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What Oklahoma's Goal Line Stand Against Texas Really Meant to Brent Venables

He said the pivotal moment to start the fourth quarter came down to the Sooners' will, not their skill, and said that standard can be foundational for the entire program.
John E. Hoover|
What Oklahoma's Goal Line Stand Against Texas Really Meant to Brent Venables
What Oklahoma's Goal Line Stand Against Texas Really Meant to Brent Venables

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Oklahoma Sooners

Holding Texas to zero points after the Longhorns got a first-and-goal to open the fourth quarter was big.

But not nearly as big as what an epic goal line stand does for the Oklahoma program.

Long term, coach Brent Venables said, those four downs will do much more for the Sooners than simply hold their rival out of the end zone.

On the bus ride back to the airport last Saturday afternoon, Venables — riding the defense’s bus, of course — had a heart-to-heart with his defensive unit about what they did and what it meant.

“I’m like, ‘Y’all understand? We want to build our program on that.’ ”

It was just four plays in a span of four hours, a literal blood bath of rock ‘em, sock ‘em hate, a football game that has evolved into a culture clash.

But to Venables, it was everything.

“That’s mindset, attitude, physicality, toughness,” he said. “Spot the ball at the 1 and put everything on who we are from a DNA standpoint, a standard standpoint, on that series right there, and that should transcend in every part of our program.

“Belief, toughness, physicality, attitude, all of that. And you don’t give them an inch. You don’t concede anything. To me, the win was really important from a credibility (standpoint) with our guys and moving forward and building the program the right way. But that was a moment that you want to capture, and you don’t want that one to slip by.”

The momentum from the stop itself was incalculably huge.

Oklahoma led 27-20 when Dillon Gabriel misfired on a fourth-down throw to Drake Stoops. It was a bold gambit by Venables, going for it on fourth-and-1 from the Texas 48 rather than punting it and trying to pin the Longhorns deep. But he felt confident in the moment, despite his defense just having given up a long field goal drive that started at the UT 6-yard line.

Jonathon Brooks had just closed the third quarter with a 15-yard run, and Texas was marching again. Brooks ran twice more for 5 yards, and then on third-and-5, Quinn Ewers found Jordan Whittington over the middle for a 28-yard gain to the OU 1.

What actually started the fateful goal-line stand was Jaren Kanak’s tackle of Whittington, who seemed on his way to a touchdown when he caught the ball.

But four plays later, Venables had his defining moment, his program-building series:

  • Kip Lewis comes into the game against Texas’ jumbo package and tackles the slippery Brooks for no gain on first down.
  • Lewis and Dasan McCullough stand their ground against another jumbo set on second down and team up to stuff Brooks again for no gain.
  • McCullough and Danny Stutsman defy the big guys one more time and, along with about six friends, combine to drop Brooks for a 1-yard loss on third down.
  • Texas tries a quick screen pass to Xavier Worthy on fourth down, but Billy Bowman and Woodi Washington arrive at Worthy like a vise grip and drop him inches short of the goal line.

“To me, that’s the standard,” Venables said.

Venables said he expressed himself on the bus ride back to the airport, then opened Monday’s practice about this week as the Sooners prepped for their open date.

“You want to build a program on that,” he reiterated. “And it’s not just defense, it’s everybody.

“My challenge to all the players in all three phases was, to me, this game always comes down to the will being stronger than the skill. The skill is important, but there are a lot of pivotal moments in this game where the will has to show up. And that was a great example of that happening and coming to fruition.”

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John E. Hoover
JOHN E. HOOVER

John is an award-winning journalist whose work spans five decades in Oklahoma, with multiple state, regional and national awards as a sportswriter at various newspapers. During his newspaper career, John covered the Dallas Cowboys, the Kansas City Chiefs, the Oklahoma Sooners, the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arkansas Razorbacks and much more. In 2016, John changed careers, migrating into radio and launching a YouTube channel, and has built a successful independent media company, DanCam Media. From there, John has written under the banners of Sporting News, Sports Illustrated, Fan Nation and a handful of local and national magazines while hosting daily sports talk radio shows in Oklahoma City, Tulsa and statewide. John has also spoken on Capitol Hill in Oklahoma City in a successful effort to put more certified athletic trainers in Oklahoma public high schools. Among the dozens of awards he has won, John most cherishes his national "Beat Writer of the Year" from the Associated Press Sports Editors, Oklahoma's "Best Sports Column" from the Society of Professional Journalists, and Two "Excellence in Sports Medicine Reporting" Awards from the National Athletic Trainers Association. John holds a bachelor's degree in Mass Communications from East Central University in Ada, OK. Born and raised in North Pole, Alaska, John played football and wrote for the school paper at Ada High School in Ada, OK. He enjoys books, movies and travel, and lives in Broken Arrow, OK, with his wife and two kids.

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