Everything Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables said after South Carolina’s 35-9 domination

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables spoke to the media following the Sooners’ lopsided loss to the South Carolina Gamecocks. Here’s what he had to say following the 35-9 beatdown:

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Opening Statement

“I’d like to start off just by congratulating Coach Beamer and their staff for having their team ready to play. [South Carolina] played an excellent game. [They] really did a great job of playing aggressively from the get-go and putting themselves in the position right from the beginning to win the game.

“What we put out there today as a football team is nothing remotely close to the standard here at the University of Oklahoma. [It’s] certainly not what we planned for today. My job as the head coach is to evaluate everything and figure it out and find a way to put us in a better position for us to be successful.

“[I’m] incredibly proud of the fight in our players.

“As we know, nothing influences and impacts a game like turnovers. We lost the turnover margin, which we’ve done for the last two weeks…

“They forced six fumbles and recovered a few of them. They had a couple of scores off turnovers…nine sacks and 13 tackles for loss…

“The leaders in the locker room—I feel they’re going to continue to fight and stay committed. That’s one of the hardest things to do. Through the adversity, through the losses…Because of the competitiveness of this league, the parody of this league, there is no margin for error. So, we will need everybody to have a chance to finish the year in a better way.

“So, I’m incredibly hurt for our players. I know how much they prepared, how hard they fought, how much they put in—not only today but certainly this season—but this is a game that will punish you for the smallest mistakes. So, this will be a group of guys and a staff that will continue to fight and find a way to put our players in a better position than what we did today.”

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On if his team’s unreadiness to play against South Carolina surprised him

“We’ve got to take care of the ball, you know? Making one bad decision affects everybody. So, I don’t think that’s fair to say that everyone else ain’t ready because of the turnovers. When they happen, we’ve got to respond. Many times we did today. Other times, we didn’t. But when they get it, and they go score, I don’t think that’s necessarily indicative of everybody else being ready to play.

“Even individuals sometimes, they’re making a play. Sometimes they’re covering somebody, they squeeze the ball, they put pressure because of the time, and then we’re vulnerable.”

On the decision to switch quarterbacks from Michael Hawkins, Jr. to Jackson Arnold

“We’ll talk about that when we figure that out, as far as moving forward. Then again, three straight drives with turnovers, that’s a pretty easy decision.”

On how Jackson Arnold played in relief of Michael Hawkins, Jr.

“There was some that was good and some that wasn’t, but he did a lot that was good today. Again, we had to be good around him. I hate saying the same thing every time we’re playing a really good defense—well-coached, very long and athletic—when we’re not turning the ball over, having negative plays, having sacks, you know, there were some things where we had rhythm at times. But [it was] not really where it needs to be. [We] fell below the standard and expectation.”

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On his team’s offensive game plan against the Gamecocks’ pass rush

“We felt good going in. Obviously, until you go play and match up, obviously it wasn’t anything about it that was good.”

On if there is anything the Sooners can hang their hats on after a bad game like this

“Yeah, there has to be. Yeah, absolutely.”

On if there are any potential gameday coaching roles that he envisions changing for his team moving forward

“Whenever there are changes, you guys will be the first to know. [Having tight ends coach Joe Jon Finley] as another set of eyes up top to be able to see things and identify things…the iPads are amazing. You can learn a lot from those, as well, to be able to see the structure of the defense and things of that nature.”

On what Jacob Jordan brought to the passing game

“Yeah, he’s hard to cover, and he runs great routes, very precise. He had a good fall, then was a little inconsistent catching the ball at times in the fall. He’s had a good last couple of weeks. He’s hard to get a hand on, he knows how to set routes up, how to stem, understands coverage and where the space is. He did a nice job.”

On how struggling offensive coordinator Seth Littrell will handle “outside noise” following another disappointing offensive outing

“I don’t want to speak in conjecture and what he will or won’t but, but that’s for any of us. You should never do it for the applause or the boos. You put your head down and you go to work, control the controllable. Scrutiny comes with it. Everybody wants to see success, and we’ve got a smart fanbase. They know when it’s going well, and they know when it’s not going well, regardless of what the issues are.

“Our job is to put our guys in a great position to be successful, no matter what. No excuses, no injuries, no new quarterback, no ‘who we’re playing.’ None of that matters. Everybody knows that’s what you sign up for. But he’s been a winner his whole life, you know? He’s a competitor, he’s a winner, he’s a leader. I know he hurts, and then he’s disappointed for the University of Oklahoma, a place he loves dearly, and certainly every one of his players who lay it on the line every single day for us.”

