Oklahoma Sooners’ Brent Venables is doubling down on a decision vs. Kentucky that looks much different now that the dust has settled
The Oklahoma Sooners went for a fake field goal against Kentucky, and while it didn’t work, Brent Venables doesn’t regret the call.
The Oklahoma Sooners lost to the Kentucky Wildcats in a game that felt like a win for two and a half quarters. A few reasons this game ended up being an L for OU:
You can probably start with the offensive line. They fell apart, literally, in the second half, specifically the fourth quarter. That put unnecessary pressure on John Mateer, who then made too many plays that you can’t make.
You could say the coaching was very poor overall. But you can’t really say OU lost because of that fake field goal attempt. Was it stupid in the moment? Yes. But, for what it’s worth, head coach Brent Venables would do it again.
“I really liked the call, and our guy was open like I thought he would be. And we just missed the throw, but we obviously didn’t execute it, and I wouldn’t change it,” Venables told reporters after the game when asked about the failed fake field goal attempt.
Brent Venables is actually right when it comes to the fake field goal
To be fair, he is right. Rocky Beers was open for the touchdown; the play was just poorly executed, and the throw was bad. And that’s not why the Sooners lost. Let’s add the points, then: if they kicked the field goal, the Sooners still lose 21-16. Okay, some may say, well, those points there carry momentum for the rest of the game on offense. Okay, that can’t be an argument because OU scored on the next offensive possession.
Should they have done it? Probably not. But Venables is standing on business. Imagine that play works and they get the touchdown. Then we are talking about OU still being down to Kentucky in the long run, 21-20. Then again, maybe that changes the way OU is playing on offense. Maybe they get more conservative and run the ball more often, and that interception never happens?
Sure, you could say that. And you could say the last two maybe don’t happen since OU didn’t run the ball once with an RB with 12 minutes left. The bottom line is, this team isn’t in any position to get that cute.
