Well @PalsPal, I think Heupel may be a member here and read your post. Because he sure answered your question!
Yes he did, and I loved it.
We were very fortunate to not have gifted them points on two occasions, and I think he wanted to make sure that didn't happen again. And he trusts his defense.
Plus, he and the other coaches knew what kind of defense OK has, and it was Nico's first-year test in a hostile environment.