Oklahoma (4-4,1-4 SEC) lost to No. 18 Mississippi (6-2, 2-2 SEC) 26-14 in Oxford on Saturday.
Here is what head coach Brent Venables said about the loss:
Opening statement:
“A real frustrating game. We had a great opportunity going into halftime, but just really played poorly in the third quarter. They did some really good things, but at the end of the day, I thought we beat ourselves with some plays on defense, not getting anything going on offense, just couldn’t find that rhythm. Football is a game of rhythm, we had great rhythm in the first half, on both sides of the ball, but in the second half, particularly in that third quarter, they got into that rhythm and scored a couple of explosive touchdowns, had a couple of good drives that they put together. We got beat on a little play-action…we got beat on a double move for another explosive touchdown, and then we lost the field position, they did a good job of flipping the field and working off our own goal line. They did a good job of knocking us backward.
“(Our) offense had really good game control, first half were really fantastic, really good rhythm, they turned and put the ball on the ground and just responded…I thought Jackson, at times, was really good and clean and made a ton of good decisions, and we were running the ball in a really efficient way…So a lot of good things that we played to give ourselves a chance, but the explosive plays were a killer, and losing our rhythm on offense for three-plus drives there, it’s just hard. (Mississippi) is a good football team, they put a lot of pressure on you, and they did a nice job of coming back out in the second half and playing winning football when they needed to. We weren’t able to put things together like we were in the first half, and that’s how the game went.”
On the last four minutes of the first half:
“We got a stop and had a picture-perfect two-minute drill going into half time there, besides trying to win the middle eight. Obviously, we didn’t do that coming out to the third quarter. But again, I think it showed what we’re capable of, and today there were some signs there. There’s no silver lining. Our expectation was to come here and win. We need to play our best four quarters of football, complement each other, do the things that we needed to, show that we can do it, and obviously it is a 60-minute, four-quarter game and we weren’t able to sustain that.”
On Joe Jon Finley’s first game as offensive coordinator:
“Joe Jon was really good. He was in a good rhythm, he had answers for the guys, putting them in a position to be successful. The staff did a fantastic job. On Tuesday I said that we had a really good response in the last several weeks. We’ve actually been good on fuel on offense when it came to game day, but there’s been some real improvement, and again you want to keep that victory, and that really hurt for the players because I watch how much they’ve invested, how hard they’ve worked.
“They haven’t lost their belief. They’re straining and competing to win their matchups, and so obviously the best reward is winning, and you don’t want them to lose their belief and the commitment that it takes. Every week is a season of its own and go right back and learn from the good, bad and everything else. All that being said, I thought the staff did a nice job at coming out swinging right away with the players.”
On OU’s secondary:
“Mississippi is very efficient, they check the sideline, and you have to be careful with what you’re doing on defense because anytime they have the ball, they do a nice job…You have got to stay on top of things, they’re a big double-move team, they did it right in the spot in the field where they like to do it. We work hard at identifying those different zones on the field, and we got to have more discipline. Everything starts and ends with discipline. We got to play with it, we got to take things you do in the course of practice and take them to game day. You have to have poise under pressure, and teams are too good, and this is a team that is too good, and if you make mistakes they are going to punish you. It can be the smallest fundamental mistake, and putting your eyes where they belong is what it is all about. On defense, it is looking at the right thing and that is as basic as it comes.”
On Jackson Arnold’s play:
“Overall, I thought it was good. He could play a little better in some areas and might have a chance to go on the road and win that game. We couldn’t do that, but overall good. In regards to him running, he’s a talented, athletic guy, kind of like Mississippi’s guy. We had a few designed quarterback runs like Mississippi did, and then when you cover everybody and match people…those are always risks and rewards that as a defensive coach you know are there.”
On OU’s offensive line:
“First half, really good. Second half, not so good. When we are down by two scores, and they’re giving up sacks, Jacob Sexton gets hurt doesn’t help. Again, they did a good job of closing some windows and playing a little tighter at times. We got to help, and a lot of times we actually did a nice job with some of the chip protection, but you can’t do that the whole game, and we did not do what we needed to do to have a chance to win. We got to be better there. Again, that’s terrible, we know that. The first half was a little cleaner, from that standpoint we kept the quarterback upright. The second half, not so much.”
On Jovante Barnes:
“What we’ve seen from him the last several games, was just that he was running with purpose, and he’s physical. He’s getting into a better rhythm each game and did a nice job. He had some good things designed, as far as the check-down game, and he did a nice job of running after the catch, making guys miss…But Jovante has done a nice job, he’s improved, he’s getting better. He did a nice job against an aggressive defense. They do a lot with their defensive line and their second-level players.
On what to do after three straight losses:
“Just be honest with them. I mean these are guys that are upset, and guys that deeply care. They care about each other, they care for the coaches, they care about the opportunity. They have a lot of respect for being an Oklahoma Sooner. What that means for them and their future is that they believe in how we do what we do in regards to preparation of what the game requires, what success requires. They also understand the game don’t owe you nothing. You can do everything you’re supposed to do and still be on the losing end of it.”
