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Oklahoma Head Coach Brent Venables Ole Miss Post Game Press Conference · Sooner or Later Sports

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Told the the staff earlier in the week, this game
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: is going to come down to third and fourth downs,
• 0:08
  Speaker 1: and really felt that between that and maybe the turnover margin,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: but really felt that the third and the fourth downs,
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: third and one, third and two, fourth and one, fourth
• 0:16
  Speaker 1: and two is what this game would come down to.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: And we I thought we really got after him on
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: first and second down today. You know, they were able
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: to sustain us some drives and they had eighty seven
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: plays to our sixty. We out gained them yards per play,
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: but it's not about that. They they held onto the
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: ball and again had a couple of long drives that
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: we had lots of opportunity to get off the field
• 0:44
  Speaker 1: on defense, a little bit out of out of rhythm
• 0:48
  Speaker 1: and out of saint on offense in the first half.
• 0:50
  Speaker 1: Came back and did some really good things in the
• 0:52
  Speaker 1: second half. But the fifteen play, you know, the fifteen
• 0:58
  Speaker 1: play drive was I was killer and had opportunities again
• 1:03
  Speaker 1: on another twelve player uh, twelve play drive to be
• 1:07
  Speaker 1: able to get off the field on some short yarded
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: situations and uh, you know, hurt.
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: For our guys.
• 1:13
  Speaker 1: They fought their butt off, thought they showed great toughness
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: and resolve had a chance to you know, on a
• 1:19
  Speaker 1: day where we didn't coach them good enough, we didn't
• 1:23
  Speaker 1: play good enough situationally, you know, we still have a
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: chance with the ball to go down and tie the
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: game against a really good football team. Hurt for the guys,
• 1:32
  Speaker 1: it's they're hurting right now and then, but we got
• 1:36
  Speaker 1: to get ourselves off the mat and do respond. Got
• 1:39
  Speaker 1: a lot of football still in front of us, a
• 1:41
  Speaker 1: great challenge here this week, a lot to learn from
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: in a really painful way. The smallest detail the mistakes
• 1:49
  Speaker 1: that we made. We were a little sloppy and leaky
• 1:51
  Speaker 1: in our tackling on leveraging in the first half on defense,
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: and then again, you know, I thought one of the
• 2:02
  Speaker 1: big plays was they have the ball in the third
• 2:05
  Speaker 1: quarter and a fourth down play where we we got
• 2:10
  Speaker 1: a really good called out up for play action on
• 2:13
  Speaker 1: fourth and one and we got to come outside the
• 2:16
  Speaker 1: block on the in coverage and we go inside and
• 2:20
  Speaker 1: they were able to poke a guy open on a
• 2:23
  Speaker 1: little crack screen.
• 2:24
  Speaker 2: Huge play in the game.
• 2:26
  Speaker 1: And then the late fumble on a punt return that
• 2:30
  Speaker 1: allows them to push their lead to eight and not
• 2:33
  Speaker 1: and not five on the turnover defense responds and holds
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: them to a field goal, but too.
• 2:41
  Speaker 2: Little, too late.
• 2:41
  Speaker 1: But m Xavier Robinson ran the ball with good power,
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: particularly obviously in the second half, and they were they
• 2:50
  Speaker 1: completed converted rather just under. They were on forty six
• 2:55
  Speaker 1: percent conversion rate on third and fourth down and we
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: were about thirty percent. And to me, that was the
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: difference in the game.
• 3:04
  Speaker 3: Brent. You know, you said earlier in the week corralling
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: Shamliss was going to hack us off in the heck
• 3:09
  Speaker 3: you off? Well, you know that that was almost the
• 3:12
  Speaker 3: story in the game, was it. I mean, his ability
• 3:14
  Speaker 3: to convert on third down? What broke down there?
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 3:18
  Speaker 1: I think again, I didn't think we tackled well. I
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: thought we a few times. We didn't cage like we
• 3:24
  Speaker 1: needed to rush the quarterback, and and then we had
• 3:28
  Speaker 1: some opportunities to make tackles and he ran through some
• 3:30
  Speaker 1: of our tackles. You know, guys making plays, And we
• 3:34
  Speaker 1: got to be better, you know, we gotta We knew
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: that he had great lower body strength. We saw that
• 3:41
  Speaker 1: in several games this year where he was able to
• 3:43
  Speaker 1: elude the rush and and we got to be better,
• 3:46
  Speaker 1: and we had a couple of plays we have spy
• 3:49
  Speaker 1: calls on and we get kind of lost in the
• 3:50
  Speaker 1: trash and then we lose leverage on him, and then
• 3:54
  Speaker 1: he breaks the tackle because we lost her leverage. So
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: very painful lesson. And he's a he's a winner. It's
• 4:02
  Speaker 1: what he's done against everybody. And but we needed to
• 4:07
  Speaker 1: play better and have a chance to win. We needed
• 4:09
  Speaker 1: to do a better job against him, and uh so
• 4:12
  Speaker 1: I didn't. I didn't have them ready to do that.
