For Oklahoma, the Red River Rivalry is Suddenly Trending in the Wrong Direction

DALLAS — Brent Venables certainly has delivered his share of embarrassing beatdowns to Texas.

This time, the shoe was on the other foot.

The Longhorns’ 49-0 romp at the Cotton Bowl on Saturday thrust Texas into the right direction as a program, and rendered Venables’ first season to virtual dust.

Is Texas finally “back?” There’s still half a season to play. That’s yet to be determined.

“We’re taking the necessary steps,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “We’re on the right path.”

Was this more a commentary on just how far the Oklahoma program has to go to become a legitimate title contender under Venables? A playoff contender? A Big 12 contender? A bowl game contender?

“I always have the right perspective,” Venables said. “Having been on the right side of it 3-4 times, it’s never as bad as it seems, and it’s never as good as it seems.

“Right now it’s not good. Not trying mask that. I fought through those today while I was on that sideline — what that feels like. It’s not good. We gotta do a better job helping our guys.”

The Red River Rivalry always swings back and forth. One game does not make a trend. But the product Oklahoma put on the field Saturday and the product Texas put on the field looked like two completely disparate levels of football.

“We all circled this one on the calendar,” said Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers. “Especially because they come into our state and we own this state. And for us to get that (Golden Hat Trophy) back, it’s just a lot of fun.”

“It’s been a minute,” Sarkisan said, “since we’ve gotten that Golden Hat.

Bitter as they may be, this wasn’t just another loss to Texas.

This was a 49-point loss, the worst in series history, and a zero points on the scoreboard for the first time in 24 years.

Oklahoma finished with 195 yards total offense — the program’s fewest since producing just 171 in a 45-12 loss to the Longhorns in 2005.

This was a disaster of the highest magnitude. The Sooners are taking on water. All hands are on deck, though it doesn’t seem to be helping. The Oklahoma program is at Defcon 1 and a nuclear strike appears imminent.

All that’s left is to take shelter and wait for the fallout. Texas is trending up, and Oklahoma is decidedly not.

It doesn’t get much easier: OU hosts upstart Kansas next week in Norman. Like the Sooners, KU is dealing with an injury to its starting quarterback. Unlike OU, the Jayhawks’ backup produced points — and nearly a victory — against TCU.

“In my opinion,” Venables said, “we can’t get out of our own way right now.”

Sarkisian, in his second season on the Forty Acres, said losing to the Sooners after jumping to a 28-7 lead left a mark on this team.

“I hate to dwell on last year,” Sarkisian said, “but I felt like we let one get away last year.”

That wasn’t about to happen this year. When it got to 21-0, the Longhorns poured it on.

Venables has seen this game get out of hand — in his favor. He was on the sideline in 2000 for 63-14, and again in 2003 for 65-13. He was front and center again in 2011 for 55-17.

Surely this was a shocking turn of events for him.

“Shocked? Nothing shocks me,” Venables said. “This game will punish you when you don’t do — all kinds of different things, whether that’s coaching or playing.”

Getting blown out at TCU is one thing. But watching Texas hang half-a-hundred and then take their foot off the gas is as bad as it gets for Sooner Nation.

How does Oklahoma dig out of this morass? Going back to work, Venables said, and having the right attitude.

“Those same qualities in a moment of weakness, when things aren’t going your way, the same things it takes to be successful,” he said. “You have to rely on the foundation of those things. That’s what will sustain you, to have that type of mindset. Not an easy thing to do. Adversity and the failure and the losing can divide a team quickly. You see it all the time. Or, it’s people making a choice. It’s literally that easy.”