Josh Heupel led Tennessee to a big win over then-ranked No. 15 Oklahoma Sooners (3-1) on the road by a score of 25-15.
The game was so highly in their favor that Heupel and his freshman quarterback Nico Iamaleava had to pump the brakes.
Post-game, Heupel told his quarterback “I pulled back a tad just because the way our defense was playing, hell of a job,” (h/t Tennessee Volunteers on SI’s Jonathan Williams ). After scoring 19 points in the first half, the Volunteers scored just six points in the second half and cruised their way to a 25-15 victory over the Sooners.
Heupel’s comments are potentially seen as flat-out disrespectful, considering that the Volunteers are the away team.
This win over the Sooners increased their College Football Playoff resume as one ESPN writer recently had them off the field .
Iamaleava has been on a tear so far this season — throwing 892 yards, completing 61/88 attempts through the first four games. He has seven touchdowns but has given up two interceptions to go along with being sacked seven times.