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On if he would be willing to do an in-season evaluation of his coaches.

“Yeah, that’s nothing I really want to discuss right now. We’ve talked about here this week. I look at everything, and so, what are we doing to put the guys in position to be successful? Everything that’s out there, all the information that you have, you evaluate that along with it, but there’s a lot that goes into that.”

On if he will get more involved with the offense as the team struggles to score

“You know, I have been. I sit in staff meetings. I sit in a bunch of different position meetings. I’m certainly still involved with the defense. I spend time on the defensive field, and I spend time on the offensive field. Again, who knows what would have been if you took care of the ball better to give yourself a chance…Today, we didn’t give ourselves a chance.”

On playing a sixth different combo on the offensive line this week

“Jake [Taylor] had to come out, so I’m looking at the next guys up. Logan and Spencer both played, and both of them did some good things, and both of them did some not-so-good things.”

On Oklahoma heading in the wrong direction, and if he has any plans to fix it

“No, the problems are easy to identify. Fixing them always isn’t quite as easy, but that’s what we’re working relentlessly to do. We’re not doing it fast enough.”

On how difficult it is to keep fighting through the adversity of not playing well, especially on defense in light of the offense’s struggles

“Again, I guard against it every single day. I have since I’ve been a coach. You know, I guard against success, how people are going to respond to doing well. I guard against days when, inevitably, things don’t go well, both for the individual and us collectively. I think that’s what a good coach will do to be proactive all the time.

“You compete, you commit, you work not to a result, you do that to a standard, a certain way of doing things. My job is to have everybody buy into doing things in a certain way. To be committed to that and defend that…really buy into that. So, again, I know some people don’t understand that. I know these guys on defense. They’re not going to flinch. These guys have got the right stuff.

“Are there moments they could be frustrated or disappointed? Absolutely; they’re human. Would they let that steer themselves to a place to be negative or finger-pointing or playing the blame game or making up excuses or being pissed at their teammates? Absolutely not. I just know who they are, and I just listen to them and watch them and watch how they fight and compete. I would be deeply disappointed and hurt and surprised if they chose to go that route.

We have a strong culture, we have a strong belief system. The results that we’ve gotten the last couple of weeks, nobody desires that. Nobody wants that. Nobody accepts that in any way; it’s not acceptable. But the only way you bounce back from it, to get better from it, is, man, you’ve got to fight. You’ve got to continue to lead. You have got to continue to lead. You’ve got to have the courage it takes. Your effort, your mindset, your attitude, your leadership is not conditional. It is second nature. It is who you are. Then, in the moments of pressure, it should reveal itself…Every single bit of it falls on my shoulders. It’s my responsibility. I’ve got to get it figured out, and that’s on me.”

On what happened on Michael Hawkins, Jr.’s two interception

“A few things. We allowed some pressure. The first one, we’ve got seven on four, and we’ve got to win every single time. Football is a game of matchups. If you get whooped, you see what happened. Pressure forced us into making a decision, and everything is affected. Your accuracy, your launch point, everything. We’ve got to make better decision, we’ve got to be better fundamentally, we’ve got to do a better job of executing in that situation right out of the gate.”

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On playing from behind early in the game

“Our strategy? I mean, you’ve got a lot of football…just claw your way back into it, one possession at a time on offense and one stop at a time on defense. Then, every play in the kicking game is a season of its own. You go right back to work, though, that’s the only way you can do it. One positive yard at a time, one first down at a time, that’s the vision.”

On if South Carolina surprised him by playing turnover-free football

“Yeah, absolutely, I’m very surprised, but [South Carolina has] learned. They did a better job than we did today, but that goes without saying. There’s a few times the ball’s getting jarred loose, both in the kicking game and them on offense. But not enough to force a turnover.”

On his kicking game and the decision to Zach Schmit at placekicker

“Yeah, you saw what happened at Texas, and then Keltner responded…that’s what went into it.”

On his offense’s struggles in the running game despite Javontae Barnes’ effort level

“Yeah, great toughness, great resolve. He’s got a tremendous will to win. He’s becoming a really good leader, using his voice. The success that he’s had…he’s doing a really good job trying to be a good example and then [trying] to lead these guys emotionally and verbally. But today was another, well, he had some really good moments today. But he’s got to continue to hold onto the ball.”

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