• 4:15
  Speaker 2: You know, I had nine rushes the first half. Second half,
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: it's the running game kind of got you back in
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: a while. The change they do something different.
• 4:22
  Speaker 1: White, Yeah, I just think we needed to be a
• 4:25
  Speaker 1: little more patient in the first half. And there's a
• 4:28
  Speaker 1: lot of a lot of things that go into it,
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: but we needed to get more movement in the first half,
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: you know, to get confidence in some of that run game.
• 4:34
  Speaker 1: And again even if it's just body blows. Uh in
• 4:39
  Speaker 1: the second half, we were able to establish that a
• 4:41
  Speaker 1: little bit better right after the game.
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: But plast week, you've talked about how it felt like
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: a big step forward.
• 4:47
  Speaker 4: You were doing things that maybe you weren't.
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: Doing a couple of years ago.
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: Does this feel how does this feel?
• 4:52
  Speaker 5: Does this feel?
• 4:52
  Speaker 3: Like a step back, maybe not being able to take
• 4:55
  Speaker 3: advantage today of some things that happened.
• 4:56
  Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I think we missed some opportunity. I don't know,
• 4:59
  Speaker 1: step back, that's for everybody else to say. I certainly
• 5:02
  Speaker 1: losing hain't ever good. And there's nothing necessarily that, you know,
• 5:10
  Speaker 1: when we're not gonna be bragging on anything. There's nothing
• 5:12
  Speaker 1: to brag about. We needed to be coaching better and
• 5:14
  Speaker 1: play better, be better. Situationally, we made some critical mistakes
• 5:20
  Speaker 1: in the game, and if the players are making the
• 5:21
  Speaker 1: mistakes on the field, then then we got to look
• 5:24
  Speaker 1: at ourselves and what we're asking them to do.
• 5:27
  Speaker 2: Uh, you know.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: But watched the tape already, you know, watched it in
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: real time and watched it on the sideline and watched
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: it again you know, at halftime, and so, uh, we
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: we needed to execute at a better level. And so
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: if we're not executing like we need to, then that
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: that comes back to, you know, to us as a staff,
• 5:46
  Speaker 1: and we've got to do a better job having our
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: guys ready to execute, you know, you know, cleaner, play
• 5:50
  Speaker 1: better football that way.
• 5:51
  Speaker 6: Brandon, you put them in a lot of bad situations,
• 5:54
  Speaker 6: tackle for lost and completions, but the long yardage situations
• 5:57
  Speaker 6: seemed to kill.
• 5:58
  Speaker 4: You all day.
• 5:58
  Speaker 2: Yeah.
• 5:59
  Speaker 6: Uh passing gay man his scrambled What what was going
• 6:02
  Speaker 6: on there?
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: Yeah? Just you know, they're they were better than us.
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: Uh, you know, they called better plays and executed better.
• 6:12
  Speaker 1: We needed to execute better on our side and make plays.
• 6:17
  Speaker 1: I thought they made some plays and we made some.
• 6:21
  Speaker 1: But it's you know what was typical of the day.
• 6:24
  Speaker 1: When we needed to make a play, we got to
• 6:26
  Speaker 1: stop and then you know, we got a roughie. You know,
• 6:28
  Speaker 1: I have to look at it. I didn't like it
• 6:29
  Speaker 1: in the moment. Uh, but we can't leave it in
• 6:32
  Speaker 1: the officials' hands and that that turns into a you know,
• 6:35
  Speaker 1: a field goal, and we were on the wrong side
• 6:38
  Speaker 1: of it too often today and were getting there.
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: Those mistakes are magnified.
• 6:43
  Speaker 4: But as you've been sending Watkins on the other side
• 6:45
  Speaker 4: at over one hundred for senior yards, how much of
• 6:48
  Speaker 4: a challenge was it to defend him?
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: Yeah?
• 6:50
  Speaker 1: I thought they Again, we had good tight coverage. He
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: made play, you know, uh, you know the last one,
• 6:57
  Speaker 1: you know, we should have switched up and had our
• 6:59
  Speaker 1: safety on the time in number four, and we didn't
• 7:02
  Speaker 1: get you know, we actually worked that in practice where
• 7:06
  Speaker 1: we wanted to switch it and didn't get it done.
