Oklahoma (6-5, 2-5 SEC) defeated Alabama (8-3, 4-3 SEC) 24-3 in Norman on Saturday.
Here is what head coach Brent Venables said after the win:
Opening statement:
“Alright, well, we finally got the result we wanted when we finally put it all together. I just want to thank our players, congratulate out players, and the staff, for a really challenging, tough season. I just appreciate their belief, their leadership, their work, their strain, their competitive spirit, their willingness to continue to come back week in, week out, and continue to believe and do the things we’ve asked them to do. ‘How does that happen?,’ You just do what winning requires. It’s not going to take anything like superman, heroic type effort. It’s playing with incredible effort. You have to be the most physical team. Take care of the ball. Winning never negotiates, as we’ve said. When we take care of the ball, the last almost two years, I think we’re 13-0, and when we haven’t taken care of the ball, this season, we’re 0-5. We took care of the ball, won the turnover margin. We fought our butts off. There’s been some games that got away from us late, but this is a team that has continued to show up week in, week out. They’ve punched first, they’ve punched back, and this is the first time in one of these games, they punched last. We’ve had the lead in three of our last SEC games, but we couldn’t figure out how to punch last. I guess this aligns with, ‘The harder it is, the more epic the story.,’ That was a really good football that we beat tonight, and what I’m most proud of is there was nothing flukey about it. It was a game of physicality, a game of execution, a game of precision, a game of timing and a game where we really did an amazing job complementing each other in all three phases. We had to overcome the things, we left some points on the board early with the fumble and the missed field goal. We dropped the touchdown in the double pass, and you thought that may come back to haunt you against a really good team. It certainly can. Fantastic performance.
“Really proud of the coaches, and particularly the defensive staff. The game plan was outstanding, the players executing was even better. Just a real work of art, and they had answers for Alabama every step of the way. And then our offensive staff, I told you all how proud I was of them (…) The players have followed their lead, putting their head down, they’ve had juice, they’ve had energy. they’ve had a great plan, they’ve had rhythm. Tonight was another example of that. They did a great job of keeping Alabama off balance. [Joe Jon Finley] called a great game and the players, including Jackson Arnold, went out there and executed in a really efficient way. Jackson was outstanding, a career high rushing, made good decisions. We did what we needed to do to win. We wanted to play a shortened game without as many posessions. Alabama is one of the most explosive teams in college football, so we wanted to do exactly what we did. Defense controlled field position, we scored on three turnovers, three picks, put a lot of pressure on them against a really talented offensive line and a fantastic quarterback that is hard to keep bottled up like that. (…) Just really proud of the guys for continuing to stack days on days on days. Winning doesn’t owe you anything. What it takes to try and put everything in the week to try and have an opportunity to win, and chasing success and what it requires, again, it’s not loyal to you. Sometimes life’s not fair. You do everything you’re asked to do, and you still come up short. I’m most proud of the guys that continue to believe that. (…) Wonderful night. It’s about freaking time. I want our players and staff to really enjoy this moment. If its anything, its affirmation, we’re good enough. Even with one hand tied behind our back roster wise as of today with the countless injuries. They didn’t make excuses, they just went to work.”
On Venables’ vision:
“You want to have a foundation that defines you, that is an identity. Being physical, you wanna play with relentless effort. When you turn the tape on, what’s the evidence gonna say? (…) This is my vision, that Oklahoma was absolutely relentless in all three phases and knocked Alabama out. They had an answer every step of the way, and without a doubt Oklahoma was the most physical football team on the field tonight. That was the vision. Not sitting here beating out chest, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t acknowledge a physically dominant performance.”
On the offensive line:
“Well again it shows what they’re capable of. This is a developmental game, you’re dealing with young players and new guys. There’s new lineups week in, week out. It shows what we’re capable of, and the toughness it takes. It’s tough to keep coming back, it isn’t easy. You dont have a of other options, you get off the mat. (…) Strong hearts, calloused hands, that’s what it’s about. We watched that new “Gladiator” movie last night, and it was right on time. My man Denzel Washington overdelivered again. I’m really thankful for all those guys. Our staff, like I said, is a group of coaches who have won at the highest level for a long time. Their names have been drug though the mud.”
On offensive coordinator search:
“The job isn’t gonna be any more attractive than it already is. We’ve got a line all the way down to the Gulf of Mexico for this opening. That being said, its a very attractive opportunity. We’ll find the best combination, new staff and what have you that is gonna help continue to build and move this program in the right direction. But I believe in these guys that are here right now.”
On touchdown before halftime:
“It was huge. It developed momentum and really lined right up. We came out with great energy from the jump in the first half and this is a team that’s gonna come back and fight back and punch back. This game was going to be defined with how we finished, and I thought we finished the game in that third quarter. (…) Timeliness, situationally, that was a huge part of the game to create the lead that was insurmountable.”
On Eli Bowen:
“He’s a terrific young player that has a very bright future. His best quality is he’s so humble. He’s the same guy every day. He’s incredibly talented, the moment is never too big for him. He’s just a great all around teammate that has matured beyond his years. If he continues to do those things, he’ll continue to have a great future. (…) He’s really helped make us a good defense with his development, his rapid rise and stepping up to the plate.”
On fans storming early:
“You can’t blame them, they’re just excited. Good problem to have, I hope. I hope nobody gets fined. Don’t take it out of my pocket.”
On field storming:
“It’s more about the players and just having a really cool moment. (…) It’s not a normal thing here, the standards are really high. It was cool, it was pretty magical, and I’m thinking about the players. They’re the ones who were in the middle of that, paying this incredible price for victory. (…) To be able to go toe to toe with Alabama, one of the most tradition rich programs in the history of college football, and then have two giants going at it. For that to happen, in really an epic way, in a dominant way. I’m careful to try and use those words or those phrases, but that was a dominant performance. Really cool moment for these guys.”
