Venables Vibes: Oklahoma Showed Competitive Stamina, Learned Clock Management Lesson in Bedlam
NORMAN — With a bowl berth now secured, Oklahoma is focusing on finishing strong this weekend in Lubbock.
The Sooners (6-5 overall, 3-5 Big 12) downed Oklahoma State 28-13 in a massive Bedlam win on Saturday night in Norman. Brent Venables’ defense played well despite having to defend 102 plays, and the OU head coach hopes the emotional win will help build momentum headed into the regular season finale.
Awaiting Oklahoma this weekend are the Texas Tech Red Raiders (6-5, 4-4) who are also led by a first year head coach in Joey McGuire.
OU’s defense will likely be tested again by another offense that wants to run at a fast pace and wrack up plenty of snaps, giving the Sooners another chance to replicate their resilient performance from Saturday.
Clock Management Lessons
Bedlam ended up being a lot closer than OU’s 28-0 start to the game may have first indicated.
Jeff Lebby’s offense struggled to find consistency over the final three quarters of the game, resulting in punter Michael Turk getting called into action 11 times against the Cowboys.
After the game, Venables expressed his frustration with how the clock was managed, as OU’s longest drive in the second half lasted just 87 seconds.
Looking back on the performance, Venables highlighted a couple of areas where the offense could have handled the second half better.
“We ran the ball 16 out of our last 18 snaps. We should have huddled the whole fourth quarter,” Venables said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday. “But we're also trying to... Oklahoma State did come in here having this impenetrable defense.
“… What we didn't do philosophically was stay aggressive in what we were doing, like we did the first quarter. Yeah, learned we gotta stay more aggressive, particularly in the third quarter. And again in the fourth quarter, we needed to huddle and take our time and run the clock down.”
Venables acknowledged the need to get on the headset and tell the offense to slow down, which falls under his purview as the head coach.
Linebackers Surviving, But Thriving
Linebackers DaShaun White, David Ugwoegbu and Danny Stutsman had to carry a majority of the load for the 102 snaps the OU defense faced.
All season long depth has been an issue at linebacker, but the trio didn’t show any signs of letting exhaustion detract from their performance on Saturday.
“I think they did terrific,” Venables said. “They graded out really well. Very productive. I didn’t see a lot of drop off.
“… They played with great competitive strain.”
A big reason the linebackers were able to hold up physically was the defenses ability to generate quick stops, Venables said.
Facing 102 plays is never easy, but it becomes easier to recharge on the sideline when the defense isn’t allowing long, sustained drives.
“They played very few drives for very long,” Venables said. “So their length of play on any particular series was pretty short. Eight three-and-outs, four turnovers, four turnovers on downs… Sometimes when you’re out there for a 12, 13, 14-play drive, it can take its’ toll and it’s hard to recover during the game.”
The Red Raiders will look to go over 100 plays this weekend as well, meaning OU’s linebacking corps may again have to show resilience through a long four quarters in Lubbock.
Staying Hungry to the End
A good defensive performance against Oklahoma State won’t shine as bright if it can’t be replicated in Lubbock.
Saturday offered plenty of opportunities for younger guys to get snaps, but Venables hopes that taste of success will only propel the Sooner defense to new heights.
He said he’s already seen early returns of guys getting back into the facility on Sunday to break down tape and improve, and that the entire defense will need to continue to carry that attitude into game preparations this week.
“(They must) stay every bit as hungry, not be satisfied,” Venables said. “Have that same sense of urgency. Just be hungry and focused and detailed. I don't take any of that for granted.
“… I had a bunch of guys… talking about how they wished they had more games on the schedule. I believe that that's a desire of some of the guys, that they really start to feel confident, comfortable and sure of themselves. That's probably not the case for every single guy. But the right guys are really starting to buy into how we do what we do, what it takes and are willing to sacrifice for that commitment and having an opportunity to be successful.”
Texas Tech enters the week with ranked No. 27-overall in total offense, and will pose a tough test for Oklahoma in the final week of the season.
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