Brent Venables has a Steve Sarkisian problem
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Brent Venables has a new contract through the 2031 season. He still needs a better answer for the Texas Longhorns.
In four Red River games against Steve Sarkisian, the Oklahoma Sooners head coach is 1-3, getting outscored 106-9 in those defeats, which have not featured a single touchdown scored by OU. For a defensive coach, that’s a hard record to explain. His offense has been part of the problem, too.
Texas has won in different ways. The Longhorns overwhelmed Oklahoma in 2022 and pulled away with explosive plays in 2024. Last season, third-down execution, defense, and special teams carried them. In 2023, Oklahoma got the stops it needed and drove for the winning touchdown.
Oklahoma enters this Saturday’s meeting at 2-2. Quarterback John Mateer is struggling, offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and longtime offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh are under growing scrutiny, and the Sooners head back to Dallas trying to keep another season from slipping away.
The stakes in Dallas
At the venerable Cotton Bowl, the crowd is burnt orange on one side and crimson on the other, divided at midfield. Outside the stadium, the State Fair recorded 212,003 visitors across the fairgrounds on game day in 2024.
Records offer no guarantee here. A 1-4 Texas team beat No. 10 Oklahoma 24-17 in 2015. In Sarkisian’s first Red River game in 2021, Lincoln Riley’s Sooners erased a 28-7 deficit and won 55-48. The rivalry can test a team’s nerve without settling which program is better over a full season.
The results follow coaches long after they leave Dallas. Bob Stoops went 9-6 against Mack Brown; Barry Switzer went 3-0-1 against Darrell Royal. But beating Oklahoma in 2013 did not keep Brown from leaving after 16 seasons. Royal’s 20-year tenure ended after that winless four-game stretch against Switzer. Those results shape legacies, but they do not determine a coach’s future alone.
2017 national championship: Clemson 35, Alabama 31
Before Red River, the two met as coordinators in the January 2017 title game that decided the 2016 championship. Sarkisian called Alabama’s offense after replacing Lane Kiffin a week before kickoff. Venables coordinated Clemson’s defense. Alabama converted just two of 15 third downs and punted 11 times.
Bo Scarbrough ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns before leaving with an injury in the third quarter. Jalen Hurts put Alabama ahead on a 30-yard touchdown run with 2:07 remaining, but Clemson answered with the winning touchdown.
2022: Texas 59, Oklahoma 0
Venables’ first Red River game as head coach was the most lopsided of their four meetings.
Texas gained 585 yards, split almost evenly between passing and rushing, Quinn Ewers threw four touchdown passes, Bijan Robinson ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns, and the Longhorns’ four first-half touchdown drives covered 90, 92, 80 and 79 yards.
Dillon Gabriel’s absence after a concussion left Oklahoma with few answers at quarterback. Davis Beville and a series of wildcat formations couldn’t sustain the offense, and the Sooners finished with only 195 yards.
That helps explain the zero. It does less to explain the 49. Texas scored seven offensive touchdowns and posted its largest winning margin in the rivalry.
2023: Oklahoma 34, Texas 30
Texas gained 527 yards, but Ewers threw two interceptions and lost a fumble and Oklahoma handily won the turnover battle by avoiding any giveaways. Early in the fourth quarter, the Sooners stopped three Jonathon Brooks runs near the goal line, then tackled Xavier Worthy short of the end zone on a completed fourth-down pass.
Sarkisian’s aggression had already paid off with a touchdown pass to Gunnar Helm on 4th and 1. At the goal line, though, Oklahoma got the stop it needed.
Even then, Texas took a 30-27 lead after Bert Auburn’s field goal with 1:17 left, but Gabriel took Oklahoma 75 yards in five plays, finding Nic Anderson for the winning touchdown with 15 seconds remaining. Gabriel finished with 285 passing yards and another 113 on the ground.
2024: Texas 34, Oklahoma 3
Oklahoma led 3-0 after the opening quarter. Texas scored every point after that.
Returning from injury once again, Ewers found his rhythm on a 75-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter that ended with a pass to Helm. The Longhorns soon pulled away as Quintrevion Wisner fumbled near the goal line at the end of a 36-yard run, but Silas Bolden, hustling the entire play, recovered the ball in the end zone. After an Oklahoma fumble, Wisner scored from 43 yards out.
Bolden’s recovery was a break for Texas, which kept finding room to run, rushing rushed for 177 yards and averaging 6.7 yards per play overall, compared with Oklahoma’s 3.4.
Texas could afford an uneven start. Oklahoma’s offense gave its defense almost no margin for error.
