A quarter-century ago, Josh Heupel was one of the centerpieces of Oklahoma's football rebirth. On Saturday, Heupel will be a piece of another significant milestone when his sixth-ranked Tennessee Volunteers take on the No. 15 Sooners in Norman, Okla. Oklahoma will be playing its first league contest since joining the Southeastern Conference. "It will be unique going back into that stadium," Heupel said. "I have teammates and friends back there. It's going to be a (different) viewpoint. I am not sure I spent a day on the opposing sideline inside the stadium -- not even for a scrimmage." Heupel signed with the Sooners out of Snow College in Utah, not long after Bob Stoops' arrival as Oklahoma's head coach before the 1999 season. The Sooners made their first bowl game in five seasons during Heupel's first season. During his second, Oklahoma went undefeated and won the program's seventh national championship. Heupel also finished runner-up in the Heisman Trophy voting that season. Brent Venables, now in his third season as the Sooners' head coach, was Oklahoma's co-defensive coordinator during Heupel's time as a player. Heupel was also a longtime assistant at Oklahoma under Stoops but was fired following the 2014 season. After stints at Utah State and Missouri, Heupel got his first head-coaching job at UCF, and he is in his fourth season as the Volunteers' head coach. Venables expects a strong reception for Heupel in Norman. "There can't be someone with a stronger legacy," Venables said. "The first year, going 7-5, then out of nowhere to go 13-0 and several games within that year, Oklahoma was an underdog or had to come from behind in those games where you really felt Sooner Magic was reignited. And he was a catalyst of that. And people won't forget that." The game is about much more than Heupel's return or the Sooners' introduction into the SEC. Tennessee (3-0) comes in with one of the most powerful offenses in college football, having outscored its opponents 191-13. Volunteers quarterback Nico Iamaleava and Oklahoma's Jackson Arnold were two of the top quarterbacks to come out of the 2023 class. Iamaleava has completed 71.6 percent of his passes this season, and a strong run game in addition to that has helped the Volunteers average 693.3 yards per game. "Man, what a talent," Venables said of Iamaleava. "He's just been fantastic. He's got a great presence to him, he's got a great supporting cast and a great defense." Saturday will be Iamaleava's first true road game as the starter. Oklahoma's strength so far has been its defense. The Sooners (3-0) are holding opponents to less than 265 yards per game and have forced 10 turnovers so far, tied for the nation's best. "They play really assignment sound," Heupel said. "They understand where they're supposed to be and recognizing patterns and getting into windows. They tie all three phases, all three levels of the defense in extremely well. And then when you have the ball in their hands, they're extremely active." --Field Level Media

The eighth-ranked Miami Hurricanes have already scored 159 points - a program record for the first three games of a season. Miami (3-0) will now travel to Tampa to challenge the host South Florida Bulls (2-1) on Saturday. Miami is a 16.5-point favorite. After all, the Hurricanes are coming off a 62-0 win over Ball State. That marked Miami's biggest shutout win ever over an FBS program. With the Ball State game essentially locked up, Miami quarterback Cam Ward was pulled three minutes into the third quarter. But even with such a short stint, Ward still passed for 346 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. Ward, a transfer from Washington State who is completing 73 percent of his passes this season, is the favorite to win the Heisman Trophy, according to FanDuel. He has passed for 11 touchdowns, and he is averaging 345 passing yards per game. Even better, Ward has no fumbles and just one interception. "He is laser-focused," Miami coach Mario Cristobal said. "He has the right mentality." Defensively, the Hurricanes are allowing just 8.7 points per game. Miami's best defensive player has been defensive end Tyler Baron, who tops the team in tackles for loss (seven) and sacks (4 1/2). On the other side, South Florida's defense has impressed Cristobal. "Their speed, their physicality, their intensity, their ability to tackle in space," Cristobal said. "There's a lot to (USF) that made them successful." Outside linebacker Mac Harris leads USF in total tackles (19) and stops for loss (3 1/2). Offensively, the stars are quarterback Byrum Brown, running backs Nay'Quan Wright and Kelley Joiner Jr., and wide receivers Sean Atkins and Abdur-Rahmaan Yaseen. Brown tops USF in passing yards (448) and rushing yards (254). He has two TD passes and two running TDs, as well as zero interceptions. At running back, Wright - a Miami native - and Joiner are both sixth-year seniors. Wright has rushed for 188 yards, a 5.7 average and two TDs. Joiner has rushed for 220 yards, a 7.3 average and four TDs. Atkins, another sixth-year senior, arrived at USF as a walk-on in 2019. Yet he has played 50 games. Last year, he set USF season records for catches (92) and yards (1,054). Yaseen, who arrived at USF this year as a Purdue transfer, has nine catches and a 13.0 average this season. He's a fifth-year player. In its season opener, USF beat heavy underdog Bethune-Cookman 48-3. USF then lost 42-16 at Alabama, although the Bulls trailed just 21-16 with less than six minutes left in that game. Last Saturday, USF trailed 14-0 midway through the first quarter before rallying for a 49-24 win over Southern Mississippi. In that game, Joiner had TD runs of 43 and 50 yards, and Wright scored on a 33-yarder. Joiner and Wright both rushed for over 100 yards. "I really don't care about the stats," said Joiner, who is 26 years old. "I really care about the win." This will be the first time Miami and USF have met since 2013, when the Hurricanes won 49-21 in Tampa. USF coach Alex Golesh said Saturday's game will be one of the biggest in the 28-season history of Bulls football, and he's looking for a crowd in excess of 70,000. "It's going to a huge night in Tampa," Golesh said. "We've got to get ourselves ready against a really good football team." --Field Level Media

