Brent Venables on 20-17 lead over Texas at halftime: 'Embrace the chaos'

Oklahoma went into the halftime locker room up 20-17 on rival Texas and Brent Venables simply wanted his team to embrace the chaos.

Forcing two interceptions early, the Sooners’ defense was rolling. However, a blocked punt, scoop and score later, Texas tied things at 7-7.

The back and forth affair was tight going into the break. Exactly what Venables foresaw this week.

“Embrace the chaos,” Venables told sideline reporter Holly Rowe on the ABC broadcast. “We talked about that a lot. No pressure is a privilege. Chaos is what this game is all about, always has been …

“Gave up a couple of drives here and in the second quarter, we thought they got some momentum back. But a really great job there. You’d love to convert and get that touchdown (at the end of the half. Now,) we get the ball back.”

Going into the break, Dillon Gabriel was eight-of-11 passing for 163 yards, as well as 40 yards on the ground off seven carries and managed to score a touchdown. Tawee Walker had eight carries for just 15 yards but scored the other touchdown for the Sooners.

On the flip side, Quinn Ewers was 11-of-15 passing for 121 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.

If anything, it was chaos in the beginning and Venables was ready. His team is in quite the fight with their arch rival.

Heck, Venables even gave the “horns down” sign pregame.

“Again, there’s pressure in the moment,” Venables said pregame on College GameDay “Pressure is a privilege. And so, again, dominate this moment. The greatest opportunity in the world is today. Be present in this moment, embrace all the chaos of GameDay. It doesn’t get any better than this.”

ESPN’s Chris Fowler shifted focus to ask Venables what he’s looking for out of his team after last season’s 49-nothing embarrassment.

“Well, it’s everything, you know. Handling the moment, find a way to win, No. 1. That’s our goal, you know, get to 1-0 today,” Venables said. “I mean, after today, half of our season will be finished, we’ll have a chance to be 6-0 and we still have the back half of our season.”

Getting the win is going to be a very difficult task for Oklahoma, no matter how you slice it.

“You know, Texas is a really good football team. It’s going to be a great challenge. But through it all, you need challenges to have the change that you need,” Venables said of the test his team faces today. It’s just another chance to keep building towards their ultimate goals.

“We got to continue to grow. We’re not anywhere close to what the vision is. But our players, man, have they worked hard — incredibly invested. I love what we’ve done for the last 12 months with this group of guys since we were here last.”