Venables Vibes: Oklahoma Trying to Turn Momentum Into Bowl Eligibility Against Missouri

The Sooners still need one more win to extend their bowl streak to 26 years.

Oklahoma coach Brent Venables shouts during a college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners (OU) and the Maine Black Bears at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024. / BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

NORMAN — Oklahoma and Missouri will meet for the 97th time on Saturday, but it’ll be the first matchup between the two programs with both in the Southeastern Conference. 

Brent Venables’ Sooners (5-4, 1-4 SEC) are still on the hunt for their sixth win of the year to clinch bowl eligibility, while the Tigers (6-2, 2-2) are trying to bounce back from injuries to get the season back on track.

The first meeting between the two former Big 8 foes will go down at 6:45 p.m. on Saturday in Columbia, MO, and the contest will be broadcast on the SEC Network.

Venables talked up the Tigers during his weekly press conference on Tuesday in Norman, as well as giving a few updates on what to expect with the lineup moving forward.

Farooq Still Fighting

Oklahoma lost wide receiver Jalil Farooq on the first drive of the 2024 season. 

He re-aggravated his foot injury after a 47-yard catch against Temple, and has been out of the lineup all year.

The recovery timeline for Farooq has him nearing a return, though Venables didn’t confirm if this would be the week the veteran takes the field again. 

“He’s a great competitor, cares about this program, cares about his teammates,” Venables said. “He feels like his mission, his journey is not over here at Oklahoma. He wants to have a legacy here. I think that’s important for Jalil.”

Just three games remain in the regular season. 

Farooq could return against Missouri, take on Alabama and LSU and still maintain his redshirt this year. 

Throughout his recovery process, Venables has stressed that Farooq hasn’t shut things down for the year. He’s working with the training staff to get cleared and try to help the team for the final stretch in 2024. 

“He loves to compete if you watch him play,” Venables said. “If you never talked to him but watched how he plays, you would say a lot of those things. A guy that cares a lot, plays with great toughness, an edge. 

“He’s wide open, can do a lot as a receiver. Both explosively and can challenge you vertically. …  I know he’s been working hard. I know he has high hopes to contribute quickly. He was out there with us last night in some capacity. But the availability report starts tomorrow, and we’ll go from there.”

The Sooners are also patiently awaiting the return of Deion Burks, who hasn’t seen action since OU’s Week 4 loss to Tennessee. 

Redshirts in Place

Saturday’s 59-14 win over Maine served multiple purposes. 

First, it helped the team build confidence by ending a three-game losing streak. But it also allowed the Sooners to bring in a bunch of underclassmen to push the development process further along. 

Two of those pieces on offense, freshman offensive lineman Eddy Pierre-Louis and freshman running back Xavier Robinson, made the most of their time in the second half. 

And while the returns were promising, Venables said the coaching staff has made a decision on how those two will be used the rest of the year. 

“We’re going to play those guys in four games,” he said. “So four total and not burn their redshirt year. So we’re in a position to do that.”

Pierre-Louis has already appeared in two games this season and Robinson has seen action in three contests in 2024. 

Not the Super Bowl

Every coaching staff in the country stresses the importance of making a bowl game. 

Earning an extra three weeks of practice ahead of the exhibition game is essential to bring young guys along — something Oklahoma’s offense could use if the Sooners are able to steal one of the remaining three games. 

But getting bowl eligible isn’t front of mind for Venables right now, though it would be a nice bonus to accomplishing the main goal this week. 

“(I’m) focusing on trying to go 1-0 this week and finishing much better than what we started this season,” Venables said. “That’s where the focus has been. It’s been in the work. It’s been in the schemes. It’s been in the transition and staff. 

“It’s been in where is Oklahoma beating Oklahoma and what can we do to lean on the strengths of this football team and protect the weaknesses of this football team while improving the football team?”

OU currently boasts the second-longest bowl streak in the country. 

The Sooners have qualified for a bowl every year since 1999, which only trails Georgia’s streak that started in 1997.

“It’s always important that we win and we put everything that we got into what winning requires,” Venables said. “…  I don’t spend any time on anything other than what’s in front of us right now because I can’t control any of the other things. But it’s important that we win the next one.”