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Oklahoma

Brent Venbales calls out officials for end-of-half OPI call vs Auburn

IMG_0985by: Griffin McVeigh09/20/25griffin_mcveigh
Syndication: The Oklahoman
Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables watches warm up before the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Illinois State Redbirds at the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025.

For a moment there, Oklahoma had a chance to steal some points against Auburn right before the halftime break. John Mateer connected with Deion Burks for a massive 38-yard play, going down with six seconds to go. With the Sooners out of timeouts, a spike from Mateer would allow the field goal team to come on.

Instead, officials called for offensive pass interference. They decided Isaiah Setegna ran into the defensive back covering Burks, allowing the big play. A massive decision took at least three points off the board for Oklahoma — maybe even a touchdown, who knows.

To no surprise, Brent Venables was not too happy with the penalty. It was the topic of his conversation with ESPN’s Molly McGrath before heading to the locker room. Venables says Oklahoma designed up a nice play, disagreeing with the pass interference.

“We had a nice play designed up,” Venables said.. “I don’t think that was on us. But whatever.”

ESPN’s Greg McElroy differs in opinion from Venables on the matter. He called the offensive pass interference “clear” from Setegna. While McElroy admitted it’s a tough one to spot for an on-field official, the replay provided clarity in his mind.

“You’ll see, pretty clearly, as Setegna is working to the out,” McElroy began. “He sets a pretty deliberate pick on the corner, No. 4 Kayin Lee. And that’s a great call from the official. A tough one to see from way in the back but a huge, huge call, and the correct one at that.”

Boos around Gaylord Memorial Stadium in Norman began to rain down. Oklahoma did not even get another play off, opting to let the final six seconds bleed out. As we have seen a couple of times with officiating decisions in this one, a big momentum swing to change the outlook.

Oklahoma brought in offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle for a reason. The type of plays the Sooners thought they had were lacking in 2024. Designing guys open for Mateer got Arbuckle the job in Norman and for a moment, a great one played out in front of us.

For the Sooners, they hope more explosive moments come in the second half — without turning around and seeing a yellow marker on the field. They go into the break tied at 10, a game both teams might feel like is there for the taking. An important final 30 minutes coming from Norman.