Oklahoma coach Brent Venables just dropped a bombshell, declaring the Sooners likely won’t play Friday night games in the future, even as they gear up for *this* Friday’s season opener against UTEP. The game was originally set for Saturday, but Oklahoma announced the Friday move back in June, and now Venables is openly admitting he doesn’t feel right about it. Talk about a curveball just before kickoff.
The Friday Night Flip-Flop That’s Raising Eyebrows
Back in June, Venables was stoked about playing under the lights on Owen Field. He said Friday night games are “rare for us, especially at home,” and getting to “open our season under the lights on a Friday evening… is exciting for our team.” He even expected the “environment to be absolutely incredible,” with his players “feed[ing] off that electricity.” But oh, how quickly things change. Now, he’s saying point blank, “I don’t think it will be a part of who we are moving forward.” His big hang-up? Respect for high school football. Venables doesn’t “love that part of it” when he considers how it “affects the high school coaches across the state, the teams, the players.” He’s worried he’s created “bad feelings” with those coaches. Man, you gotta respect the honesty, even if it’s a total backtrack from his June hype.
More Than Just the Date: Game Prep and Early Season Hustle
While the Friday night dilemma is front and center, it’s too late to change anything for the UTEP game. Venables and his squad are locked in, prepping for Friday. They actually kicked off their game-week prep on Sunday instead of Monday to adjust. He admits “there is no perfect way to do it” and his “job is to do what’s best for our football team.” He values “high school football and the purity of it,” calling this specific game “a unique moment” that’s “not ideal.”
But the real game-week adjustment for Venables isn’t just the date, it’s shifting into the in-season weekly limit of 20 hours for practice, meetings, walkthroughs, and weights combined. That’s a huge shift from pre-season, and he’s stressing consistency in their approach, saying that “structures and our processes, our scheduling” are how you become successful. On the bright side? Playing on Friday means an extra day of recovery before they visit Michigan the following Saturday. Every little bit counts, especially early in the season.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by The Sporting News.
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