Josh Heupel shows Oklahoma football what it's missing as Tennessee crushes the Sooners

NORMAN, Oklahoma – Josh Heupel has waited nearly a decade for this day.

They say revenge is best served cold, but for Heupel, it finally happened: on a day when the mercury at Heupel's alma mater reached nearly 38 degrees Celsius.

In sufficient heat, Heupel's No. 7 Tennessee Vols defeated No. 13 Oklahoma City 25-15 at the Palace on the Prairie.

Heupel once thrilled fans here as the star quarterback of Oklahoma's last national championship team. On Saturday, he silenced those fans by making his triumphant return and marring the Sooners' SEC debut.

“It was a great feeling to leave the field with a win,” Heupel said afterwards, flashing a hint of a smile.

Heupel was the one who escaped from Oklahoma – the one Bob Stoops sent away – and he was the one who saved Tennessee from the doldrums.

Heupel rebuilt his career after Stoops fired him from the team following the 2014 season, traveling across three time zones to do so.

He became a better coach. He even built a defense.

The Sooner Schooner that cruised the field during Heupel's playing career might as well have had a flat tire, as it sat motionless for most of the evening while the Sooners stumbled, fumbled and fumbled on offense.

The Schooner finally got going after Oklahoma's two touchdowns in the fourth quarter – the only touchdowns Tennessee's defense has allowed this season.

Josh Heupel and Tennessee show they can win with defense

Tennessee (4-0) built a strong defense and unleashed it on the inferior Sooners.

Oklahoma (3-1) entered the SEC with a strong defense and an offensive line and starting quarterback that are completely out of their depth.

Sooners fans cheered as highlights of Southern California's loss appeared on the video board, but when Lincoln Riley left town, he took OU's offensive confidence with him.

These Sooners would benefit from a quarterback developed by either Riley or Heupel.

Heupel has molded another talented quarterback. That's what Heupel does best, from Oklahoma (Sam Bradford) to Missouri (Drew Lock) to Tennessee, with Hendon Hooker and now redshirt freshman Nico Iamaleava.

Iamaleava shoots darts and gets the ball where his receivers want it. The Sooners' pass rush gave Iamaleava some trouble in his first career road game, and the Vols had trouble protecting him, playing without their two best offensive tackles. However, Iamaleava hit enough long balls to give the Vols plenty of scoring opportunities.

Iamaleava also received plenty of help. Dylan Sampson received handoffs on eight consecutive plays during his 46-yard touchdown drive, allowing Iamaleava to admire his tailback's work.

The Vols defense also rescued their quarterback from tricky situations.

Oklahoma recovered the fumble twice after Iamaleava was sacked.

And twice, Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold gave the ball back to Tennessee on the next play.

Oklahoma's offense looked so bad that fans cheered when backup quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. came in before halftime. Hawkins dropped the ball on his first snap.

That was the kind of night it was for Oklahoma.

Oklahoma pays respect to Josh Heupel before game starts

Ten Tennessee players were involved in the eleven tackles that resulted in a loss of possession. The Vols won the game comfortably, in which they punted eight times.

This wasn't a beauty contest. Tennessee's defense didn't need one.

Heupel rarely uses his press conferences to send a message, but after the Week 2 win, he emphatically stated that Tennessee maintains an elite defensive standard.

“This is the home of Reggie White, Al Wilson and Eric Berry,” Heupel said at the time.

Now it is home to current defensive linemen Keenan Pili, Arion Carter and James Pearce and they were enough to get Oklahoma in trouble.

Heupel captured the hearts of Vols fans with his 2022 squad, which consisted of offensive power and a flood of points.

This team plays more complementary football – not unlike the Sooners of 2000. That season, it was Heupel's left arm that powered Oklahoma during its famous “Red October” victory over Texas, Kansas State and Nebraska in the middle of the season before the Sooners' defense carried the load across the finish line in the national championship game against Florida State while Heupel played on despite injury.

Heupel went from being a popular quarterback to Stoops' long-time deputy until Stoops fired his co-offensive coordinators Heupel and Jay Norvell after a disappointing 2014 season.

This decision destroyed Heupel's chance to become Stoops' heir.

Stoops' personnel decisions worked. Oklahoma's offense came to life under Riley, who later replaced Stoops.

Heupel, however, was deeply hurt after being fired by his alma mater and his former coach, and resentment against him grew. He remains an icon in Oklahoma and was treated as such even before kickoff.

Oklahoma showed Heupel on the video board before kickoff with a welcome message. A pregame video montage included scenes of Heupel celebrating Oklahoma's national championship 24 years ago after taking the final snap from the victory lineup.

Oklahoma treated Heupel with the respect of a legend, and then he showed the Sooners he could do just fine without them.

Blake Toppmeyer is the USA TODAY Network's national college football columnist. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter. @btoppmeyer.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Josh Heupel shows Oklahoma football what it's missing as Tennessee rolls