Brent Venables jokes about his ‘pleasure’ to journey to Tuscaloosa for Alabama rematch

Although Oklahoma‘s first season in the SEC didn’t go fairly in addition to head coach Brent Venables in all probability hoped it could, the Sooners earned their first marquee convention win over Alabama of their second to final common season sport. The Crimson Tide jumped out to a 3-0 lead within the first quarter, however Oklahoma outscored them 24-0 over the ultimate three quarters to cement the win.

This season nonetheless, Venables and the Sooners will journey to Tuscaloosa to face Alabama on Nov. 15. Oklahoma has received two of its final three conferences towards the Tide (final season and the 2014 Sugar Bowl).

Venables mentioned that sport and the strain dealing with the Crimson Tide at this 12 months’s SEC Media Days occasion.

“I’m excited to go to Tuscaloosa,” Venables mentioned sarcastically. “I’m a loyalist and traditionalist so I love that part of it. But there will be nothing ‘loving’ about going to Bryant-Denny Stadium. I’ve been there before with Oklahoma a long time in the early 2000s. It’s a beautiful venue and will be a tremendous challenge. Alabama fans are as good as it gets.”

Venables says Alabama ‘will be waiting for Oklahoma’

Oklahoma‘s head coach was the co-defensive coordinator/linebackers coach in Norman throughout their final journey to Tuscaloosa. That occurred on Sept. 6, 2003, the place the Sooners got here out on prime 20-13.

“I think that game against Alabama (last season) showed a lot of different things to me,” Venables mentioned. “It showed what we’re capable of when we get out of our way. It showed a team that believed in one another and certainly themselves and their coaches. It showed we had the guts and toughness to do the really hard stuff and keeping dragging ourselves off the mat. Claw your way back, figure it out, find a way, punch first, punch back, punch last. That type of mentality, even when things aren’t going your way. I think pressure and adversity exposes people and from me I thought it exposed a lot of the best qualities that are in our locker room.”

“I also think that was a game that highlighted the incremental improvement that was taking place with a bunch of young guys. I looked back at the first half and froze the tape and we have nine freshmen on the offensive side of the ball. It wasn’t a badge of honor and certainly we recognize the ability, the talent and the capabilities of a program like Alabama but for us it provided a bit of wind in our sail. Unfortunately we had to go on the road to LSU and at the start of the fourth quarter it was 24-17 and we couldn’t figure out how to get it done. That being said, they’ll be waiting for Oklahoma and that’s for sure.”