Brent Venables walked to the podium Tuesday with a little more breathing room than he had a week earlier. Oklahoma’s win over No.
1 Texas didn’t just settle the Red River Rivalry for another year; it gave the Sooners’ coach and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle a much-needed jolt after a stretch of growing scrutiny. Special teams made a major swing, the defense produced a pick-six, and Oklahoma did enough late to set up a game-winning field goal.
Now the focus shifts quickly to No. 15 Kentucky, which comes to Norman after beating No. 22 LSU.
For Arbuckle, the Texas win fit the kind of football he wants his offense to play when things get messy: flexible, physical and willing to win in more than one way. Oklahoma hadn’t done much offensively over the previous three games, and against the Longhorns, the Sooners still didn’t put up a flashy number. But they did enough to get the result, and Arbuckle made clear that’s the standard he wants to carry forward.
“When this offense is at its best, I envision us doing whatever it takes to win the football game,” Arbuckle said. “If that (means) we have to go out there and we have to score every single drive, let's do that.
I mean, that's the goal on every drive is going to score. But if it's also (to) play complementary, take care of the football, make timely plays, then, that's what it takes to win.”
John Mateer gave Oklahoma exactly that kind of outing. The fifth-year quarterback had his first turnover-free game since Week 1 against UTEP and threw for 155 yards. Late in the fourth quarter, he connected twice with fifth-year wide receiver Isaiah Sategna as the Sooners kept the drive alive.
Arbuckle said that kind of performance can matter beyond one Saturday.
“I think it can do a lot for confidence moving forward,” Arbuckle said. “We have to continue demanding consistency.
We have to demand execution. We have to demand timing.
We have to demand taking care of the football, and John's answered that call every single time.”
The run game had been another sore spot, and Oklahoma finally got a burst from junior Lloyd Avant. Through the first four weeks, Avant led the Sooners with 164 rushing yards. Against Texas, he nearly doubled his season production from before that point, finishing with 72 yards and a score.
“Lloyd (is like) the poster boy for wanting to be physical, wanting to be tough, doing everything that is asked of him, doing more than what's asked of him,” Arbuckle said. “And he's just straining, fighting for extra yards the entire game, moving the pile, turned a zero-yard run into a three-yard run.
That's huge for the momentum. That's huge for the confidence of the team."
Venables’ conversation Tuesday also circled back to the parts of the Texas win that don’t show up in the simplest box score. Two of the biggest names were hardly household mainstays for Oklahoma fans entering the week: junior transfer Dakoda Fields and sophomore Trystan Haynes.
Fields, who came over from Oregon, recovered a blocked punt for a touchdown, giving Oklahoma its first end-zone trip against Texas since 2023. Haynes stepped in for the injured Eli Bowen and delivered seven tackles with a pass deflection.
Venables pointed to new defensive backs coach LaMar Morgan as a big reason both players were ready.
“LaMar's done a fantastic job,” Venables said. “The guys have put in a lot of work.
LaMar's done a great job instilling confidence. And I think LaMar's depth of experience as a former play-caller and experience in places that (there are similarities) to what we do (defensively), have been really fantastic for the players.”
Special teams coordinator Doug Deakin also drew praise from Venables after a day in which Oklahoma got multiple crucial plays from that unit.
“(Deakin has) been great,” Venables said “Guys like to play for him, and it's one thing to be respected as a coach and liked by the players. They understand the standard that he represents, and they don't want to come down.
He shows up every day incredibly prepared with great detail, and he's just a fantastic teacher. (He) knows how to get the most out of guys, and he knows how to reach every guy on the team.”
Venables’ own Red River record got a lift, too. He entered the game 1-3 against Texas, with three lopsided losses, and the upset win gave him a second victory over the Longhorns while pushing Oklahoma to 3-2 as SEC play continues. He said the program’s attention stays on internal growth.
“We're focused on us getting better and playing better, doing the basics better, gaining confidence through just hard work,” Venables said. “Obviously. every week you learn a lot about yourself. Certainly, there's some things that we can build on from last week.”
In Other News...
Oklahoma May Have Finally Found Its Answer At Running Back
For much of the first half against Texas, Oklahomas rushing attack was stuck in neutral, managing only one yard on 13 carries and leaving the Sooners searching for any kind of rhythm on the ground. The adjustment came after halftime, when Lloyd Avant started to look like the kind of back the offense had been waiting for, giving the running game a much-needed lift with a series of productive runs that changed the feel of the matchup.
Avant finished with 10 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown, and his second-half surge was enough to put him at the front of the discussion at running back. Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle both pointed to persistence and execution as the difference, and after that performance, Avant appears to have taken a meaningful step toward becoming the answer Oklahoma has been looking for in the backfield. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma's Bowl Outlook Looks Very Different After Stunning Texas Win
A last-second field goal from Tate Sandell changed the feel around Oklahoma football in an instant, flipping a matchup with the top-ranked Texas Longhorns into one of the seasons most satisfying wins. Beyond the celebration, the result matters because it gives the Sooners a much better footing in the race for a postseason bowl berth, with the kind of momentum that can reshape how the rest of the year is viewed.
It also makes the postseason picture a lot more interesting, since different media outlets are already floating a range of possible bowl destinations for Oklahoma in 2026. The specific matchups can still move around depending on how the next few weeks play out, but this much is clear: after a win that big, the Sooners are no longer looking at bowl season from the same spot they were before the kick sailed through. [Read more 🡒]
Isaiah Sategna's Red River Heroics Changed Everything For Oklahoma
Late in the Red River showdown, Isaiah Sategna III turned a tense finish into the kind of moment Oklahoma can build around. He made two critical catches in the final seconds against Texas, helping set up the game-winning field goal and giving the Sooners a lift when the game was hanging in the balance. Sategna finished with five receptions for 64 yards, tying for the game-high.
Brent Venables and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle both praised Sategna during that decisive drive, a sign of how quickly he has become part of Oklahomas most important moments. For a team that needed somebody to make a play when it mattered most, Sategna delivered exactly that, and his late-game work added a new layer to what the Sooners can count on down the stretch. [Read more 🡒]