Everything Brent Venables Said After Alabama's Comeback Win at Oklahoma

For the first time in three meetings with Alabama since becoming head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners, Brent Venables lost a game to the Crimson Tide on Friday night. No. 9 Alabama (11-3) took revenge for its losses in November 2024 and November 2025 with a 34-24 win in Norman in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

Crimson Tide head coach Kalen DeBoer experienced his first win against the No. 8 Sooners (10-3). In the latest edition of the clash of styles between the two coaches, Venables' team made critical mistakes at inopportune times, much as DeBoer's squad did this past November. A full transcript of Venables' postgame press conference is as follows.

Opening Statement:

"I know everybody is, our players and fans alike, and certainly the coaching staff, are incredibly disappointed in the outcome here tonight. Thought it was a really good game that had some really great moments for the Sooners and, obviously, some really ill-timed and poor moments as well. Coaching, playing, the things that have helped us be successful all year long. Tonight, when we needed it the most, we just didn't have what it takes. Whether that's making a stop, making a field goal, doing the basics well, snapping, catching and punting, we had a 17-point lead. Had great momentum, and, just, we lost the momentum. Gave up a 75-yard drive and a third-and-six that we lost leverage in coverage and gave up a fourth-and-two on that drive. Alabama's got a really good football team and a really good staff, and they were able to start to slowly but surely creep back into the game, and then we had a couple of really ill-timed mistakes that they capitalized on with the pick-six there and going in 17-all in the half. Came out, got a three-and-out on defense, offense goes and goes three-and-out, and then we had, not a great punt, and then we get a penalty. A personal foul. And that just, give them a short field, and they convert, they score out of that, and we just couldn't dig ourselves out. We end up scoring a touchdown there later in the quarter, but we couldn't complement each other when we needed to the most and make the plays we needed to and we have made, again, all season. Kicking game, there were some times it was really good tonight, some other times, man, we just didn't have what we've had all year long. Doesn't take away from the kind of season that we had, and really in many ways, it's pretty ironic how the storyline, we just changed the helmet. From, I thought our offense was in great command, defense, we got things really rolling early. And we actually were dominating a part of the game. Some ways the same, some ways not. And then the turnovers, the penalties, the missed opportunities. The dropped punt, poor punt, the missed field goals. The real poor penalties that we had, and then we couldn't get the stops when we needed to. It doesn't take away from the pride I have for the group of seniors, the guys that won't be here in the future, man, couldn't be more proud of them. The deposit that they chose to make in an environment, in a world where everybody's trying to get theirs, this is a group of guys that chose to not take a withdrawal but leave a deposit. And leave their mark. Do the things that we need them to do to elevate this program moving forward, just by putting their head down and loving each other, loving the opportunity, loving the brotherhood. Loving the opportunity to fight for the Sooners. Couldn't, again, be more thankful and proud for that group of guys and the group of guys that are returning as well. Again, easily one of the funnest teams I've been around. The spirit of this team, their love to compete, their love for, again, their brothers. Their willingness to allow us to coach them day in and day out. What a joy that they've been. Incredibly disappointed for our fans. Man, it was an amazing season by them, our students, our band. Just fantastic. The passion, the energy, the support is second to none. Just thank them for, again, showing out like they have all year. But, our best days are sitting in front of us. I really believe that. We've got a great foundation coming back, and again, I think, a vision for what it needs to look like moving forward. So, with that, I'll open it up."

On if he was surprised by the special teams unit's play:

"Nothing surprises me. It's football. There's a heck of a lot more that was amazing than poor, so I put it all in perspective. I know what it takes, the strength of this football team. Those things couldn't afford to play poorly against a good team at times. At times, we were solid. At times, we weren't what we needed to be. But, again, you look at the body of work. The scoreboard's all that matters. I know what we preached the last time when we played them. But you go down and you look, and you would've, without seeing some of the penalties and some of the, maybe, the special teams plays, you look at the statistics, and you would've thought, and it was. We had our opportunities all the way to the end despite some of those issues. That just shows you the type of team that we had. We had the ability and the opportunities to overcome that even in just the last several minutes of the game, despite some just incredibly critical mistakes. Just wasn't in the card for us tonight, but that group of guys, we wouldn't be in the position we were tonight had it not been for the consistency and how special they have been all year long."

