Brent Venables Talks Missouri RB Ahmad Hardy, Oklahoma's CFP Chances and More

NORMAN — Coming off last week's 23-21 win over Alabama and heading into back-to-back home games to end the regular season, Oklahoma coach Brent Venables held his weekly press conference Tuesday.

The Sooners, ranked No. 8 in the Associated Press poll ahead of Tuesday night's College Football Playoff rankings release, host No. 23 Missouri at 11 a.m. Saturday at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.

Venables touched on plenty of topics, including the CFP discussion, Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy, a potential rivalry with the Tigers, and plenty more coming off his biggest win as a head coach.

"What a fun group these guys are to coach and to be around every day," Venables said.

Here are takeaways on Venables' press conference:

Venables Doesn't See Sooners Getting Complacent

Coming off back-to-back monumental road victories — at Tennessee and at Alabama — it'd be natural for there to be a letdown.

Venables doesn't see that coming for his team as they enter a critical two-game stretch.

"I don't think our guys lose respect for winning. Complacency is the opposite of that," Venables said. "They have a clear vision of what is at stake and what is required."

Venables said, though, he's not worried about winning games "pretty," especially after back-to-back tight wins.

"However you have to do it," Venables said. "Football's not a beauty contest. Certainly this league's not. Our guys have been very committed to a process."

Oklahoma-Missouri Rivalry Not Front and Center for Venables

The Sooners will be playing Missouri annually for the forseeable future, with the Tigers being one of three annual rivals for Oklahoma joining Texas and Ole Miss.

Venables didn't shut down talk of a rivalry, but said he didn't get too caught up in it either, including through head-to-head recruiting battles, transfer portal defections and more.

"All those other things, to me, they mean nothing to me," Venables said. "... I just laught at it. It's OK. I don't mind it, whether it's good or bad, whether it's at me, or us or somebody else."

With OU losing first Nebraska and now Oklahoma State as annual rivals, could OU-Mizzou fill part of the void?

"If everybody wants to make that a rival, fine," Venables said. "If they don't, I'm fine too."

Sooners' Defensive Cohesiveness Creating Scores

Each of the last two wins have been greatly aided by defensive scores.

After not forcing turnovers much of the season, the Sooners are not only creating them now but turning them into points.

"I think you have to have people that you're lining up against have to be willing to put the ball out there to give yourself a chance," Venables said. "Our guys were well-versed on what to expect. That's part of it."

Also, the defense is supporting each other at various levels to help create those plays — including Kip Lewis' quarterback hurry that led to Eli Bowen's interception return for a touchdown against Alabama.

"I thought we really worked together well in both our front, with our pressures, and the coverages," Venables said.

Venables: Sooners Must Run Effectively

The Sooners' running game has improved late in the season, but OU struggled to run against Alabama.

Venables said running effectively would be key against the Tigers, who are allowing just 107.6 rushing yards per game.

"It's going to be tested, no question," Venables said. "Hopeful that we can stay healthy. We'll probably have to spread it out a little."

Venables Not Worried About CFP Rankings

Venables was asked about his feelings on the CFP committee balancing strength of schedule with raw record, specifically comparing a two-loss Sooners team to one-loss teams that might be ahead of them — like Oregon and Texas Tech.

"Everybody's going to have their opinion," Venables said. "For me, it's a waste of time. ... For me, it's what's in front of us right now. It's a space that just gets messy once you start putting things out there."

The latest rankings, that are virtually certain to have the Sooners in the field after hovering on the bubble the last two weeks, will be released beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday on ESPN.

Venables said while playoff talk wasn't forbidden in the locker room, it also wasn't taking things over.

"That's not something that leads the topic of conversation," Venables said. "My job is not to be naive. ... We've got a lot of work to do and that is so far away, in my opinion. Maybe in a few more weeks we're talking about that, but we've got a lot of work to do.

"It takes a certain level of maturity to look at it the right way. We have a lot of older, mature leaders that really set the tone every day and they get that."

Sooners' Defense Focuses on Slowing Ahmad Hardy

Speaking of Missouri running back Ahmad Hardy, Venables marveled at Hardy's success after contact, saying around 1,000 of Hardy's nation-leading 1,346 yards have come after initial contact.

"I've never heard of such a stat," Venables said.

Hardy is averaging 6.8 yards per carry and has 15 touchdowns.

"You've got to win up front, I think that's where it starts," Venables said of what's made the Tigers' running game effective. "They're doing a great job of knocking people off the line of scrimmage. ... That's where it all kind of starts and you've got to have great discipline in your run fits."

Missouri is sixth nationally in rushing yards per game (241.7) while the Sooners are fourth in rushing yards allowed per game (82.2).

Venables compared Missouri's offense to a more traditional option look.

"Except they throw the ball better than most option teams," Venables said.

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