Josh Heupel is not the only former Oklahoma Sooners player on the Tennessee Volunteers' staff

This first SEC game for the Oklahoma Sooners against the Tennessee Volunteers is set to be a special one on Saturday. Of course, there is the fact that it's Oklahoma's first-ever SEC conference game and it's at home against a big-time opponent. Both of these teams are ranked, with the Sooners being No. 15 overall and the Vols being No. 6.

Both of these teams are undefeated, and one of them will get their first loss on the season, thus making it that much harder to get to the College Football Playoffs. So, that's riding on this game as well when you dig a bit deeper.

And of course, the thing being talked about most is the Josh Heupel situation. Heupel, the Volunteers head coach, was the starting quarterback for the Sooners from 1999-2000 and won a National Championship in 2000.

Then, Heupel became the offensive coordinator early in his coaching career, and, well, it wasn't great. Bob Stoops let him go , and rightfully so because at the time the offense was terrible, even though Stoops was saying the blame should not be on Heupel.

So, the fans are fired up for that one. However, I think the fan base may be forgetting one other person making their return to Oklahoma.

Tennessee offensive coordinator Joey Halzle has some ties as well.

His playing career began at the University of Oklahoma, where he played quarterback from 2006 to 2008. During his time with the Sooners, Halzle appeared in 21 games, showcasing his skills by completing 53 of 83 passes for 640 yards and four touchdowns, with two interceptions. This experience laid the groundwork for his future in coaching.

Following his playing days, he initially stayed with Oklahoma in various roles as a coach, including quality control and graduate assistant positions from 2009 to 2014. His coaching journey has been closely tied with Josh Heupel. Halzle is known for his quarterback coaching, where he has helped develop players like Dillon Gabriel at UCF, who had an outstanding season under Halzle's tutelage.

He then went on to be a QB coach at Tennessee and has now taken over the OC job.

So, yeah, there is a lot riding on this game.

Related: Former Oklahoma HC Bob Stoops gives Tennessee Vols HC Josh Heupel a massive compliment