2025: Texas 23, Oklahoma 6
Last season offered Venables a good chance to earn a second win. Oklahoma arrived unbeaten and ranked sixth. Texas was 3-2 after a loss at Florida. The Sooners led 6-3 at halftime.
Texas outscored Oklahoma 20-0 in the second half.
Arch Manning threw for 166 yards. His best work came on third down — 11 completions in 12 attempts for 117 yards and eight third-down conversions through the air. He went 6-of-6 on Texas’ opening drive of the second half, finishing with a 12-yard touchdown pass to DeAndre Moore Jr.
Texas gained 302 yards and only scored one offensive touchdown, getting a major boost from the defense and special teams as Ryan Niblett added a 75-yard punt-return touchdown, while the defense intercepted Mateer three times and recorded five sacks.
Venables was calling Oklahoma’s defense himself that season. His defense gave the Sooners a chance, but the team could not keep pace after halftime. As head coach, he’s responsible for the offense, too.
Where Oklahoma stands now
After Oklahoma’s 10-win regular season and College Football Playoff appearance in 2025, the school announced a two-year extension for Venables in August. The resulting six-year deal runs through the 2031 season. The regents approved it last month, with reported average annual compensation of $10.5 million.
Although the playoff appearance gave Oklahoma a reason to invest in continuity, the 2-2 start has exposed how fragile that progress remains.
Oklahoma opened by beating UTEP 51-0. Over the next three games, it scored 37 total points — 10 in a loss at Michigan, 14 in a win over New Mexico, and 13 in the 41-13 defeat at Georgia. That’s an average of 12.3 points per game since the opener.
Mateer has eight touchdown passes and four interceptions through four games. His six turnovers over those last three games include an interception and two lost fumbles at Georgia. Venables acknowledged considering a change but said last week, “John’s our starting quarterback.” Backups Whitt Newbauer and Bowe Bentley have received more practice reps, but neither has been named the starter against Texas.
OU Daily reported fans chanting “Fire Arbuckle” during the New Mexico game and described the coordinator as coaching for his job. That is an assessment of the pressure he faces, not an announced decision to replace him. Arbuckle’s offense is not producing consistently enough to support Venables’ defense, and fixing it remains the head coach’s responsibility.
Oklahoma’s running game has offered little help: the Sooners are averaging 99 rushing yards per game and 2.9 yards per carry. Venables and Arbuckle need an offensive plan that reduces the burden on Mateer rather than asking him to rescue broken possessions.
What Venables still has to solve
The most useful lesson from 2023 is the stress Gabriel created with his legs. He rushed for 113 yards, and Oklahoma finished with 201 on the ground, forcing Texas had to account for the quarterback as well as the back. Mateer needs carefully-chosen opportunities to create that same conflict, along with protection help and clear reads in the quick passing game.
The middle of the field belongs in that plan, although Oklahoma did not rely heavily on its tight end in that 2023 meeting. Austin Stogner caught three passes for 24 yards. Drake Stoops, a receiver, turned short throws through the middle into gains of 11 and 28 yards on the winning drive.
Current tight end Rocky Beers caught eight passes for 84 yards and a touchdown against Georgia. Crossers and play-action throws behind the linebackers could build on that production and give Mateer defined reads. Those are adjustments worth testing, not proof that Texas has a recurring weakness against tight ends.
With Will Muschamp now coordinating the Longhorns’ defense, Sarkisian emphasized disciplined rush lanes and contain responsibilities Monday. Telling Mateer to escape the pocket is no substitute for an offensive game plan. Oklahoma needs to make Texas respect the run without turning every passing down into an improvisation drill.
The Sooners also cannot keep asking their defense to cover for offensive mistakes. Against Georgia, Oklahoma held the ball for 35:27 and still lost by 28. Four turnovers produced 17 Georgia points, including a return touchdown. That points to problems with field position and ball security. Time of possession does not support blaming the loss on an overworked defense.
Venables’ defense can keep Oklahoma in games against Texas and the SEC opponents that follow. Sustaining last season’s progress requires an offense that protects the ball and finishes possessions. Arbuckle’s play calling and Mateer’s execution are the immediate concerns, but the staff and quarterback decisions belong to Venables. A change at either position would still leave him responsible for making the offense work.
Texas has beaten Venables’ Sooners both by overwhelming them on offense and by leaning on defense and special teams. Oklahoma’s lone win came when its offense delivered the final answer. Venables needs that kind of performance again. His contract is a vote of confidence; against Texas, he needs an offense that can justify it.
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