• 7:09
  Speaker 1: I think there was a different tight end in there,
• 7:12
  Speaker 1: and I think we thought it was a receiver, uh
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: number four, And but I thought Robert was in a
• 7:18
  Speaker 1: great position and I thought it was a terrific ball
• 7:21
  Speaker 1: and they made a good play executed.
• 7:23
  Speaker 5: What do you think of just the way John played today,
• 7:25
  Speaker 5: especially late in the game, It felt like he just
• 7:27
  Speaker 5: missed on some.
• 7:27
  Speaker 2: Throws that we've seen.
• 7:28
  Speaker 1: Yeah, well, have to wait and go back and look
• 7:30
  Speaker 1: at the tape, you know. Uh, you know, I told
• 7:34
  Speaker 1: him there's there's gonna be a gonna hate what you
• 7:37
  Speaker 1: see on tape because of some missed opportunities. Not not
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: talking about having to go make a play. I'm just
• 7:41
  Speaker 1: like doing the basics a little cleaner. And uh so
• 7:45
  Speaker 1: we all have some regret, you know, watching the tape.
• 7:49
  Speaker 5: And it seemed like he was more comfortable throwing downfield
• 7:52
  Speaker 5: was today. Do you get that sense from John? Say
• 7:55
  Speaker 5: it again from John? It seemed like he was much
• 7:57
  Speaker 5: more comfortable throwing the ball.
• 7:58
  Speaker 1: Down Yeah, we made some we made some good plays
• 8:01
  Speaker 1: down the field, and uh that he had at times
• 8:04
  Speaker 1: had really a good command and then some other times
• 8:07
  Speaker 1: where now maybe we got a little bit rushed.
• 8:11
  Speaker 4: Brand Xavier Robinson had a couple watch eye plays touchdowns.
• 8:16
  Speaker 4: How do you think of his performance and bring up
• 8:18
  Speaker 4: the run game, Well.
• 8:19
  Speaker 1: I thought that was you know what is what got
• 8:21
  Speaker 1: us back in the game in the second half. And
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: you know, ran with good you know, toughness and power.
• 8:27
  Speaker 1: And I think you know as you as you saw,
• 8:29
  Speaker 1: you know, the stadium gets you know, excited, and certainly
• 8:32
  Speaker 1: the the team does too. They feed off of that,
• 8:35
  Speaker 1: you know, the run game thought the pile moved, uh,
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: you know in our direction. If we clean up a
• 8:39
  Speaker 1: few more things, we get a stop here or there,
• 8:42
  Speaker 1: we take care of the football on the pump return,
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: maybe it's a different result. I don't live in that world,
• 8:47
  Speaker 1: but I know you're not too far from from that either.
• 8:51
  Speaker 1: And but Xavier, where he played, had a couple of touchdowns.
• 8:54
  Speaker 2: You know, the way he ran the ball.
• 8:56
  Speaker 1: Was a you know, a big part of our ability
• 8:58
  Speaker 1: to you know, have an opportunity to go down and
• 9:01
  Speaker 1: tie it up in the late in the game.
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: You had a lot better chance in the second half,
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: or you played a lot better in the second half.
• 9:08
  Speaker 3: Why do you think that.
• 9:08
  Speaker 1: Was again as I said, lots of little things. Just again,
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: our guys are straining. We just didn't play real smart
• 9:15
  Speaker 1: at times in the first half. And I didn't think
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: we got into the kind of rhythm and then sync offensively.
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: Not that we needed to, uh to do the things
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: that from a game playing standpoint we felt we we
• 9:26
  Speaker 1: could do.
• 9:26
  Speaker 2: We we didn't do.
• 9:28
  Speaker 1: And uh, you know, as I said, you know, we
• 9:32
  Speaker 1: got to do a better job from a coaching standpoint
• 9:34
  Speaker 1: of having our guys be a little cleaner.
• 9:36
  Speaker 2: But it's when you.
• 9:37
  Speaker 1: Look at it, we uh they hit an over route
• 9:41
  Speaker 1: early in the first drive and we worked at nine
• 9:44
  Speaker 1: thousand times and here it comes. You got to take
• 9:46
  Speaker 1: the game day things that we were practice habits got
• 9:50
  Speaker 1: to show up in those game day environment and h
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: they were able to execute it, and uh, you.
• 9:56
  Speaker 2: Know we were.
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: We were on the wrong side of that. You know,
• 9:59
  Speaker 1: to often it again extended some drives and you know,
• 10:04
  Speaker 1: you know, turned into points.
