Brent Venables proud of Oklahoma overcoming late push by SMU

This weekend’s win over SMU got a tad dicey for Oklahoma as the Mustangs made a game of it in the fourth quarter. However, the Sooners responded on both sides of the ball in a way that made Brent Venables very proud after the victory.

To start his postgame press conference, Venables was very pleased with how Oklahoma closed their 28-11 win over SMU this weekend. He gave the Mustangs their due credit but shouted his team out for their approach and response to what became a tight game on Saturday.

“(SMU) did a great job,” said Venables. “I know they’re disappointed in losing but a good, hard-fought game where there’s nothing easy about winning.”

“I love that about our team. The fight, the courage, the belief, the never flinch attitude that they had. I thought that was what you want to see,” Venables said. “A year ago, I’m not sure we would have figured out a way to win that game. I think there’s a silver lining in knowing that.”

Oklahoma was up 14-3 for the majority of the game as neither team scored in the third quarter. At the start of the fourth, though, SMU cut it to three on a long, 16-play drive inside Memorial Stadium.

From there, OU answered with a touchdown of their own and then forced a turnover on downs. They then found the endzone again to create the final margin of 17 points before sealing it with an interception.

This wasn’t as emphatic of a performance as Oklahoma’s opener was the previous weekend. With that said, it may be far more significant based on the edge that Venables saw from his team and the effort that they gave to close things out.

“To me, (the mistakes) are correctable, fixable. But, man, I love the attitude of the guys,” said Venables. “A lot to, really, get better at, no doubt about it. But there was a lot to really be thankful and proud of our guys for for finding a way to win.”

“Again, a lot to get better at. We’re 2-0, proud of our guys and coaches for their fight.”

Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby addresses Art Briles postgame situation

Oklahoma OC Jeff Lebby received some backlash over the weekend. That’s because his father-in-law and former Baylor Art Briles was present on the field following the Sooners’ win over SMU.

Baylor fired Briles in 2016 following a sexual assault scandal involving the football team. He hasn’t returned to collegiate coaching since.

Regarding his presence on the field in Norman, Oklahoma AD Joe Castiglione said it “shouldn’t have happened” based on “boundaries we previously set”.

On Monday, Lebby spoke on the situation at a press conference. According to SoonerScoop.com, he said that the situation would never happen again and that Briles did not have a university-issued pass to be on the field.

“Just want everybody to understand my father-in-law, his presence on the field after the game the other night is something that created a distraction and I apologize for that,” Lebby said. “That was not the intent at all. The intent was just to celebrate with my family.”

“Do want to correct some reports that claimed he had a sideline pass. There was not a sideline pass given out,” Lebby added. “He was actually on the field only when other families were down there and were present. Joe Castiglione, Coach Venables both have addressed concerns with me, have talked to me about it. And, again, I can make sure that everybody understands that this is something that will not come up again.”