and John Campbell Jr. Heard didn't play and Campbell suffered a leg injury early in the game and was limited. The Volunteers didn't put up the crazy numbers they had in their first three games — they were averaging 63.7 points — but they did enough.

Oklahoma: The Sooners could not block the Volunteers, so their quarterbacks were under duress all night. Add in-game injuries to receiver Nic Anderson and running back Taylor Tatum, and it all snowballed.

Injury bug

Venables said Anderson re-injured a quad and he’s not sure what his status will be next week. The Sooners’ top returning receiver missed the first three games with an undisclosed injury.

Second half defense

The Sooners held the Volunteers to six points and 141 yards in the second half.

“I think we kind of did everything we could," linebacker Danny Stutsman said. "I mean, obviously, defense didn’t play perfectly. We made a ton of mistakes, myself included. Really, they shouldn’t score any points and we’ll win every game.”