COLUMN: In Bedlam, Brent Venables Failed to Learn From His Error in Lawrence
STILLWATER — Seven days after expressing regret for neglecting to use a timeout on a key fourth down against Kansas, Brent Venables was presented Saturday with a similar dilemma.
In Lawrence, it was Oklahoma’s defense that was on the field.
Faced with a fourth-and-6, OU needed to get off the field on more time to escape Kansas with a win.
The Sooners weren’t set, clearly confused, but Venables let things play out.
Kansas made Oklahoma pay, extending the drive and eventually beating OU 38-33.
“Should’ve called a timeout there and put our guys in — let them get settled down, and I didn’t,” Venables said after that defeat.
Fast forward to Bedlam, and Dillon Gabriel was once again given the ball back with under two minutes needing a touchdown to win at Boone Pickens Stadium.
The Sooners got the ball near midfield, but Oklahoma State forced a fourth-and-5.
With one timeout in his back pocket, Venables let things play out.
The result was pretty much the same.
Jeff Lebby instructed Gabriel to roll out to the left, cutting the field in half, and the redshirt senior quarterback connected with sixth-year stud Drake Stoops, who ran his route two yards short of the sticks.
No. 22 Oklahoma State (7-2, 5-1) closed out the 27-24 win over No. 9 OU (7-2, 4-2) at Boone Pickens Stadium, starting a party for the ages in Stillwater.
After watching the Cowboy faithful pour onto the field and rip down the goalpost in the east end zone, Venables had a different perspective on this week’s fourth down decision.
“I liked the play,” he said after being asked if he considered using the final timeout. “Obviously we need to run a route that can get open and convert right there. I don’t like being short. We had the play we wanted and the coverage that we wanted.”
Venables likes to let things play out, but he should have learned from his missteps in Lawrence.
Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said his staff expected the Sooners to try to force the ball to Stoops — all the more reason to call the timeout and dial up a play that actually could have resulted in a first down.
Venables managed his timeouts beautifully in the Cotton Bowl, resulting in a dramatic late winner as well a scoring opportunity before halftime, but the game management issues from 2022 have reared their head since OU took down Texas.
A timeout to think over the most important play of the game would have left Oklahoma with 1:35 on the clock.
Failure to move the chains was going to end the game. Picking up the first down would have set OU up with a fresh set of downs near midfield with likely 80 seconds on the clock — a completely manageable situation without any timeouts considering college football’s clock rules with under two minutes remaining.
Instead, Venables let it ride with an offense that, by his own admission, failed to find any rhythm in the second half.
Gundy has been dreadful in Bedlam, winning just four of his 19 battles against OU as a head coach. But coming off last week’s loss, Venables should have taken notes from his counterpart in Stillwater.
After a head-scratching loss to South Alabama, the Cowboys simplified everything.
It took the bye week to turn everything around, but OSU is now riding a five-game winning streak and controls its own destiny to return to Arlington for the Big 12 title game.
Jeff Lebby’s game plan in Lawrence was overcomplicated and ineffective. So Oklahoma on Saturday eliminated the barrage of jet sweeps, but then got too cute in other areas of the game.
True freshman running back Daylan Smothers was used for the first time in a big game, seemingly at random.
Venables allowed a punt return call that employed LV Bunkley-Shelton and Gavin Freeman together for the first time all year, and Bunkley-Shelton muffed the kick, nearly avoiding disaster to prevent what would have been OU’s fourth turnover of the game.
And ahead of a massive fourth down, Venables left Lebby to his own devices.
No one single play buried the Sooners in Stillwater, but Oklahoma has continued to make life as hard as possible along the way.
The last two weeks cost OU wins and the ability to control its own destiny to the Big 12 title game.
Venables is just in his second year as a head coach, and while his defense is much improved, he still has strides to make as the final decision-maker on Oklahoma’s sideline.