On what happened on both sides of the ball to flip the game on its head:

"They had the, I guess it was, maybe a 75-yard drive there. They converted. Got them to third-and-six backed up, and they throw a corner route. We lost leverage on it. We had our opportunities. Got them to fourth-and-two inside the 10. They catch it underneath. They threw it quick, just a little window. They scored a touchdown there, and then we come back, and then we go, again, when we weren't in rhythm, it couldn't have come at a worse time. And so, then we go three-and-out and then we just send the punt team out, then we have a delay, we've gotta have better awareness there [with] the delay. Then we drop the punt and give them a short field. We go three-and-out. They kick a field goal. And then we punt and they get the ball and we have a personal foul. Then they, I think we pick-six after that and threw a pick-six. Next thing you know, it's 17 to 17 going into half. But, again, as we showed, I mean, we pulled it within three in the fourth quarter there. Came out the first drive of the second half defensively and really got after them. And then we went three-and-out, and then that was the, where we punt and then a poor punt. Not a good punt, and then we have the penalty after that. Now they got a 30-yard, they kick a, they get a, maybe a 30-yard touchdown drive or field-goal drive. But either way, they end up getting up by 10. We pull it back and get it to three. And then again, when we needed to, we couldn't pull one out like we have several other games this year."

On John Mateer's comfort level and performance in the game:

"He's a warrior, man. He's got everything that you want in a competitor and a leader. In a quarterback. He's got great talent. He fought through, it'll be his testimony, but he was determined, just even the game after he hurts it [his hand]. Where a lot of guys wanna cool and be on the sideline, put their hats on, their shades on, wear their jewelry and stuff like that. He's like, 'I wanna suit up. I wanna be with my guys. I wanna go through warm-ups.' That's just the kind of human being he is, the type of leader he is. He leads from the front in everything that he does. He takes way more responsibility when he shouldn't when things aren't going well. That's why he's gonna be a great player and play this game a long time. I think you saw glimpses of how special he can be all season long, despite some of the injuries and things of that nature that he fought through. I think you saw tonight. If we could've been a little better on defense when we needed to, a little better on the special teams, I really believe that we'd still be playing and we'd be talking about, 'We won the game,' because of how well John played at the right times."

On the big picture of the season and making the College Football Playoff, and what stands out about the season:

"Like I said, just the selflessness of the football team, the leadership of, really, the whole locker room. Led by our seniors. Guys that made a decision to leave a deposit, not just take a withdrawal and see how much they could get out of it and make it all about them. They were completely and totally immersed in the moment. In this day and age, when there's a lot of easy things to be distracted by, whether it's NFL opportunities, making your plays and your stats and looking for a hole in the fence. It's like R Mason [Thomas]. It could've been so easy for R Mason to just sit this one out. He's got a great, great future in the NFL. He's invested too much. He fought like hell, along with our training staff, to get back and be a part of tonight, and we had a lot of great opportunities to go win the game tonight because of him. That's what I take the most from this group of guys. I told them they're gonna leave their mark. It's not a badge of honor, and those types of things, but this is a group of guys that got us to our fifth Playoff and did, again, in many ways to many people, the unthinkable. Would, again, be an amazing example for the returning players, what it needs to look like. What the standard of Oklahoma is. What the expectations are here, and then this is how we do it. How you play, how you compete, how you show up every day. The level of consistency. The level of sacrifice and love that you gotta have, and made it, kind of reestablished the brotherhood as much as anything, and how important it is."

