Venables: Up to OU to change the narrative

Oklahoma fans are just left scratching their heads right now, trying to figure out how their Sooners went from 3-0 to 3-3 overall and 0-3 in the Big 12.

This is the exact type of moment that can divide a team, said first-year head coach Brent Venables. Or could be a moment where they all come together.

A familiar phrase being used to describe OU’s recent three-game slump has been too scared to fail or paralyzed by the fear of something going wrong.

Instead of being able to roll with the punches, you can see the snowball effect with one bad play after another, one bust, one mis-communication, you get the idea.

Rock bottom had to be last week, a 49-0 thumping by Texas. It almost literally cannot get any worse than that afternoon in Dallas.

OK, time to figure it out.

“I think handling failure is knowing, again, not everything’s going to go well or go perfect, and it doesn’t have to,” said Venables at his Tuesday press conference. “So just having a poise and a maturity to know in those moments, don’t flinch. Play the next play, play the next series. Get the adjustments, get the corrections, and then take it to the field the next series, as opposed to so much stress where it’s catastrophic if things don’t go well.

“Right now, we’re just not playing with the efficiency that we need to. That goes on both sides of the ball, so we can help and complement one another.”

Do something about it

Another part of the message from Venables right now is it’s up to OU to dig itself out of this hole. If you’re down in the dumps or lacking in confidence, the only person can rewrite things is you.

The Sooners are just never ever in this type of position and everybody is trying to figure out the formula to get things rolling in the right direction again.

“There are many people – and justifiably so, are throwing in the towel. That’s fine. That’s part of it. We have a responsibility in that,” Venables said. “If we don’t like what they’re writing, let our play be our voice.

“The criticism that has taken place is well-deserved. That’s how I look at it. Doesn’t mean our guys aren’t working and putting great effort into trying to be successful. I know I see that every day.”

You could hear the feistiness in some of the leaders Monday night. Combative is too strong of a word to describe Venables on Tuesday, but he’s definitely not backing down.

Gabriel status remains the $64,000 question

Quarterback Dillon Gabriel said he feels great, following practice Monday night. But he’s also still in concussion protocol, which is something that will last the rest of the week.

Gabriel being back at practice, though, after missing the disaster vs. the Longhorns is a clearly at least a step in the right direction.

“I don’t know what the concussion protocol … I think they continue to evaluate him every day,” Venables said. “I don’t get in the deep weeds. Tell me what he can do, what he can’t do. He’s full-go at practice. I think they’ve just continued … whatever all those tests are, they do those to make sure they are on the right side of it. If he continues to stay out of harm’s way in regards to that protocol, I would expect him to play.”

Venables said they’ll know Thursday, one way or the other, regarding Gabriel.

Balancing the young vs. the vets

You started to get this conversation after OU’s 1-2 start in 2020 about looking toward the future. That never happened because of the Sooners running the table and winning the Big 12 championship.

At 0-3 in the conference, though, you’d need an incredibly wacky set of circumstances for OU to be in it, not to mention the Sooners running the table.

So 3-3, what does that mean? Start throwing the young guys in more? Or rely on the guys who have been through the battles before?

“It’s just based on what you see in practice,” Venables said. “Right now, what we're seeing in practice isn't necessarily translating to what we're seeing on game day. We're just trying to continue to develop our young guys. There are some guys that y'all don't know about who maybe have been banged up and haven't been able to get repetition, so we're having to move guys at multiple positions.

“We've got a bunch of really good young players and ones that are right there on the fringe if they're not in the two-deep. We need to play more guys. The No. 1 reason is because it's hard to play week after week after week when you're taking all the reps. We've got to be smarter that way in developing our team.”

Wease, Whitter updates

Quick update on linebacker Shane Whitter and wide receiver Theo Wease. Venables announced Whitter will miss the rest of the season, having shoulder surgery.

Wease was ready to go last weekend, but was held out because of a decision by the coaches.

Wease and Jayden Gibson both did not play a single snap vs. Texas, but that could have been because of the Wildcat-based game plan and knowing they weren’t going to be effective in that type of role.

Remember the good

It sounds corny, but it’s true. OU didn’t get to be 3-0 just by happenstance. The Sooners have done some good things. In those three games and in the three losses.

You can’t forget it.

“We got a 120-play cut-up just on the defensive side of the ball of all the same plays we saw this last week, and how we’ve defended them well in different games and different times during the season,” Venables said. “Because I think a picture is worth a thousand words.

“When you’re not having success sometimes, those seeds of doubt... I’m not gonna act like that’s not happening. Part of our job is to continue to create confidence and buy-in. That’s not an easy thing to do through failure, but that’s when you’ve got to be at your best.”