Brent Venables backed up his pregame gesture with win over Texas
Brent Venables opened his tenure as OU football coach with a rousing victory against UTEP on Sept 4. Photo Credit: BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK
The Oklahoma Sooners beat the Texas Longhorns in a dramatic game on Saturday, and coach Brent Venables set the tone beforehand.
Venables was recorded throwing a “horns down” gesture as he arrived at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas for Saturday’s Red River Rivalry game, much to the delight of the Sooners fans that had assembled.
Brent Venables is here
With a Horns Down #Sooners pic.twitter.com/Vgfp5EPu6W
— Josh Callaway (@JoshMCallaway) October 7, 2023
That is a pretty bold gesture coming from a head coach, but the Sooners were able to back it up. They outplayed Texas and then staged a late comeback, with Dillon Gabriel leading the Sooners on a game-winning touchdown drive with under a minute left for a 34-30 victory.
Unsurprisingly, Oklahoma players fully embraced the taunt after their win.
horns down everywhere pic.twitter.com/MRNe3RIXRH
— CJ Fogler account may or may not be notable (@cjzero) October 7, 2023
Some coaches take a very hard stance against the “horns down” gesture and other similar moves. Not Venables, at least on Saturday. He more or less encouraged it, but he was able to back it up with the way his team played.