Big 12 fires back at Brent Venables after Oklahoma coach takes shot at conference

There’s no love lost between Oklahoma and its former conference, the Big 12. On Tuesday, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables made headlines when he took a shot at the Big 12 while defending the Sooners’ tight games this season.

“This isn’t the old Big 12 days where Oklahoma destroys everybody every single week except one game of the year,” Venables said, per On3’s George Stoia III.

The Big 12 didn’t sit back and accept the jab. The conference’s official account on X quoted a tweet that included Venables comments, and noted a poignant statistic.

“Coach Venables lost eight Conference games in his two seasons in the Big 12,” the account wrote.

Brent Venables took over Oklahoma in 2022. He led the team to a 6-7 record in his debut campaign. However, the Sooners went just 3-6 against Big 12 opponents.

Oklahoma showed significant improvement the following season. The team posted a 10-3 overall record and a 7-2 mark in conference play.

Neither of its losses were against Texas, which appeared to be the team Venables was referencing in his initial quote. Instead, Oklahoma won the Red River Rivalry game in 2023, but lost back-to-back games against Kansas and Oklahoma State.

The 2024 campaign was Oklahoma’s first in the SEC and the team struggled in its new environment. The Sooners went 6-7 and a lackluster 2-6 in conference play. The mark was even worse than Oklahoma’s record against Big 12 opponents in Venables’ first season leading Oklahoma in 2022.

Oklahoma has been much-improved this season and is entering Week 8 with a 5-1 record. The Sooners lost their first game of the season this past weekend, falling 23-6 to Texas.

Notably, OU quarterback John Mateer played in the game despite undergoing hand surgery just 17 days prior. While Venables admits the loss is a setback, he knows Oklahoma will have plenty of opportunities to bounce back.

“We still have a heck of a team. Going in, we had a heck of a team,” Venables said after the loss. “Done a good job of improving as the season has gone on through all the different challenges of a season. Through defeat, you learn a lot about yourself. You get better from it. I believe in these guys. I hurt for them.

“I know how much they hurt and how much they invested into this moment. But, you’ve got to be able to carry that weight that goes with it. You’ve got to take the bad with the good… If we are who I know and believe we are, then these guys will respond the right way.”