Not only did Brent Venables get embarrassed by Texas, he’s being a poor sport about it
By Scott Rogust
The Oklahoma Sooners and head coach Brent Venables were embarrassed by the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Showdown, and they didn’t show up to their postgame press conference on time.
The honeymoon period for Brent Venables as Oklahoma Sooners head coach has ended. After starting off the season 3-0, the Sooners lost their next two games against the Kansas State and TCU. They had the chance to get back in the win column against their rivals, the Texas Longhorns, in the Red River Showdown. The Longhorns, after all, have not had the best of seasons either.
Instead, the Sooners were utterly embarrassed by the Longhorns, getting shut out 49-0. To make matters worse, that ended Oklahoma’s winning streak at four games.
After the game, as CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah and The Athletic’s Chris Vannini point out, the losing team of the Red River Showdown usually meets with the media first, so the winning team has time for their trophy presentation. Oklahoma did not show up, and Texas spoke with the media first instead.
After the Red River Showdown, losing team players and coaches are typically interviewed first so the winning team has time to do the trophy presentation.
— Shehan Jeyarajah (@ShehanJeyarajah) October 8, 2022
Nearly 30 minutes after the game, Brent Venables and Oklahoma still haven't showed up. Texas is going first instead.
Been nearly an hour since the game ended and still no Oklahoma at the press conference. The losing team usually comes first. Texas eventually came and finished up 10 minutes ago.
— Chris Vannini (@ChrisVannini) October 8, 2022
Brent Venables, Oklahoma late to speak with media after loss to Texas
When Venables and the Sooners did show up, the head coach talked about the team “underperforming” and how it is on the coaching to make it better. The quote below comes from Eric Bailey of Tulsa World.
Brent Venables: Right now we're not playing to our ability. We're underperforming and that's the most frustrating part. That's coaching to me. We have to do a better job of helping our guys. #Sooners
— Eric Bailey (@EricBaileyTW) October 8, 2022
This is not the ideal start to Venables’ coaching tenure at Norman. Simply put, the Sooners have lost to Big 12 schools for three straight weeks. In those games, as Sports Illustrated’s Ross Dellenger tweeted, Oklahoma’s defense surrendered 1,762 yards of offense and 145 points. Not ideal, considering Venables was a highly-touted defensive coordinator during his time at Clemson.
During its three-game losing streak, Brent Venables’ OU defense has allowed 145 points and 1,762 yards. Woof.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 8, 2022
Oklahoma was obviously without starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel due to a concussion suffered in Week 5 against TCU. Venables called upon backup Davis Beville to start. Facing Texas, Beville completed 6-of-12 of his throws for 38 yards and zero touchdowns, while throwing one interception.
Meanwhile, Oklahoma’s defense was torched through the air and on the ground. Quinn Ewers, in his first game back for Texas, threw for 289 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception (21-of-31). Texas’ running backs picked up 296 yards on the ground, 130 of which came from Bijan Robinson.
Now, Venables and the Sooners will have to figure something out, as they take on a Kansas Jayhawks team that narrowly lost an extremely competitive game against TCU. The very TCU team that blew out Oklahoma 55-24 in Week 5.
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