The first four seasons of the Josh Heupel era have been the most successful for the Tennessee Vols since the early 2000s. 

Tennessee is 37-15 over the last four seasons, the program has secured multiple wins against Florida and Alabama, and the Vols reached the College Football Playoff in 2025 for the first time in program history. 

All of those accomplishments are even more amazing when you consider the state of the program when Heupel took over in early 2021 (previous head coach Jeremy Pruitt was fired amid an NCAA investigation that resulted in Heupel and his staff having to deal with scholarship reductions, plus an extremely negative public perception). 

Despite the strong start to Heupel's time in Knoxville, Fox Sports' Joel Klatt thinks Tennessee's head coach is under some pressure in 2025. 

Specifically, Klatt thinks there's a lot of pressure on Heupel to win Tennessee's home game against Oklahoma on November 1. 

"You know the game that it really is, it's Oklahoma," said Klatt. "That's the game. That's the moment that the pressure comes to fruition for Josh Heupel. I think they really should be 5-1…going into the second half of the year. I think that they're going to lose to Georgia. So 5-1 going into this stretch (second half of the season). The second half of the schedule is much tougher. So then, let's say they lose to Alabama, then they're 5-2. Let's say they win (against Kentucky), now they're 6-2. Now you've got OU, and it's like you're either a 6-3 team or you're a seven win team moving forward.

"And you've got this idea that OU wants to take your spot in the conference. Remember now, hierarchy of the conference is going to be so important as we move forward. You don't want to lose ground, in particular, in this day and age of narrative and recruiting and transfer portal, you don't want to be seen as the team that's slipping. You want to be seen as the team that's rising, and OU wants to get where Tennessee is. So this hierarchy of conference, OU is the one that's trying to get there. [Tennessee] can't lose that game. It's also at home (for Tennessee)."

"That game is where the pressure ratchets up for Josh Heupel," added Klatt. "So we like you, but you better beat Oklahoma at home." 

Click here to accept Marketing cookies and load this content

I don't think there's much pressure at all on Heupel and the Vols in 2025. 

That's mostly because Tennessee lost starting quarterback Nico Iamaleava to the NCAA transfer portal in late April. I think fans, and most of the national media, understand that the Nico saga put the Vols in a tough spot at quarterback. As a result, I think the pressure is off Tennessee a bit this fall. 

However, I do agree with Klatt about the Oklahoma game. I think that's a game that Tennessee has to find a way to win. Now, I don't necessarily think a loss to OU in November means Heupel should be on the hot seat in 2026 or anything like that. It would just be a tough loss for the Vols, and as Klatt noted, Tennessee doesn't want to be seen as a team that's trending the wrong direction. 

The pressure is off Tennessee (due to the Nico situation) in the sense that no one is expecting the Vols to return to the College Football Playoff in 2025. Tennessee, though, still needs to win some games to build some positive momentum. And that game against Oklahoma in Knoxville on November 1 is certainly a game that the Vols need to win to keep the momentum going on Rocky Top.

‘Peyton knows that he’s a psycho’ – Eli Manning roasts older brother Peyton Manning over quirky habit

Peyton is one of one in more ways than one