Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables stood at the podium searching for balance after the most painful kind of ending. A home playoff loss. A season that demanded belief. A night inside OU’s Memorial Stadium that began with control and ended with devastation.
Oklahoma led early. The defense set the tone. The offense was in command. Then, slowly and relentlessly, the game turned. A pick-six. A dropped punt. A poor punt. A personal foul that shortened the field. Against the Alabama Crimson Tide, those moments compound quickly.
“We were dominating a part of the game,” Venables said. “And then the turnovers, the penalties, the missed opportunities. We couldn’t complement each other when we needed to the most.”
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Venables walked through the sequence not to excuse it, but to own it. Oklahoma still had chances. The Sooners pulled within three in the fourth quarter. They outgained Alabama and won key efficiency battles. But playoff football offers no grace for mistakes made at the wrong time.
What lingered longest, though, was not frustration. It was pride.
Venables spoke with emotion about a senior class he said chose commitment over convenience in an era defined by exits.
“This is a group of guys that chose not to take a withdrawal but leave a deposit,” he said. “They chose the brotherhood.”
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His voice softened when discussing his quarterback, John Mateer, who played through injuries all season.
“He’s a warrior,” Venables said. “He wanted to suit up. He wanted to be with his guys. That tells you everything about who he is.”
Venables also turned outward, apologizing to fans who packed the stadium and powered Oklahoma’s playoff run.
“I’m incredibly disappointed for our fans,” he said. “Their passion and support is second to none.”
Even in heartbreak, Venables refused to frame the night as an ending.
“Our best days are sitting in front of us,” he said. “I really believe that.”
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