The No. 7 Missouri Tigers turned their Week 3 struggle against Boston College into a bonding experience for the many newcomers on their roster. "For us to have to face some adversity and then figure out who we are, who we can count on, what are you going to do when your back's against the wall and you're tired," Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz said. "I think that was really important." Missouri (3-0, 0-0 Southeastern Conference) rallied from an 11-point second-quarter deficit to win 27-21. The Tigers will try to build on that experience when they host the Vanderbilt Commodores (2-1, 0-0 SEC) on Saturday on Faurot Field at Memorial Stadium in Columbia, Mo. The Tigers weren't tested in their first two games, a 51-0 victory over Murray State and a 38-0 win over Buffalo. Tigers quarterback Brady Cook has completed 69-of-97 passes for 720 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He has also rushed for 90 yards and four touchdowns. But Missouri still hasn't gotten in high gear with its passing game because Cook has been under duress. "Got to firm up the middle of the pocket," Drinkwitz said. "When we have confusion about what we're doing in protection, we've got to still be solid." Missouri has alternated Nate Noel (242 yards, two touchdowns) and Marcus Carroll (151 yards, one touchdown) at running back. Its deep receiving corps is led by Theo Wease Jr. (21 catches, 232 yards) and preseason all-America Luther Burden III (13 catches, 181 yards, two touchdowns). "What makes them unique is, they formation motion and design you to find spaces," Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said. "It's built around their stretch running scheme." Defensively, the Tigers have held opponents to 73.7 yards per game on the ground, which ranks 19th in the nation. Vanderbilt will look to rebound from its 36-32 loss at Georgia State. The Commodores rallied from a 29-17 fourth-quarter deficit only to allow a last-minute touchdown drive. Lea blamed the loss on poor preparation. "It wasn't the physical work that bothered me last week," he said. "It was more along the lines of focus and approach. Guys being on time, being disciplined, being consistent." Dual-threat Commodores quarterback Diego Pavia has completed 40-of-62 passes for 543 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 195 yards and two TDs. Sedrick Alexander (165 yards, three TDs) is the lead running back and tight end Eli Stowers (12 catches, 163 yards, one TD) and Quincy Skinner Jr. (eight catches, 123 yards, one TD) have been the primary passing targets. The Commodores upset Virginia Tech 34-27 in overtime and routed Alcorn State 55-0 in their first two games. "Vandy, I think, has always been a very difficult out for us," Drinkwitz said. "This is Clark's best team since he's been there." Vanderbilt was missing edge defenders Khordae Sydnor and Boubacar Diakite against Georgia State. Defensive lineman Zaylin Wood and safety De'Rickey Wright were injured during the game. Lea said Sydnor was questionable for this game and Wood is likely out. Safety CJ Taylor could sit out the first half due to a targeting penalty last week. Both teams will be looking to eliminate their penalties. The Commodores were penalized nine times for 85 yards against Georgia State and the Tigers were flagged eight times for 91 yards against Boston College. "The lack of discipline is the result of lack of accountability," Drinkwitz said. "And there's going to be accountability ... selfish penalties cannot happen. The team's mission is way more important than any individual's hurt feelings." --Field Level Media

It's been 79 years since No. 12 Utah and No. 14 Oklahoma State have played a game of football. Suffice it to say the sport's changed a little since the school then known as Oklahoma A&M handed the Utes a 46-6 beatdown in Salt Lake City on Oct. 20, 1945. When the programs convene again on Saturday in Stillwater, Okla., to open Big 12 Conference play, they'll play a September game that could have December ramifications. Both Utah and Oklahoma State are 3-0 and expected to contend for the conference title. A win could give someone a leg up on reaching the new 12-team playoff, and a loss might keep someone out of the playoff. "They're all big, right? In college football now, every game matters," said Cowboys coach Mike Gundy. One reason this one matters more than most is the quarterback matchup. The Utes' Cam Rising and Oklahoma State's Alan Bowman are 25 and 24 years old, respectively. Their combined age is 49, or five years older than the combined ages of 22-year-olds Anthony Richardson and Caleb Williams, who will start in Sunday's NFL matchup between the Colts and Bears. It could be said that 25 is the new 20 in college football. Rising sat out Utah's 38-21 win last week at Utah State but is aiming to return this week. He suffered a finger injury in the third quarter of a victory two weeks ago against Baylor. "That's all you ever dreamed of as a kid is just playing in big-time football games and this is a great Oklahoma State team," Rising said. "So just chomping at the bit to get out there and get this thing going fine." In just over six quarters of action, Rising is 18 of 29 for 346 yards and seven touchdowns. Micah Bernard paces the ground game with 274 yards on 41 carries, while four receivers have already surpassed 100 yards of catches. Bowman has put up some huge numbers in his team's wins over South Dakota State, Arkansas and Tulsa. He drowned the Golden Hurricane last week for 396 yards and five touchdowns, matching a career high, during an easy 45-10 win. In three games, Bowman has completed 67 percent of his passes for 967 yards, eight touchdowns and just two interceptions. De'Zhaun Stribling has been his favorite target, catching 17 balls for 295 yards and two scores. The Cowboys haven't gotten Ollie Gordon II, who ran for 1,732 yards in 14 games last year, going on the ground yet. He has only 216 yards and is averaging just 3.5 yards per carry in three games. Tulsa limited him to 41 yards on 17 carries last week, but Gundy isn't too concerned. "We ran the ball well Saturday when we had an equal number or half-man disadvantage," he said. "We didn't run the ball well when they had one or two extra people there. I could show you five or six plays real quick where we had really successful plays because Ollie went this way and eight guys chased him that way." --Field Level Media