Brent Venables continues to prove he’s the right man for the job after invoking Sooner Magic in monumental upset vs Alabama
Nobody deserves Oklahoma’s win over Alabama more than head coach Brent Venables does
What a day for the Oklahoma Sooners. In a roller coaster performance that featured momentum switch after momentum switch, the Sooners pulled off their biggest win in years, taking down the fourth-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide 23-21 in a defensive shutout.
Brent Venables was fired up all game, displaying his usual fiery personality and exuberance on the sideline, whether he was chasing down Eli Bowen on a pick-six or chewing out a player on a penalty, Venables was all over the field. After the game, Venables was still on the field well after the clock hit zero high-fiving and celebrating with fans. For a coach that has taken so much flak over the years, including from yours truly, I don’t believe anyone deserves to celebrate more than Venables right now.
He deserved this kind of a win.
Brent Venables is the right man for the job
Venables has taken so much flak from the Oklahoma fanbase over the years. He inherited a broken roster from Lincoln Riley, whose decision to leave in the middle of the night left the Sooners fanbase in shambles. Slowly but surely, Venables has turned it around, building three straight top-ten recruiting classes and developing some premier players like R Mason Thomas, David Stone, Peyton Bowen, and so on.
It’s clear to anyone around the program that the culture of the team is vastly different than it ever was under Lincoln Riley. These players fight for Brent Venables, and he responds in kind. He is as much a players coach as I have ever seen, and the entire team loves him for it. The Sooners have pulled off two road wins over top-15 ranked teams IN A ROW. Not many teams can say they’ve gone into Rocky Top and Bryant-Denny and won in back-to-back wins.
They’ve adopted this motto of “Hard to kill”, and it’s inspired by Venables’ belief in them and their abilities. They’ve responded to adversity time and time again, thanks to his leadership.
Venables took plenty of flak for taking over as defensive play caller of the Sooners in the offseason after they missed out on Jim Knowles, who elected to take the job at Penn State instead. And yet, Venables has earned his stripes leading arguably the best defense in the country this season, and they whooped up on Alabama for most of the game.
Time and time again, Venables dialed up a perfect pressure call or coverage play. By the end of it, Venables was daring Alabama to run the ball and go away from what makes them so good through the air, and the Crimson Tide’s offense stalled out. He put defenders in perfect position to make plays on the ball, and he had Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson baffled all game.
Now, the Sooners are on the verge of making the College Football Playoff for the first time under Venables on the back of an elite defense and a fighting spirit with no quit in it.
Venables had plenty of gratitude to spare postgame for the players and staff who “still believed” and stuck with him through this process.
“I’m so appreciative of so many of these guys. I just have great thanks and gratitude for the belief, and this staff as well. A lot of coaches have had opportunities to leave, and these are a group of people that chose to stay and did believe. The tree is judged by the fruit, and while there’s no trophies being awarded for 8-2, this win says a lot. Just have great appreciation and great support from the administration as well. We’ll celebrate for a little bit but we’ll be right back to work.”
Brent Venables has stuck with the Sooners and has poured his whole heart and being into returning Oklahoma to the top of the college football world. Tonight, Sooner Magic paid him back in kind.
Oklahoma Sooners News
John Mateer attacked the bye week aiming to clean up mental mistakes as Sooners gear up to pull off upset over Alabama
Sooners quarterback John Mateer is confident in his prep during the bye week ahead of crucial matchup against Alabama
