Brent Venables gets emotional discussing memories of Oklahoma vs Nebraska rivalry

It’s only fitting that Brent Venables gets to face Nebraska in his first season as the Oklahoma football coach. A former Sooners defensive coordinator from 1999-2011, Venables was a part of many classic battles with the Cornhuskers in the old Big 12 rivalry.

Of those memories, none stand out more to the first-year OU coach than a meeting during the 2000 season in Norman between No. 1 Nebraska and No. 3 Oklahoma. Despite falling behind 14-0 early in that game, Venables made some defensive adjustment to shut out the Cornhuskers over the final 51 minutes and secure a 31-14 victory.

“I remember getting down 14-0 and coach (Bob) Stoops bringing us over,” Venables said in a Tuesday press conference. “I think (Eric) Crouch was the quarterback then. They were running the option and we had over-pursued a few times and they went right then, pow pow. Just body blow, upper cut and we were just laying on the ropes. Coach Stoops comes in like, ‘Let’s go. We’re all right. Just slow it down.’ Like, surely it can’t be that easy. But he was right. Then we went 31 unanswered.”

But as great as that memory is, Venables regrets one thing.

“All I remember was they tore down them goal posts out there,” he said, pausing as he started to get emotional. “They tore down the goal post in Norman, Oklahoma, which we know they don’t do. I’m ashamed now because I wasn’t celebrating. I’m like, ‘Whatever. It’s one-versus-two and I gotta get home. I gotta get sleep because we’re gonna get beat next week if I don’t get home.’ I’m literally driving through campus on the sidewalks. I gotta get home. All these crazy people celebrating and I gotta get some sleep because my role was the most important role. That’s how I always felt. So that was a cool moment, but I’m ashamed that I didn’t take any opportunity to soak it in.”

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The victory shot the Sooners up to No. 1 in the AP poll the following week, and they would go on to win the national championship that season. That would be the first of many memories for Brent Venables against Nebraska over the next several years.

The Sooners and Cornhuskers met twice in the Big 12 Championship while Venables was the defensive coordinator (2006 and 2010), with OU coming out on top both times. The coach also remembers a special performance from his defense in 2005 just days after his mother passed away.

“In 2005, I remember going there,” Venables said. “My mom passed away on Wednesday and my man Rufus (Alexander) and whoever else, we had a bunch of sacks. I think we had eight or nine sacks up the A-gap. So I remember that one real well and we won that game.

“…Lots of great memories. Lot of tough losses and tough moments as a young coach, too. In my own space, I got a lot of cool moments. I was very fortunate to be a part of those.”

Nebraska left the Big 12 to join the Big Ten in 2011, which was also Venables’ last year in Norman before leaving to become the defensive coordinator at Clemson. The Sooners and Cornhuskers did not meet for the next 10 years before reigniting the rivalry last season.

Oklahoma won that game 23-16 in Norman, and Venables will hope for similar results as he travels to Lincoln to meet his old foe at 11 a.m. CT on Saturday.