Brent Venables breaks down coaching matchup vs. Steve Sarkisian

When Oklahoma meets Texas this weekend, it’ll be a rare matchup between two coaches that call their own plays on their respective sides of the ball. Steve Sarkisian‘s offense against Brent Venables‘ defense.

It should be an excellent matchup. To date, Oklahoma has had a bit more success overall. But that was with quarterback John Mateer playing.

It’s unclear if Mateer will be able to go as he recovers from a broken bone in his hand. And it’s the matchup on the other side that should be a bit more intriguing — Arch Manning and Sarkisian against Venables and the Oklahoma defense.

“End of the day it’s about the players,” Brent Venables said, answering a reporter’s question about Sarkisian. “Everything you said is accurate. He’s had success at the very highest level for a long time. And they put a lot of pressure and stress on you both run game, in the deep shot game, in the screen game, all of it. Does a great job in his creativity in the play design.

“So, again, this is a game that really challenges you from a fundamental standpoint, a discipline standpoint, and again a vertical standpoint. They really challenge you. But at the end of the day the schemes and what not that both programs run are only as good as the players that are out on the field executing it. So it’ll come down to that. It’s a players game.”

From that standpoint, the Texas offense has struggled this year as its personnel has come up a little short, particularly on the offensive line. Manning has been hounded routinely.

If Oklahoma and Brent Venables can create the same kind of pressure, the Sooners would have to be favored to win. The Longhorns are the ones who have some proving to do.

Venables is just excited to get out there and call plays against one of the best. He opened up on that.

“It’s always fun. I love coaching,” he said. “I love strategy, I love gameday, I love practice, I love the meeting room. And I always have. A little bit slightly different role, but I’ve been very involved every step of the way. But it, yeah, it’s fun. It’s fun even when it doesn’t go your way, then you’ve got to figure your way out of it, and that’s fun. A lot of people don’t like that, but I do. Our staff does.”

It’s been a series of long nights for Brent Venables and his Oklahoma staff this week. Manning’s talent is legitimate, even if it hasn’t had a chance to shine through due to the lack of support.

That can change sometimes in big games like this. So making sure Oklahoma has designed ways to stop everything is paramount.

“The involvement and the intricacies that go along with that, I came out of a staff meeting with the defensive coaches and from the moment we got here early this morning we left out of here around 10:30 last night, got up here early this morning and you’re literally going through play by play together, collectively,” Brent Venables said. “Let’s walk through this. Let’s challenge each other. What do you think? All of those things, this constant collaboration is one of the funnest parts of what I do. It’s like a sanctuary.

“Got a really good staff that is very similar in all their own ways. So at the end of the day that engagement, next thing you know it’s 10 o’clock at night, it’s like where’d the day go? But it goes by and that’s the season. We’re at the halfway point here Saturday night of the regular season, just like that. So having a blast in every way. Both with the players and motivating, correction, the leading and all of the things that go in between gameday and the next gameday.”