NORMAN, Oklahoma — All Head Coach Josh Heupel said after No. 6 Tennessee’s 25-15 win over No. 15 Oklahoma Saturday night at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium:

Opening Statement

“Good win. It’s always tough to come up against good football teams. And great environment tonight. And I thought our defense controlled the line of scrimmage. Played tirelessly. Really tight coverage early on and did a great job getting off the field. Changed the way the game was played. You can see in the second half, offensively, our game plan changed as far as possessions (and) time. Different than it’s probably ever been in my career.

“And the special teams were solid. Max (Gilbert) did a great job of throwing the ball through the post and changing the game in terms of possessions. And kickoff coverage, solid. Punt return, gave up a little more than we wanted, but overall a solid night there.

“And offensively, we created some big plays. The structure changed from them, which was a little bit anticipatory. Didn’t know exactly what the structure was going to look like. I’ve played against him (Brent Venables) enough in my career, expect the unexpected. But we adjusted, got some things going in the first half and scored some points and the second half was pretty exciting, just the way the game unfolded.

“Great win for the football team. And proud of the way we went into the week, how we prepared, how we practiced and how hard we played.”

Without Lance Heard and John Campbell missing time in the game due to injury, how did Tennessee handle that setback at offensive tackle?

“Overall, I thought the guys that came in and played and those guys that replaced played solid tonight. Between adjusting our personnel and the structure and getting everybody in sync, it took us a little bit of time in the beginning. But they performed well. I’m looking forward to hopefully having both of those guys back here by the time we get back on the field.”

Tennessee has done it eight times in a row on a touchdown drive in the second quarter, what does that say about this team?

“Running the football is our foundation, our bread and butter. That’s how we start. I thought with the changes in structure, the pressure that they brought, it took a while for us to get a hat on a hat and make some vertical seams. Our backs had to get used to the angles of how everything was unfolding. But that drive was big and some of the conversions were big later in the football game.”

Coach this season after his mother passed away

“She was looking forward to this game. She has a lot of friends in the state who know she was looking forward to it. So it was a unique game to come back and have it be an away game for me and this soccer team, but a home game for a lot of my family.”

The flexibility it gives him as a play-caller to have this type of defense from Tennessee

“Every game is different, but in the first half you could feel how we played on the defensive side of the football, controlling the line of scrimmage, really making it hard on the quarterback, playing tight coverage on the back end, getting down the field on third downs and as the game went into the second half, the way we played changed and the situations we would put Nico in changed with our personnel changes up front. I mean, all those things play together and at the end of the day, if you really want to play quality football, you have to have quality defense. And our guys are playing really well. They’re excited about the way they’re playing, but they also know there’s more to it and it’s fun to watch this group continue to grow.”

His thoughts on Oklahoma playing two quarterbacks

“Yeah, man (Oklahoma OC) Seth (Litrell) is a really good football coach and does a great job with those guys. He’ll be able to find the right guy for them in the future.”

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava hands him the game ball

“This game was never about me coming back here. Not for this football team. And I say that they also understood that this game was a little different for me personally. But that wasn’t the point. But I do appreciate that they recognize that and that they want that for me.”

His favorite part of his time back in Oklahoma, outside of football

“It felt good to come off the field with the win.”

The significance of Tennessee’s two big passing plays in the first half as the offense struggled

“As we figured out the structure of the passes, two big pass plays that helped create points at the end of the day and some separation on the scoreboard. Two big explosive plays and both guys did a great job of getting in the right areas as well.”

How Tennessee’s defense plays so well changes the way he approaches games

“Well, it does change because the position on the field changes the way the game is played for everybody and what kind of position you try to put everybody in on your football team. So it changes how the game is played and tonight the game kind of formed its own identity halfway through the second quarter, certainly as the third quarter started, but every game is different so you have to be ready to play it as it unfolds.”

If this is the most versatile Tennessee offense he’s ever had

“The most versatile we’ve ever been, because of our personnel. The confidence we have in him, in the ability to move guys around and then Nico who has a great command and understanding of everything that’s going on, gives you that luxury.”

If he believes he has evolved as a coach to win with defense as a leader

“You look at the steps our defense has taken, your team has developed its own identity every year and it’s my responsibility to put them in a position to play a complete game together, find the best way to win, and tonight that’s how the game unfolded.”

How he thinks this Tennessee team handled the environment

“Overall, I’ve handled it really well. A freshman quarterback playing his first, you know, league game, but there’s a couple things we can work out. But overall, pretty solid.”

If there is a sense of relief that the game against Oklahoma is over,

“It meant something to be here, to play and win. Yeah, but that’s just not what it was about when we came back here. We have a good football team, high expectations. They continue to fight extremely hard every day to grow and get better. This was our first test drive in the league. Tonight was about this ’24 football team and I’m really proud of how they performed.”

No matter how many times he has been given the match ball in his career as a coach, where does it go?

“That one will definitely come to the office. There have been a few, first win.”

What it says about the growth of the Tennessee program to win out after overcoming adversity

“Yeah, look what the defense does, you know, we’re on third down, give up a strip sack off the edge, sudden change (and) they go out, create a turnover, get the ball right back. Despite the adversity tonight, everybody kept playing and competing and playing for each other. Real proud of them. That’s one of the things we talked about when we started this thing. But the defense’s ability to deal with sudden adversity was a big part of their football game.”

The long-term benefit for Tennessee if they win their most physical football game of the season:

“I think in this league you have to be able to win in different ways as the season goes on. Every game is different. Every opponent, matchups, things like that. We have to be the most physical football team on the field every Saturday.”

How important it is to have Tennessee’s week off where it is now and how important it is to get healthy over the next two weeks

“We talked about starting fast (this) season and we’ve done that. We’ve got some guys that need to get healthy, but as a football team we’ve got to continue to grow and get better next week. The areas where we’re not playing at the level that we’re capable of, those things come up as you go along and we’ve got to get better in those areas. So get some guys healthy, have some really good practices and get ready for the next one.”