Oklahoma coach Brent Venables and Tennessee coach Josh Heupel meet after a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Tennessee Volunteers at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024. BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Josh Heupel Earns National Coach of the Week Honor After Win at Oklahoma

Originally posted on Tennessee Volunteers on SI
By Tanner Johnson | Last updated Sep 24, 2024 4:54 PM ET

It seemed like every eye in the country was on Tennessee and its head coach Josh Heupel as the Vols headed to Norman for a marquee matchup with Oklahoma.

There were storylines galore about Heupel and his return to his alma mater, where he won a national championship as a quarterback and spent years as an assistant coach. It is not often that a game can be more about a head coach than it is about his players. As much as Heupel tried to keep the focus off of himself, that is still where much of the focus was from the fans and national media.

Nevertheless, the Vols prevailed in a 25-15 victory, and Heupel coached a phenomenal game. For his performance on the sidelines, Heupel was named the Bear Bryant Awards Coach of the Week. It is a fitting honor for Heupel to receive after a win he was very proud of. It was easy to tell how much this win meant to Heupel just from his postgame speech to his team.

Had a little something extra. pic.twitter.com/5R09sSlFb9
— Tennessee Football (@Vol_Football) September 22, 2024

In his fourth season as Tennessee's head coach, Heupel has Tennessee ranked No. 5 in the AP Poll. The Vols have two wins over teams who were ranked at the time of the game, only one other team in the country can say the same. The win in Norman over then-No. 15 Oklahoma was the most impressive victory of Tennessee's season so far.

The Vols are now on a much-needed bye week after playing four straight games. The break comes at a good time for Tennessee, as they need to get healthy before traveling to Arkansas for another SEC road game that will be played under the lights.

This article first appeared on Tennessee Volunteers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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