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If there’s anyone that appreciates the historical past of the Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry, it’s Brent Venables.
The Oklahoma head coach battled them loads of instances because the OU defensive coordinator from 1999-2011. He additionally noticed them a number of instances as a participant at Kansas State and as a coach on the Wildcats’ employees earlier than he arrived in Norman.
He can recall recollections of a number of video games towards the Cornhuskers, together with the Sooners’ win over No. 2-ranked Nebraska in 2000 and the 2010 win over the Cornhuskers in the Big 12 title sport. But Venables admired Nebraska lengthy earlier than his collegiate profession, too.
“I always looked at Nebraska like I’m David and that’s Goliath,” Venables stated Tuesday. “I had that type of mindset. It was like a whole other planet that these guys were from, and they were. That’s how I always just looked up to them like that… But I always had respect and admiration for Coach [Tom] Osborne — he’s one of the classiest coaches to ever coach in the game — and the program, everything that it represented — strength, toughness, power, speed, just excellence and consistency for such a long period of time.”
There will probably be a brand new layer for Venables on Saturday as he faces Nebraska for the primary time as a head coach. And he’s dealing with them at a tough time for the Cornhuskers.
Nebraska has struggled mightily in current years, as their final successful season got here in 2016. The Cornhuskers (1-2) fired head coach Scott Frost after their 45-42 dwelling loss to Georgia Southern final Saturday, selling Mickey Joseph to interim head coach.
But the Sooners are being cautious to not overlook Nebraska. All 13 of the Cornhuskers’ current defeats have come by single digits, and Oklahoma narrowly squeaked out a 23-16 win towards them final season in Norman.
“Oh yeah, we’re not underestimating them at all,” OU defensive finish Ethan Downs stated. “We know they’re a great team. We know that. Like I said, they took a ton of pride in how they play. So not underestimating one bit. We’re going to prepare and then to go at it like game seven. Just keep working.”
Though final season was the primary matchup between the 2 groups since 2011, there’s loads of connection between the 2 colleges. Several Sooner gamers had been recruited by Nebraska earlier than they dedicated to Oklahoma. Nebraska quarterback Casey Thompson, an Oklahoma native, performed towards the Sooners final season at Texas.
Venables even recruited Thompson after he entered the switch portal through the offseason earlier than he landed at Nebraska.
“Casey’s done a great job,” Venables stated. “Again, he can improvise. He can extend plays. He’s done a great job. He’s made some plays downfield where it looked like he was dead to rights. He’s a winner. He’s been a winner his whole life.”
The stability for Venables and the teaching employees has been to not downplay the rivalry whereas treating it like another sport, and that hasn’t been laborious to do. The Sooners (2-0) haven’t really been examined but, successful each of their first two video games by 30 factors or extra at dwelling, they usually know Nebraska poses a troublesome check in Lincoln.
“Coach [Venables] really focuses on us and making sure we’re dialed into our keys and things we do,” OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel stated. “Not necessarily downing the rivalry, but most importantly just putting our focus all on us and being the best prepared we can. I think when you keep that the main focus, the rest will take care of itself. I know a lot of teammates are aware of it and a lot of the guys played Nebraska last year, so naturally as competitors there’s a little more edge and a little more fun to it.
“That’s what college football’s all about and that’s why people love it, is the rivalries, the great atmospheres and the love for their universities.”
As the Sooners put together for their first highway sport, Venables is excited for one other chapter in the Oklahoma-Nebraska rivalry.
“As I told our players yesterday, [it’s] one of the most tradition-rich rivalries in the history college football,” Venables stated. “Just a ton of unbelievable moments in this collection historical past, a collection that represents class and integrity and unbelievable success, hall-of-fame moments, gamers, coaches and definitely a bunch of championships.
“So it is gonna be an actual honor. I’m actually excited to have an opportunity to go as much as Lincoln this weekend. “
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story by The Texas Tribune Source link
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