• 10:06
  Speaker 6: Not too often does a team be down have such
• 10:10
  Speaker 6: a quick comeback, change the momentum. You said, electrify the crowd,
• 10:14
  Speaker 6: and then not sustain it. Why do you think it
• 10:16
  Speaker 6: didn't sustain And where where'd you feel like you lost.
• 10:19
  Speaker 1: I thought the fumble on the pump return was you know,
• 10:22
  Speaker 1: was critical, and defense responded and held him to a
• 10:26
  Speaker 1: field goal there and then again in a one score game,
• 10:29
  Speaker 1: you know that matters. But we had a chance to
• 10:31
  Speaker 1: you know, get the ball back with excellent field position,
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: and I thought we had really good momentum and so
• 10:37
  Speaker 1: it uh, you know momentarily it you know killed the momentum.
• 10:42
  Speaker 1: You think you should have run more of Robinson?
• 10:44
  Speaker 2: Well, I mean I think it. Uh, I.
• 10:49
  Speaker 1: Think with the success that he had, I think that's
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: you know, something that's fair.
• 10:53
  Speaker 4: Did did y'all?
• 10:54
  Speaker 2: Fourth fourth down?
• 10:55
  Speaker 4: Obviously late in the game, the last throw that John
• 10:59
  Speaker 4: miss it?
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: Fourth and five? Yeah, the fourth and five? Did you
• 11:02
  Speaker 2: think about kicking a field goal?
• 11:04
  Speaker 1: And then yeah, yeah we did, Yeah, we did, certainly
• 11:07
  Speaker 1: we did.
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: What was the thought process? Yeah again fourth and five?
• 11:11
  Speaker 1: Again we felt strong, We had a good play you know,
• 11:13
  Speaker 1: drawn up and you know there was going to be
• 11:17
  Speaker 1: a cutoff point where we were going to kick the
• 11:18
  Speaker 1: field goal and uh see if we can get them
• 11:21
  Speaker 1: get a stop and get the ball back and go
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: back down. So we need to score, you know, either
• 11:28
  Speaker 1: a touchdown in the two point conversion or gonna have
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: to score again anyway. So but we liked our chances
• 11:35
  Speaker 1: on fourth and five.
• 11:37
  Speaker 2: Brent with go on the road this week Tennessee.
• 11:40
  Speaker 5: How do you get this group, you know, back up
• 11:42
  Speaker 5: after a tough loss at home?
• 11:44
  Speaker 1: Yeah, just if we had one, you know, we have
• 11:47
  Speaker 1: to bring him back down to earth, you know. And
• 11:49
  Speaker 1: so it's not like this that's a surprise that we're
• 11:52
  Speaker 1: playing next week.
• 11:53
  Speaker 2: That's when we know. That's our schedule and every week
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: you gotta take.
• 11:58
  Speaker 1: The bad with the good. You have to learn from
• 11:59
  Speaker 1: all of it. And this is a painful one. But
• 12:02
  Speaker 1: this is a team that's got great strong character, great leadership,
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: highly invested guys, and a group of guys that will respond.
• 12:12
  Speaker 1: So it starts with us as coaches and being able
• 12:15
  Speaker 1: to find a way to get our guys better through
• 12:20
  Speaker 1: this weekend and going into next week. We're gonna have
• 12:23
  Speaker 1: to play better, cleaner, more precise going to Tennessee next
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Saturday night.
• 12:29
  Speaker 4: It's tring.
• 12:29
  Speaker 5: It seemed like they attacked Courtland early in the pasting Yams.
• 12:32
  Speaker 5: Would you think of his game?
• 12:34
  Speaker 1: I thought he did some really good things. I thought
• 12:37
  Speaker 1: I thought he responded and he was very competitive, made
• 12:39
  Speaker 1: some good plays on the ball to do some.
• 12:42
  Speaker 5: More shuffling on the offensive line, Ryan Foja sturning the
• 12:45
  Speaker 5: right tackle. I know you have to watch the film,
• 12:47
  Speaker 5: but it felt like he kind of held up.
• 12:49
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean I thought he did. I thought he
• 12:51
  Speaker 1: looked good as you're watching all of it play out.
• 12:55
  Speaker 1: I thought he protected good, and I thought he played
• 12:58
  Speaker 1: with confidence. And I have to watch the tape, like
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: you said to you really get a good evaluation of him.
• 13:07
  Speaker 1: But I didn't see him in there getting exposed necessarily.
• 13:12
  Speaker 2: How difficult has that made it?
