Brent Venables outdueled Josh Heupel on Saturday to keep CFP hopes alive
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When the Tennessee Volunteers came to Norman to face the Oklahoma Sooners early in the 2024 season, the storylines were aplenty. After all, Vols head coach Josh Heupel was facing OU for the first time since he played for the school in 1999 and 2000, coached quarterbacks from 2006 to 2010, and was the offensive coordinator from 2011 to 2014. That’s a lot of years in Norman before getting fired by Bob Stoops after the 2014 season.
Heupel and the Volunteers got the better of OU and head coach Brent Venables on that September night a year ago.
With both teams needing a win to stay alive in the College Football Playoff race, it was the underdog Sooners going on the road in the “Neyland at Night” dark mode atmosphere and pulling out a gutsy win in a hostile environment.
What’s more, Venables got the better of Heupel on Saturday, as one of the best defensive minds in the sport outdueled one of the best offensive minds in the sport in a massive matchup. His performance might have saved OU’s season. Last year, Oklahoma’s offensive ineptitude cost them a chance to beat the Vols, but things were a bit different this time around.
In addition to Heupel, there were plenty of familiar faces trying to deal the Sooners a loss on Saturday. Offensive coordinator Joey Halzle, offensive analysts Seth Littrell, Landry Jones, and Cayden Cochran, and secondary coach Willie Martinez (who coached in the same role under Venables at OU in 2010 and 2011) all have Sooner ties.
Despite that familiarity, Venables’ defense was able to get the job done, despite a lot of yards allowed to the Vols. At the end of the night, one of college football’s best offenses only managed 27 points, and it could have been less if not for a late Oklahoma turnover.
Heupel’s offense started each half very quickly, but Venables’ defense was able to adjust and get the stops they needed. Three timely takeaways, all leading to points, also contributed to a signature win for Venables.
The defense invited Heupel and the Vols to run the ball into light boxes, a key for Tennessee’s spread-out offense. However, the Sooners were the ones who were able to take advantage, holding the Volunteers to only 63 rushing yards on 35 attempts, a 1.8 YPC average.
By shutting down the run, Oklahoma made Tennessee one-dimensional, forcing an aerial attack. The Vols did throw for 393 yards, and OU’s defense will have to be better against the pass going forward, but the turnovers and important stops limited Tennessee in the second half, after a big first half. It wasn’t pretty, but the Sooners got the job done, even after playing poorly for the first half of the night. They buckled down in the second half and made enough plays to walk out with a win.
The potential importance of that win is hard to overstate. By improving to 7-2, Oklahoma stayed in the CFP picture with three games left, while dealing a big blow to the Vols. It’ll be hard for the Sooners to win out, especially with a big one against Alabama looming, and difficult tests against Missouri and LSU, but if they go 3-0, they’ll be in the playoff, one year after only winning six games.
A loss in Knoxville would have been near-fatal for the CFP hopes and may have sent the Sooners into a late-season tailspin. Oklahoma isn’t out of the woods yet, not by a long shot, and may still finish the year on a down note. However, the playoff wouldn’t be on the table without a gritty performance in Knoxville. Brent Venables got the job done, both as the head coach and as the de facto defensive coordinator, and now he and his team have a chance to play in even bigger games going forward.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Brent Venables’ performance vs Tennessee deserves some praise
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