Oklahoma has spent the last few weeks offering up a little bit of everything - a messy loss at Georgia, a narrow escape against New Mexico, a defeat at Michigan - and then, suddenly, the kind of day in Dallas that can scramble a season’s entire conversation.
The Sooners’ 27-24 upset of the nation’s No. 1 team last week was their best performance of the year. It also raised the question now hanging over Norman: was that a real turn, or just the kind of emotional eruption that comes with the Red River Rivalry?
Brent Venables has been around this movie before, and he’s never bought the idea that beating Texas guarantees anything the next week. He said as much in 2023 after Oklahoma improved to 6-0 with a 34-30 win over the Longhorns, only to stumble through the next three games. The Sooners had to survive Central Florida 31-29, then lost at Kansas 38-33 and at Oklahoma State 27-24.
“I don’t think that had anything to do with Texas,” Venables said that year after falling to the Jayhawks and Cowboys. “I know that’s a popular thing, I’m sure, because of all the attention that that game had. But we’ve moved on from that game.”
His broader point has stayed the same: winning a huge game does not automatically make the next one easier. If anything, it can expose how hard it is to stay sharp after the celebration dies down. Venables said in 2023, “Mismanaged success is a very normal thing when you are in these positions,” and he had plenty to point to.
In 2022, Oklahoma followed an emotional win at Nebraska by climbing to No. 6 in the AP Poll, then losing its next three games against Big 12 opponents. Later that season, after an unranked OU team beat No. 24 Oklahoma State, the Sooners fell at Texas Tech and finished 6-7.
The same pattern kept showing up in 2024. Oklahoma beat Auburn for its first SEC win, then got hammered by Texas the next week. After a stunning win at Alabama, the Sooners were obliterated at LSU.
This year’s group sits at 3-2 after beating Texas, and nobody is pretending the offense suddenly looks like a national-title machine. But the response in Dallas did remind everyone what Venables can still do on the defensive side, and it reminded everyone that the Sooners have enough pieces to change the tone of a week in a hurry.
That tone swing was extreme. Just days before the Red River game, Oklahoma looked like a program sliding toward “fire everyone” talk - from the athletic director to the head coach to the offensive coordinator to the quarterback. Then came Saturday night, and the picture flipped.
Venables put together another strong defensive plan. The offense, guided by the coordinator, delivered two sharp plays late to give Oklahoma a chance after a stunning, last-second takeaway. And John Mateer found Isaiah Sategna with laser-guided throws before Tate Sandell finished the job with a 47-yard field goal, then flexed toward Longhorn Nation’s angst-twisted faces.
That win brought the hardware, too. The Football Writers Association of America named Oklahoma its Pop-Tarts National Team of the Week.
Peyton Bowen earned Jim Thorpe Award National Defensive Back of the Week honors after his pick-six. Owen Heinecke was selected as the Brandon Burlsworth Award (Former) National Walk-On of the Week.
Sandell was one of three Lou Groza Award Stars of the Week.
It was also the first time in nearly 20 years that Oklahoma beat the nation’s No. 1 team, and the glory was spread all over the roster - from Danny Okoye to Dakoda Fields to Lloyd Avant to Jacob Ulrich to David Stone and Jayden Jackson.
Now Kentucky comes to Norman, and the Wildcats are 5-1 and trying to turn football respectability into something more lasting. Venables had his own blunt description of what’s waiting Saturday night.
“They’re playing as well as anybody in college football right now,” OU coach Brent Venables said.
The Sooners can enjoy the awards all they want. Kentucky, meanwhile, is waiting with a simple message of its own: see you at 6:30 Saturday night.
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Freshman Gave Oklahoma A Huge Lift In Its Biggest Moment
Oklahomas upset of then-No. 1 Texas was the kind of game that can reveal a lot about a young roster, and freshman Noah Best gave the Sooners another reason to feel good about where things are headed. Making his first start at left guard, Best stepped into a huge spot and helped steady the line in a win that demanded composure as much as production.
Bests day stood out not only because he was thrust into the starting role, but because he fit into the emotional fabric of the game too. Oklahoma offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle singled out the way Best reacted after a key reception by Lloyd Avant, noting the freshman was among the first Sooners to greet him and help keep the sideline energy up. For a team trying to build belief in big moments, that kind of presence can matter as much as the snap-by-snap work. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Faces A Big Test After The Texas Statement Win
Kentucky brings a four-game winning streak into Norman for a meeting that suddenly looks a lot more interesting than it did a few weeks ago. The Wildcats have built momentum with a road-tested edge, capped by an overtime win over LSU, while Oklahoma is coming off one of its biggest statements of the season with a victory over then-No. 1 Texas.
The matchup now asks the Sooners to handle the next challenge just as cleanly as the last one, and both coaching staffs have already pointed to the same thing: focus. For Oklahoma, the task is staying grounded after a marquee win. For Kentucky, it is trying to prove the recent surge travels against a team that has already shown it can rise to the moment. [Read more 🡒]
Arch Manning Debate Gets More Awkward After Oklahoma Win
Arch Mannings rough afternoon against Oklahoma only sharpened the spotlight that follows him everywhere, and it quickly turned into another round of debate about how much of his evaluation is being shaped by the family name on the back of the jersey. After the two interceptions, Texas coach Steve Sarkisian pushed back on the criticism by arguing Manning would draw a very different reaction if he were playing without the recognition that comes with being an Manning.
The discussion did not stay within the Texas locker room for long. ESPNs Paul Finebaum and Jordan Rodgers both publicly took issue with Sarkisians defense, and the pushback added another layer to a conversation that has followed Manning all season. For Oklahoma fans, it was a familiar kind of aftermath from a rivalry game: the Sooners got the win, and the fallout centered on whether Texas quarterback is being judged too kindly or too harshly, with the larger question about his current level of play still hanging in the air. [Read more 🡒]