During a Big Orange Caravan stop in May, Tennessee football coach Josh Heupel was asked about facing Oklahoma, the school he led to a national title as a Heisman Trophy runner-up quarterback.
“Before you said that, I didn’t know they were on the schedule,” Heupel replied.
The joke didn’t linger all the way to SEC media days in Dallas on Tuesday. Heupel answered questions from Oklahoma media about his homecoming in a straightforward manner.
“I’ve got great respect for the university, the program,” said Heupel, who was fired as Oklahoma offensive coordinator in 2015. “(There are) a lot of friends that are coaching on the opposing sideline, former teammates that will be coaching on that opposing sideline, too. So it’ll be unique to be back there, but (I am) excited to be there.”
Indeed, the impact of that game is no laughing matter, and Heupel knows it.
When the Vols play the Sooners in Norman on Sept. 21, it will be Oklahoma’s first SEC game and its chance to show it belongs in the best conference in college football.
But Tennessee will have plenty to prove, as well. And that Week 4 game will only be the beginning.
The consensus is that the Vols aren’t a favorite to win the league title. Georgia and Texas share that designation.
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But Tennessee is firmly in that second tier along with teams like Ole Miss, Alabama, Missouri, LSU and perhaps Oklahoma.
With the College Football Playoff expanding to 12 teams, even…