On new plays and formations, as well as increased pressure on John Mateer and difficulties in the run game:

"I really loved the entire game plan. I thought there was creativity. I thought a good part of the game, we didn't allow the defense to just sink their teeth in and dig their cleats in the ground. Manipulate, create leverage in the run game, the pass game. Alabama's one of the best defenses in college football with a group of personnel that is as good as there is and incredibly well-coached. Moving the ball, scoring points, creating explosive plays, which, we did all of those things, it was gonna be incredibly difficult. And, again, the timeliness of some of, again, how we played, again, you're gonna win, you're gonna win, typically, because of how you complement each other. Some of the mistakes that we made in all three phases really stagnated us as a football team and created opportunities for them. By and large, again, we were really good in the red zone. Again, overall, again, created several explosive plays. Outgained them in total yards and third downs, fourth downs, dominated the totals there. They were 23 percent conversion rate. We were just under 50 percent. Thought we were efficient throwing the ball, and again, they're gonna stack the box and not let you run it, too. But we, both of us ran it for under two yards a carry. We gotta get better there. That's gonna be a tremendous focus for us moving forward. We have to get better at running the football. Incredibly proud of, we had three freshmen start all year. Thought those guys really grew up. I really liked how I felt like we were more on the attack, and there's plenty of drives that we left a lot to be desired, okay. There's several drives there when we needed a drive, or we needed to move the ball a little bit, that's part of winning, too. Just move the ball. Get it off the goal line. Make a first down or two. And let's punt, and let's get the field position back in control, and we weren't able to do that when we needed to. We played a part on defense. The kicking game played a tremendous part. Lack of discipline played a part. And then Alabama has got a good team and a good DNA, and they were able to control that part of it for us."

On what the biggest life lesson he's had over the course of this year is:

"Don't let anybody on the outside put limitations on you, on what we can and can't become. It matters about what we believe. It matters, the work that we put into it. I think, again, the strain, the love, the sacrifice, the work, the talent. I think there's lots of layers to all of it. I think our staff has recruited incrediby well. I think that showed again this season. I thought that was kind of a foundational piece. I thought we brought in good players through the portal that helped us have the kind of season that we needed. And then I thought culturally speaking, I think I was as pleased with that piece as well. Everything starts with me when it comes to being a tone-setter. The things that are important to our standards. The things that we value. The things that we're gonna be about, the things that we're willing to tolerate and not not tolerate. The type of people that we recruit. And then what we nurture every single day, cause if you're gonna do it the right way, and for something that lasts longer than just this moment, you have to nurture it every single day. And then the people make the place, at the end of the day. I think we have incredible people in this building, both players and coaches. And, again, I'm just incredibly proud of the group of guys that both are returning and the ones, especially the ones that are exiting. We couldn't have done it if they didn't stick with it, if they didn't continue to believe when a lot of the things were going on around him that easily they could've bowed out, and they chose not to. Players and coaches alike. Players and coaches alike. Had some stick-to-it-ness to them, and that's what it takes. You gotta have all of those things. What you do speaks a lot louder than, necessarily, what you say. This is a group of guys, [they] were about the doing all year long."

On the defense and whether it leaves a great foundation to move forward with:

"Absolutely. Again, most games I've coached in, man, there's like, oh man, you'd like to get this drive back, or this call back, and that certainly is the case tonight, how you could've helped them be more successful. But, it's been a dominant group. It's been a group with incredible passion and energy and toughness and having an edge to them, a belief, never-say-die mindset. A group that never pointed fingers, or blamed, man, if they did anything, they brought the team closer together. They were a forcefield for the football team. They really were. They elevated everybody around them. I think people, when they watched them play, man, they made people proud, and if you didn't like the Sooners, you respected the Sooners after watching the Sooners compete. Again, played like it was recess. Played with great, again, energy and just a relentless mindset I think resonates with everybody. If you love football, you saw that in this group of guys. So, man, the foundation that they left, the legacy that they left, really, really special. Really special. We'll be so much better because of them and the contributions that they've left behind. Merry Christmas to everybody."