• 13:13
  Speaker 5: This is second year in the row where you've had
• 13:15
  Speaker 5: to shuffle quite a bit upfront on the offensive lot.
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: How difficult has that been to get some cohesion?
• 13:19
  Speaker 1: Yeah, I mean anytime you lose a starter, yeah, next
• 13:23
  Speaker 1: guy usually isn't quite as good. But uh, you know,
• 13:26
  Speaker 1: Fogie held up well. And you know, I think maybe
• 13:32
  Speaker 1: some of the issues that I don't I'm not sure
• 13:34
  Speaker 1: they had anything to do with that. So I'm not
• 13:37
  Speaker 1: going to lean on that right now. But it's always
• 13:40
  Speaker 1: good to have a good, healthy team.
• 13:41
  Speaker 2: Brent.
• 13:42
  Speaker 5: Do you think John's injury is still a factor, either
• 13:45
  Speaker 5: physically or mentally.
• 13:46
  Speaker 2: I don't know. I don't know.
• 13:48
  Speaker 1: I have to I have to ask him. But you know,
• 13:51
  Speaker 1: he's practiced well. He's thrown with good accuracy and it's
• 13:55
  Speaker 1: made good decisions. And I do think that's still a
• 13:59
  Speaker 1: process of getting completely and fully healed. But I'm not
• 14:03
  Speaker 1: sure if he has the limitations or not. Again, his
• 14:09
  Speaker 1: velocity is good, his accuracy has been really good. So
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: I haven't seen you know, the limitations at practice.
• 14:17
  Speaker 2: Is that something will be healed well the season is done.
• 14:20
  Speaker 6: Is that fully healed his hand or is that how was.
• 14:23
  Speaker 2: It going to take?
• 14:23
  Speaker 1: Oh, I think everybody's injury they healed differently.
• 14:27
  Speaker 4: Brian gave of a touchdown the first corps. I don't
• 14:30
  Speaker 4: believe this five series that give him of a touchdown
• 14:34
  Speaker 4: in the first chorp until this game is so I'm
• 14:36
  Speaker 4: just wondering how it is the level of focus and
• 14:38
  Speaker 4: the our.
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: Focus is great, you know, I think our focus is great.
• 14:43
  Speaker 1: Our guys are again very excited to compete, and not
• 14:48
  Speaker 1: just excited, but detailed and prepared. And I thought again
• 14:53
  Speaker 1: some little things that that's a very explosive group that
• 14:58
  Speaker 1: they saw today, and I think there'll be some uh
• 15:03
  Speaker 1: as we look back at it, we'll we'll regret having
• 15:05
  Speaker 1: some missed opportunities you know that are there. So again,
• 15:08
  Speaker 1: any mistakes that you make, you're playing really good people
• 15:11
  Speaker 1: are going to be magnified. And uh you know, but
• 15:16
  Speaker 1: like I said, proud of our guys with their fight,
• 15:18
  Speaker 1: their toughness and uh uh you know, give us a
• 15:22
  Speaker 1: chance to win there late.
• 15:24
  Speaker 6: Go talk to early on in the game.
• 15:27
  Speaker 2: How much did have fixed your defense Kobe McKinsey. Yeah,
• 15:30
  Speaker 2: I mean, Kobe's a he's a leader.
• 15:32
  Speaker 1: He's a guy that does a really good job from
• 15:35
  Speaker 1: getting guys into all the right uh checks. You don't
• 15:39
  Speaker 1: have nine thousand checks every play, but there's some small
• 15:41
  Speaker 1: things detail wise that are really important. So he's been
• 15:47
  Speaker 1: I would call him elite through the first seven games
• 15:51
  Speaker 1: of the season at getting us in the right calls.
• 15:56
  Speaker 1: And so anytime you got a guy like that that's
• 15:59
  Speaker 1: out from a leadership and playmaking and consistency, uh, it
• 16:03
  Speaker 1: can be potentially an issue. But I thought the guys
• 16:06
  Speaker 1: came in and and fought and competed though, you know,
• 16:09
  Speaker 1: replacing him.
• 16:10
  Speaker 2: You talked about just the injuries on the offensive line.
• 16:13
  Speaker 5: Is there a chance that you know, Sexy comes back
• 16:16
  Speaker 5: over the next few weeks.
• 16:18
  Speaker 1: We'll see what that looks. Like and I think he
• 16:22
  Speaker 1: still has another year to play after this year or too,
• 16:25
  Speaker 1: so we have some options there and uh so at
• 16:30
  Speaker 1: the appropriate time, we'll address that rightly.
• 16:34
  Speaker 2: Thanks great, yep.