A few months ago, I suggested to Tennessee that it needed a certain song ready to roll for the postgame locker room after the Oklahoma game. If executed correctly — one would think an accompanying social media post would be obvious — it could go down as the most appropriate troll/flex/celebration ever by a visiting college football team.

“HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?!?!?!”

The title of the timeless jam by the late country music star/diehard Oklahoma fan Toby Keith, who died from stomach cancer at age 62 in February, should serve as a mantra for Josh Heupel as he returns to Norman. It’ll be his first time back on the sidelines since the Sooners’ national championship-winning quarterback was fired as OU’s offensive coordinator at the end of the 2014 season. A decade after Heupel was dismissed by his alma mater, he’ll return to Norman with the No. 6 team in America, led by emerging quarterback sensation Nico Iamaleava.

Heupel hasn’t said anything that would suggest there’s ill will toward Oklahoma, and that he’s grateful for his time there because it got him to where he is today.

But nearly a quarter century after Heupel delivered OU its last national title, how could he not feel some of those Keith vibes? Heupel got fired after leading a top-25 offense for the third time in 4 seasons. A 40-6 loss to Clemson in the Russell Athletic Bowl made Heupel the scapegoat for OU’s preseason No. 4 ranking turning into an 8-win season, which also included a blowout win against … Tennessee.

Ironic? You bet, but let’s crank up the irony levels to 11.

When Heupel’s left arm was the backbone of the Sooners’ national championship run in 2000, guess which song rose to the top of the country charts?

“HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW?!?!?!”

Oh yeah. You can’t make this stuff up.

Some might call it The Heupel Bowl — wherein College GameDay will travel to Norman with fans in attendance (excludes 2020) for the first time since Heupel’s second season as OU’s offensive coordinator in 2012 — but there’s an even more appropriate name for Saturday’s showdown.

This, my friends, is The Toby Keith Bowl.

Why? Think about what this game means not just for Heupel, but for Oklahoma. After years of facing the question of whether the program is “SEC-ready,” how fitting it is that the Sooners’ first SEC game will be against this Tennessee team. Like, one that might be as solid on the offensive and defensive lines as any team in America. It’s the ultimate test. Shoot, the Vols’ defense hasn’t allowed an offensive touchdown yet, and it also boasts the nation’s No. 1 scoring offense at 63.7 points per game.

If Oklahoma wins, you can bet some Keith will be blasted. For the Sooners, this is absolutely a “How Do You Like Me Now?” moment.

You know, just like when the Sooners returned to national prominence by winning it all in 2000 thanks to a Snow College quarterback transfer who once couldn’t get on the field at Weber State. Heupel could’ve made that his theme song during his playing days in Norman. For all I know, Heupel brought his Walkman on the plane to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York and just hit the repeat button for 3 hours.

“HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW … NOW THAT I’M ON MY WAY … ”

And when Heupel lost to Florida State quarterback Chris Weinke in the Heisman race, but got an even better trophy a few weeks later against FSU (a BCS National Championship trophy), what do you think he sang the entire way back to Norman from the Orange Bowl? There’s a greater than 0.0% chance that’s exactly how it happened.

Wait a minute. Oh my goodness.

Do you remember who sang the national anthem at the Orange Bowl that night?!?!? TOBY FREAKIN’ KEITH!!!!!

Can’t. Make. This. Up.

This Heupel-Oklahoma-Keith script is a quarter-century in the making. The beauty is that it’s far from over. Saturday night is an all-important plot point for the trajectory of both programs, whether they admit it or not.

Heupel somewhat playfully addressed the “unique” dynamic of his Oklahoma return at SEC Media Days and again during his Monday media availability.

Heupel knows as well as anyone how loud it’ll be in Norman on Saturday night. It’ll be emotionally charged, but it’ll be a different dynamic than when Heupel welcomed Lane Kiffin’s Ole Miss squad to Knoxville in 2021. Kiffin left Tennessee in the dust in 2009, which fueled an all-time SEC atmosphere that yielded fans throwing golf balls and mustard bottles to protest the officiating.

Heupel didn’t leave Oklahoma; he was told he was no longer living up to the Oklahoma standard. The irony, of course, is that Heupel was a massive reason the 21st century Oklahoma standard was established as a player and as an assistant (he also spent 5 seasons as OU’s quarterbacks coach from 2006-10). There shouldn’t be any bitterness from Sooners fans toward Heupel, though I’d bet that at least some have been giving him the side eye since that post-2014 divorce. For all I know, Heupel screen-shotted tweets or Reddit posts from some Oklahoma fans in 2021 when he accepted the Tennessee job.

Oh gosh. It’s sitting there again. Sorry, but I have to do it.

“WHEN I TOOK OFF TO TENNESSEE, I HEARD THAT YOU MADE FUN OF ME … NEVER IMAGINED I’D MAKE IT THIS FAR … ”

Serious question — did Keith make this song knowing how this Heupel situation would play out? I’m convinced that he had a crystal ball and that song actually wasn’t about how he wasn’t good enough for that valedictorian in high school — color me surprised that “writing her number on the 50-yard line” didn’t work — but rather that this was how he forecasted the next 24 years for Heupel.

(OK, so I acknowledge that’s basically impossible. While Keith co-wrote the song with Chuck Cannon, it was released in the middle of Heupel’s first season in Norman, and it was likely written before he threw a pass for the Sooners. But again, it’s a greater than 0.0% chance that a diehard OU fan like Keith secretly wrote this for Heupel as his personal pump-up song and decided it would be more relatable if he made it about a guy who couldn’t catch a girl’s attention and wanted to shove it in her face when he got famous.)

It’s a shame that Keith can’t be in attendance for Saturday’s contest. There’s no doubt that he would’ve been fired up to witness the monumental night in Norman. If you’ve been on the Owen Field sidelines, there’s a good chance that you’ve crossed paths with Keith because he didn’t miss an OU game.

In 2019, my former SDS Podcast co-host Chris Marler and I were walking on the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium ahead of the Peach Bowl matchup between LSU and Oklahoma when we spotted Keith. Marler had the presence of mind to snap a selfie with him while I, too star-struck to act, proceeded to hang back and awkwardly hum that signature Keith song to myself. After all, being on the field for a Playoff semifinal showdown was a “HOW DO YOU LIKE ME NOW” moment for my career.

That day, of course, ended up being a different tune for Keith and OU. It’s safe to say that Keith’s happiness peaked before kickoff.

At the end of the 2013 season, it was a much happier story. Heupel guided OU’s offense to a 45-point effort in a Sugar Bowl victory against Alabama. After the game, Sooner Radio Network sideline reporter Chris Plank ran into Keith, who had an expression on his face that stuck with him more than a decade later.

“I remember Toby Keith afterwards just being as happy as any individual that I’ve seen in my life,” he said.

If he were still alive, perhaps this Saturday would’ve had the ingredients to surpass that moment for Keith. Maybe College GameDay would’ve made him the celebrity guest picker — a role that he served in once for the Red River Rivalry in 2018 — or he could’ve sung the national anthem. Even without him, though, his presence will be felt.

To honor Keith at every home game, his “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue” is now played before the 4th quarter. By the time that rolls around on Saturday night, OU could have already distanced itself from Heupel’s squad and it’ll be en route to its first SEC win. Alternatively, Tennessee could be in the midst of a statement so loud that fans from coast to coast will acknowledge that the Vols are national title contenders.

Whatever the case, do yourself a favor — do as Keith would’ve done.

Come Saturday night in Norman, make sure you’ve got as good of a seat as possible for The Toby Keith Bowl.