Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables knows the Red River Rivalry well.

Venables made the trip from Norman to the Cotton Bowl 13 times from 1999 to 2011 as an assistant coach. Venables’ 14th appearance in Dallas will be his first Red River game as head coach. 

Drawing from his previous experiences, Venables recognizes the atmosphere that this rivalry brings. But he cautioned his team not to change its practice routines this week.

“I know the emotion, the intensity and what this game has meant to so many people,” Venables said on Tuesday. “But we shouldn’t prepare for this game any differently than we do any other game.” 

Venables’ Oklahoma team is limping into the 2022 edition of the Red River Rivalry. The Sooners suffered back-to-back defeats, losing to Kansas State and getting throttled by TCU. For Oklahoma to stay in contention for a conference title, winning on Saturday is essentially a necessity. 

If Venables is looking for a blueprint to reinvigorate Oklahoma’s season, he can look no further than what former Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley accomplished in the shortened 2020 season. After starting 0-2 in conference play, the Sooners won a 53-45 four-overtime thriller in that year’s Red River Rivalry. The Sooners used the momentum gained to close the season with eight consecutive victories, collecting a Big 12 championship and Cotton Bowl Classic bowl win along the way.

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Venables went through a similar midseason turnaround last year as the defensive coordinator at Clemson. The Tigers started 4-3 before winning their next six games, securing another double-digit win season.

“That team made a decision to get better and not allow themselves to be influenced by the outside noise,” Venables said. “They were only influenced by a straining to do everything (they could) do to improve.”

If this year’s Oklahoma squad wants to join the collection of college football teams who have effectively bounced back from rough stretches, then the revival won’t be initiated from dwelling on the losses to Kansas State and TCU. 

Instead, Oklahoma must refrain from feeling sorry for itself and decide to do everything it can to prepare itself for the matchup against the Longhorns.

“I want the focus to be on what’s ahead, what’s in front of us right now going down to Dallas,” Venables said. “(Texas) is a better unit than what they were a year ago. They’re more mature, more experienced.”

While an unranked Red River Rivalry matchup certainly dims the luster the game typically brings, beating Texas would be Venables’ biggest win of his first season as head coach. 

Beating Texas is the type of win that can save a season. 

“Every week has a chance to be a season of its own and a performance of its own,” Venables said. “We’ve seen it, time and time again.”