Everything Brent Venables Said After Oklahoma Lost to Alabama in the First Round of the College Football Playoff

It was a tough night in Norman for Brent Venables. The Oklahoma Sooners lost to Alabama, 34–24, in the first round of the College Football Playoff. What made it sting even more was that OU held a 17–0 lead early in the second quarter. But, as often happens in big games, Alabama did not roll over, ripping off 27 straight points and never looking back on the way to a 34–24 victory.

With the loss, the Oklahoma Sooners’ 2025 campaign came to an end, and Brent Venables fell to 0–5 in the playoffs.

Here’s everything Brent Venables said after their humiliating loss:

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Brent Venables opened the presser reflecting on today’s loss.

HC Brent Venables: “I know everybody, players, fans alike, and certainly the coaching staff, are incredibly disappointed in the outcome here tonight. It was a really good game that had some really great moments for the Sooners, and obviously some really ill-timed, ill-informed moments as well, in coaching and playing. The things that helped us be successful all year long, tonight, when we needed them the most, we just did not have what it takes.”

Brent Venables breaks down where it went wrong and the plays that made the difference.

Brent Venables: “Whether that’s making a stop, making a field goal, doing the basics. Snapping and catching and punting. We had a 17-point lead, had great momentum, and we just lost the momentum and gave up a 75-yard drive. Then on third-and-six, we lost leverage and coverage and gave up a fourth-and-two on that drive.”

Giving props to Alabama 

BV: “Alabama’s got a really good football team and a really good staff, and they were able to slowly but surely creep back into the game.”

Key mistakes by the Sooners. 

BV: “We got things really rolling early, and we were dominating parts of the game. In some ways it was the same, in some ways, not. But the turnovers, the penalties, missed opportunities, drops, punts, a poor punt, missed field goals, and the penalties again, we just couldn’t get the stops when we needed to.”

Compassion for the team. 

BV: “Easily one of the funniest teams I’ve been around… their love for their brothers… what a joy that they’ve been…So don’t take away from the kind of season that we had.”

The Sooners run-game averaged under four yards per carry this season, but Brent Venables looking to fix in the offseason.

BV: “That’s gonna be a focus for us moving forward. We have to get better at running the football…We’ve gotta get better at running the football.”

Brent Venables on the #Sooners’ 2025 journey:

BV: “This is a group that got us to our fifth playoff and did, in many ways to many people, the unthinkable.”

BV praises his seniors for leaving their mark.

BV: “But then doesn’t take away the pride I have in this group of seniors, guys who won’t be here in the future. I couldn’t be more proud of them. The deposit they chose to make, in a world where everybody’s trying to get theirs, this group chose not to take a withdrawal, but to leave a deposit and leave their mark.”

Good days ahead for the Sooners

BV: “Our best days are sitting in front of us. We got a great foundation coming back… and a vision for what it needs to look like moving forward.”

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