Oklahoma Coach Brent Venables Wins National Coach of the Week Honor

After the Sooners' big upset victory over Alabama on Saturday night in Norman, Venables received one award while the team received another.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables poses with defensive back Billy Bowman on Senior Night. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

After one of the toughest weeks of his life, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables watched his team pull off arguably the biggest win of his head coaching career.

Beating No. 7-ranked Alabama 24-3 on Saturday night as a two-touchdown underdog and ending a four-game SEC losing streak was enough of a reward itself.

But Monday, Venables got even more good news when he was named the Bobby Dodd Trophy National Coach of the Week.

It was one of several national awards OU received on Monday.

The Sooners (6-5 overall, 2-5 SEC) were led by sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold’s 131 yards on the ground, along with freshman running back Xavier Robinson’s career performance of 107 rushing yards and two touchdowns. 

OU broke the game open with two touchdowns by Robinson in the second and third quarter. The second was spurred by Eli Bowen’s interception of Jalen Milroe, which was followed by linebacker Kip Lewis’ pick six as he intercepted Milroe and returned it 49 yards for a touchdown to make it 24-3. 

The Sooner defense then sealed the victory over the Crimson Tide, holding Alabama to just three points and 234 yards — Bama’s lowest totals in years.

The victory capped off a week in which Venables revealed last Monday that his wife of 27 years, Julie, has suffered a relapse of the breast cancer she’s been battling for almost two years. Venables said the cancer was detected in July and she had major surgery the week before during Oklahoma’s bye week.

The Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week award honors a football coach who led his team to a significant victory during the previous week, while also embodying the award's three pillars of scholarship, leadership and integrity.

With the victory the Sooners became bowl eligible, extending the program’s bowl eligibility streak for the 26th straight season.

Venables is now in his third year at the helm in Norman, posting a 22-15 record with the Sooners, including four wins over top-25 opponents following Saturday’s win. 

Prior to his time as head coach at Oklahoma, Venables also served as an assistant coach and defensive coordinator for both OU and Clemson. During his tenure as an assistant coach, Venables helped produce 26 winning seasons, four College Football Playoff National Championship Game appearances 13 conference titles and three national titles.

“Coach Venables and the Sooners had a defensive performance for the ages on Saturday in Norman,” said Chairman of the Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year Foundation Jim Terry. “This was a statement win over a College Football Playoff contender and perennial power that shows the Sooners are poised to leave their mark on their new conference.”

Off the football field, Venables’s players have had success in the classroom during his tenure, recording a 940 Academic Progress Rate and a 77 Graduation Success Rate. The Graduation Success Rate measures the number of student-athletes who graduate from their school within six years of entering.

In the community, Venables "Coach V's 212 Foundation" operates to encourage others to become agents of change in everyday life by using the 212 platform as a voice for every Oklahoman. The 212 Foundation was created to provide hope and belief for a pathway of freedom, empowerment, recovery and early detection to meet local needs surrounding issues such as domestic violence, addiction and female-specific cancer research.  

“Coach Venables and the Sooners just shook up the College Football Playoff picture and SEC race with a major victory this weekend,” said Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and President Gary Stokan. “In addition to Saturday’s marquee win on the gridiron, Coach Venables has also been winning in the classroom and the community since his arrival to Norman, making him the ideal recipient for this honor.”

The Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank – along with the Dodd Trophy Coach of the Week Award – celebrates the head coach of a FBS team who enjoys success on the gridiron, while also stressing the importance of scholarship, leadership and integrity.

A panel consisting of all previous winners, national media, a member of the Dodd family and a College Football Hall of Fame member will identify the final list of potential recipients at the conclusion of the 2024 season. The winner of the 2024 Dodd Trophy Presented by PNC Bank will be announced in Atlanta during the week of the College Football Playoff Quarterfinal at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

Also Monday, the Football Writers Association of America named Oklahoma its Cheez-It National Team of the Week.

The FWAA's All-America Committee selects the weekly winner and all Division I FBS and FCS schools are eligible to be selected.

This is the eighth time for Oklahoma to win the weekly award and the first since Nov. 16, 2019, when OU staged the biggest comeback in school history, falling behind 28-3 and then rallyng to win at No. 12 Baylor, 34-31.

After falling behind 3-0 late in the first quarter, Oklahoma scored 24 unanswered points to down the Crimson Tide on the Sooners’ senior night. It was OU’s first home game against an AP top-10 opponent since beating No. 8 TCU 38-20 in 2017, and was its first home win over a top-10 team when unranked since 1990.

The Sooners’ defensive performance was one for the history books. OU became the first program to hold Alabama without a touchdown since 2011 and the first to limit the Crimson Tide to three or fewer points since 2004. UA’s 234 offensive yards were its fewest since 2014. It was also the first time OU held a top-10 opponent to three or fewer points since the No. 2 Sooners beat No. 5 Texas 12-0 in 2004.

Oklahoma’s rushing performance was its best against an FBS opponent this season, rolling up 257 yards on 50 carries for a 5.1-yard average. It was the most rushing yards allowed by Alabama in 26 games and just the ninth performance of 250-plus yards against the Crimson Tide in the last 20 seasons. The Sooners registered nine tackles for loss while giving up just four (one sack) and did not allow a tackle for loss until the 3:56 mark of the third quarter. Redshirt junior right guard Febechi Nwaiwu was named SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week.

The Sooners became just the fifth team going back to at least 1996 to have two players each rush for at least 100 yards against Alabama. Sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold rushed 25 times for a career-high 131 yards (5.2 average) and Robinson rushed 18 times for a career-high 107 yards (5.9 average) and two TDs.

Robinson, who was named SEC Freshman of the Week on Monday, rushed for 40 yards on his first carry of the game, his longest career run and the second longest by an OU running back this year. His touchdowns were from 18 yards and 1 yard.

Junior defensive end R Mason Thomas logged three tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a sack and two QB hurries and was named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week. His second hurry resulted in an interception by Woodi Washington, as Thomas hit quarterback Jalen Milroe’s arm, forcing the ball high into the air. Milroe entered the game averaging 60.8 rushing yards per contest and 5.1 yards per tote, but the Sooners held him to seven rushing yards on 15 carries (0.5 average). He also averaged 223.2 passing yards per game before Saturday but was held to 164 on 11-of-26 throwing (42.3%).

Playing in their last career home games, senior defensive linemen Ethan Downs and Da’Jon Terry each recorded two tackles for loss.

With the victory, Oklahoma is bowl eligible for the 26th consecutive season. Entering this year, OU owned the nation’s second-longest bowl streak at 25 years, trailing only Georgia (27 years). The Sooners have now won their home finale in each of the last 10 seasons and in 22 of the last 23 years. Eight of the 22 victories were against AP top-25 teams and two were against top-10 teams.

Oklahoma (6-5, 2-5 SEC) concludes the regular season at LSU (7-4, 4-3 SEC) on Saturday in Baton Rouge, La. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. CT on ESPN.

The Dodd Trophy Foundation and OU Media Relations contributed to this report.