It was a desperate attempt to wake up the OLine. Up until that point in the game, the OL was a major part of the reason for why the offense was struggling. There were unnecessary holding penalties on Nico rollouts. We weren't getting much push in the rushing game. Nico had been sacked multiple times. We were losing the field position and time of possession battles. So, Heupel was trying to send the message that we needed those guys to step up.
Personally, I think it was necessary. Maybe it didn't change much that drive, but the OL had a much better 2nd half performance.