Venables Vibes: Oklahoma's Coach Relives Alabama Celebrations Before Preparing to Enter Death Valley

OU coach Brent Venables shed more light on the euphoria following the Sooners' win over Alabama before turning his attention to the LSU Tigers.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN — There was a different energy about Brent Venables’ weekly press conference on Tuesday.

Fresh off Oklahoma’s 24-3 romp over then-No. 7 Alabama, the third-year coach expressed excitement for how his team handled putting the win in the rearview mirror to get to work on LSU at Monday's practice. 

The Sooners (6-5, 2-5 SEC) are now bowl eligible and have a chance to end a tough season on a high note against the Tigers (7-4, 4-3) in the regular-season finale this weekend. 

Just as he said after the win over the Crimson Tide, Venables said his group can’t get too high on one single victory, though he was proud his players finally got some positive payoff in the form of a big victory on Senior Night. 

Now, the Sooners must take on a rabid LSU fanbase at night against a Tigers team that snapped a three-game skid last time out against Vanderbilt. 

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Into the Valley of Death

Saturday will be the fourth-ever meeting between Oklahoma and LSU, and it will be OU’s first trip to Tiger Stadium.

Over 100,000 fans will pack into the stadium that has earned the moniker “Death Valley” over the years. 

Brian Kelly’s LSU teams are 13-1 in Baton Rouge at night, and while Venables hasn’t coached against the Tigers at home, he does have experience taking on the Bayou Bengals in Louisiana. 

“Playing in New Orleans against LSU twice for the national championship in ‘19 and ‘04 are probably first two on that list,” Venables said when asked about the toughest places he’s ever coached. “And I mean that sincerely. It was deafening. Could not hear on the headsets.”

When asking around about joining the SEC, Venables said the atmosphere in Death Valley is top of mind throughout the coaching profession. 

“Listen, I’ve heard from every coach that I love and respect that’s been in the biggest venues, the best of the best, and everybody points to Death Valley, Baton Rouge, night game,” he said. “Hope that your team doesn’t get scheduled, because that’s the toughest challenge there is in college football.”

Venables coached in the other Death Valley as Clemson’s defensive coordinator, and while he declined to anoint either as the “true” Death Valley, he said he knows what his team will be taking on this weekend. 

“We’re going to get the best out of the LSU faithful,” he said. “It’s something that we’re really looking forward to as well. You love a challenge and you know that that’s going to be a real thing. 

“You tell your players that external factors don’t win — the execution, the physicality, effort — do the things that you can control.”

Leaning on Bowen

True freshman cornerback Eli Bowen was excellent against Alabama. 

He bottled up Crimson Tide receiver Ryan Williams as well as anyone has all year, and he’ll have to be good again to contain LSU’s talented receivers. 

But the success hasn’t come as a great surprise to Venables. 

“Eli has played really well. He’s passed all the tests, if you will,” Venables said. “… He probably is more of the prototype, believe it or not. You look at the NFL, most of ‘em, the average is under 6-feet. Who wouldn’t want big, long creatures outside who can cover really well? But for whatever reason, the averages are under 6-foot in the NFL, the best ones, and that’s not to say there’s not some great ones that are really big.”

The most important thing for Bowen, Venables said, is that he is incredibly detailed and that he plays big every Saturday.

“He's just a very patient player,” Venables said. “He's a very skilled player. He understands the game within the game. He understands situational football. A lot of young guys, a lot of old guys, they they lose themselves.

“… That, to me, is a piece that helps separate him from a lot of young players — his ability to take what you do in practice and take it to the game.”

Think Outside the Bun

On his weekly Coaches Show on Monday night, Venables revealed that he celebrated the victory over Alabama with a $94 fast-food feast with his daughters and their friends. 

Tuesday, he expounded a bit more on his postgame celebrations. 

“The girls say, 'Let’s go to Taco Bell,' man, let’s go,” he said. “It was a long line, but it was worth the wait. It was so long I had to go inside and take a bathroom break while we waited for the food. We had to pull over, we ordered so much food — they couldn’t get it all ready. We ordered everything.”

Venables said he’s not sure what he mowed through — all he knows is that it hit the spot. 

“By the time I’m done with the radio show and a night game and with the media, with recruits and with the players and the staff and get in the car and get home, I’m ready to chew an arm off of somebody,” Venables said. “… Whatever they put inside of a tortilla, the crunchy stuff, man, it’s freaking — I have no idea what it was. We smashed that and had some fun. It was good. It was worth the wait.” 

If the Sooners are able to escape Baton Rouge with a win, he’ll be left to chow down on the team catering on the plane, but it would surely be a welcome celebration — just as his trip to Taco Bell turned out to be on Saturday night.