Oklahoma Coach Brent Venables Had 'a Lot of Fun' Beating Michigan, Then Got a Ride

NORMAN — Brent Venables said he didn’t particularly care for being lifted on his team’s shoulders after Oklahoma took down Michigan on Saturday night.

“Embarrassed,” was the word he used to describe it, actually.

And yet, there was Venables, floating around the locker room with a football in his hands and a smile on his face.

The vibes 🔥 pic.twitter.com/yfv1hALQMx
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) September 7, 2025

“I’m embarrassed,” he said. “This is a players’ game, first of all. A lot of other people were responsible for getting to that moment.”

So there’s the embarrassment for Venables after the No. 18-ranked Sooners improved to 2-0 with a 24-13 win over the Wolverines.

That’s just Venables. He doesn’t crave the spotlight.

But he also sees the big picture, and he most definitely did not have a problem with his players celebrating a landmark victory over a college football titan.

“Celebrate, man,” he said. “What we do is too hard, man. You only get 12 opportunities guaranteed at the beginning of the year, so, not apologizing for celebrating with the guys. They need to celebrate.”

Venables is celebrating another dominant performance by his defense — turns out a head coach can also be the defensive coordinator after all — as well as a nice resurgence by the OU offense.

He’s celebrating a hastily rebuilt offensive line, an offensive coordinator who knows the value of clock management and winning the line of scrimmage and a quarterback who’s tough as a winter on the Upper Peninsula.

Michigan has won more football games than any other major college program — the only school with more than 1,000 wins. On that same list, Oklahoma ranks No. 6 all-time with 952.

By all accounts, this was a landmark victory for the Sooners, and certainly for Venables.

“That was a lot of fun to be a part of,” he said. ”The passion, the energy in the stadium, the locker room. A hard-fought victory.”

Venables noted the double-digit margin despite a quartet of costly mistakes on special teams — a roughing-the-punter penalty coming off the goal line that led to a missed field goal, a fumbled punt that led to a made field goal, a fumbled kickoff return that started the offense just off its own goal line, and a missed 42-yard field goal.

OU came in as a 5 1/2-point favorite, according to FanDuel Sportsbook, and covered comfortably. But lip those four “self-inflicted issues,” as Venables called them, and this game would have been a legit blowout.

“Didn’t play our best game and still won by a couple scores,” Venables said, “so we’ll take that.”

While the win itself was historic, the OU coaching staff and personnel staff reveled in showing off the program to scores of elite prospects from three different recruiting classes. That starts with the culture, which includes the way the 84,107 fans light up the night.

Venables said having to entertain recruits on such important game days “always kind of twists me up” — presumably because he can get so laser-focused on the game itself. But he clearly knows the importance of having so much young talent in one place at one time.

Saturday’s result was a perfect showcase.

“With the recruits, I think there's validation,” he said. “And I think they're looking for certain things. So whether it's a quarterback that's looking for a place to call home in his style of offense, it's gonna have great balance, give them an opportunity to showcase their ability, or an offensive lineman. It can show their physical toughness, ability to pass protect against some of the best, and be developed by one of the best offensive line coaches at any level of football.

“Or, again, to play in a ferocious defense, that guys are gonna play with tremendous passion, and physicality, and belief. And look like they're having fun, like it's recess. And who wouldn't want to be a part of that?”

A daunting schedule lies ahead, starting with this week’s trip to Philadelphia to take on Temple, then seven days hence the SEC opener against Jackson Arnold and what looks like a resurgent Auburn squad.

“Our destination isn’t to be 2-0 and beat Michigan,” Venables said. “We feel like we have a heck of a team and have an opportunity with a lot of big-time challenges in front of us to have a really good season, so I’m really excited about what this team can become.”