Brent Venables describes postgame emotions after beating Texas

Brent Venables was soaking it all in after Oklahoma’s 34-30 win over Texas in the Red River Showdown on Saturday.

It was a far cry from their loss at the hands of the Longhorns in 2022. Now firmly in the College Football Playoff discussion, Venables explained the emotions he was feeling post-game, and how proud he was of the Sooners.

“You know, just how incredibly proud we are, of so many people,” started Venables. “Players. Their commitment, their work. It was really, really — you know, thankful for them. Happy for them. That moment. They get a chance to get their pride back. That was a tough moment a year ago. Just really happy for them, that they could have a moment like that, because they deserve it. They’ve worked for it. Just a moment.

“They celebrate hard, don’t celebrate long. We’ve got to get back to work. Really, just proud of all the people that have been a part of that.”

Alas, the victory over Texas is massive, but Oklahoma obviously has bigger plans. If they win out, they could secure a chance at a national title, which would be a major accomplishment for Venables in only his second season on the job.

Time will tell, but Brent Venables certainly has Oklahoma playing like a team who belongs in those conversations, and it’ll be up to them to keep moving forward.

Paul Finebaum raves over Brent Venables, Oklahoma after win against Texas

Moreover, the Red River Showdown was a star-studded affair. Nonetheless, Brent Venables and Co. stole the show. During an appearance on “The Matt Barries Show,” Paul Finebaum praised the Sooners’ performance in Oklahoma’s 34-30 win over No. 3 Texas on Saturday.

“I cannot be more impressed with Brent Venables because I really had my doubts, and you couldn’t help and have your doubts,” Finebaum said. “I had Oklahoma fans and friends keep telling me, ‘You’re wrong. They’re great.’ I said, ‘Calm down. You’ve beaten nobody.’ But, on the biggest stage that they’ll play on until they play again against Texas, that was just amazing.”

Amazing doesn’t begin to describe it. In the win, Oklahoma rattled off 486 total yards of offense while committing just four penalties. Meanwhile, Texas felt the pressure of the moment, committing nine penalties and three turnovers.

The stunning victory was a far cry from what Sooners fans saw last year in the annual matchup. In 2022, Texas bludgeoned Oklahoma 49-0, welcoming Venables to the rivalry game. Obviously, the 52-year-old coach didn’t let the blowout loss stop his program from progressing.

“[The win] just reinforces how well Venables has progressed as a head coach,” Finebaum said. “Dillon Gabriel, it was just pure magic at times to watch it… That’s one of the big wins I’ve seen in a long time and it meant so much because there had been there been a degree of apprehension from Oklahoma people about coming into the SEC.”

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this article.