Venables Vibes: Oklahoma 'Excited' About Texas 'Challenge'

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables praised Steve Sarkisian's work at Texas as his team is preparing to take on the country's top-ranked team at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday.

Oct 8, 2022; Dallas, Texas, USA; Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables (left) speaks with Texas Longhorns head coach Steve Sarkisian (right) before the game at the Cotton Bowl. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

NORMAN — Christmas in October is almost here.

Oklahoma and Texas will meet for the 120th time this weekend, renewing one of the most hostile and chaotic rivalries in college football. 

The No. 18-ranked Sooners (4-1, 1-1 SEC) are two-touchdown underdogs to the top-ranked Longhorns (5-0, 1-0) heading into the weekend, but neither OU coach Brent Venables or Texas coach Steve Sarkisian is bothered by what Las Vegas has to think about the contest. 

They’ve both lived through wild installments of the Red River Rivalry, for good and bad, on the sidelines of the Cotton Bowl. 

Tuesday, Venables spoke to the media for just under 40 minutes previewing the massive matchup that will kick off at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday in Dallas. 

Coach vs. Coach 

Brent Venables and Steve Sarkisian meet at midfield ahead of the 2022 Red River Rivalry. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Both head coaches have their hands all over one side of the football.

Sarkisian is the offensive mastermind while Venables is the defensive genius. 

But when Texas’ offense takes the field against Oklahoma’s defense, Venables doesn’t see the matchup as himself vs. Sarkisian. 

“It’s a players’ game, and they’re not really concerned about what you’re doing,” Venables said. 

All Venables and OU defensive coordinator Zac Alley can be concerned with is best preparing their side of the ball to try and slow down the Longhorns’ explosive attack. 

“Steve’s an excellent offensive-minded coach, knows what he’s doing, and his presentations are fantastic,” Venables said. “He puts his players in position to be successful. He knows how to create leverage. He knows how to attack a defensive structure. When you have that along with really good, experienced, explosive, talented players, it’s a recipe for success. So, he’s had it at the highest level, and they’re playing that way right now. 

“But you like challenge. Our players watch the tape — it doesn’t take much to get these guys bought in to what’s in front of them. Our guys are really excited about that challenge.”

Man in the Mirror 

Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr. (9) runs the ball as Auburn Tigers take on Oklahoma Sooners at Jordan-Hare Stadium. / Jake Crandall/ Advertiser / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The bye week came at the perfect time for the Sooners. 

OU’s offense slogged through the first five weeks of the year, trying to overcome injury after injury. 

So an open weekend helped everyone get healthy across the board, but it also afforded Seth Littrell a chance to look at his Oklahoma offense and evaluate what is working and what needs to be fixed. 

“Some of it was affirmation for what you've seen,” said Venables, “and then other places where you immediately look at, where have you fallen short? That's where you put your immediate focus, and you look for all the reasons why we made it too easy.”

Part of OU’s self-scouting process focused on getting the best out of true freshman quarterback Michael Hawkins Jr., but the central focus was placed on improving the areas where the Sooners have fallen short over the first five weeks, no matter what quarterback was in the game. 

“You wanna start with the basics, and always take the defense and look at the offense, and take the offense and look at the defense,” Venables said. “From those views, how's an offense gonna look at us? How's the defense gonna look at us? Some of it's easy, maybe what are some things that Auburn had success with? Professional courtesy is gonna show up again, so you better address that. And that's every week, when you have some failure, you're always looking at that.”

Idle Minds

Oklahoma linebacker Dasan McCullough is set to return this week after missing the first five games of the 2024 season. / Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Oklahoma and Texas got dealt the same hand this week. 

Both teams were off last week, giving each side an extra seven days to prepare for the annual spectacle at the Cotton Bowl. 

But more time for preparation doesn’t guarantee better results. 

“Us having an extra week and then not staying in rhythm (after the win over Auburn), I don’t know if that’s an advantage or not,” Venables said. “And then you look at teams that played off of byes a week ago, some was mixed. It was a mixed bag. Sometimes it was good and sometimes it wasn’t good. So I don’t know.”

The Sooners did get a few bodies back. 

Kicker Tyler Keltner can return to the lineup after he missed the 27-21 win over Auburn, and linebacker Dasan McCullough is set to make his season debut against Texas. 

True freshman running back Taylor Tatum is also likely to be in the mix against the Longhorns, brining the offense one step closer to full health as OU stares down a difficult stretch including contests against South Carolina (3-2, 1-2) and No. 9 Ole Miss (5-1, 1-1) beyond the battle with Texas. 

All things considered, Venables was happy with the timing of the open date. 

“Every year you look at it for what it is and what your team needs,” Venables said. “And so we handled it accordingly. We feel like, again, we’re in a great position coming into the week this week for the next several weeks. Good time for us after five games.”