NORMAN — OU coach Brent Venables expects a loud, rowdy crowd at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Saturday when the Sooners take on Tennessee in their SEC opener (6:30 p.m., ABC).
Earlier in the week, Volunteers coach Josh Heupel joked that he expected the crowd to stay quiet for his team when they were on offense.
“I think that’s wishful thinking,” Venables said, laughing, on the SEC teleconference. “I’ll say this, Tennessee has been in the most hostile environments in all of college football and has operated at an incredibly high level despite that. This won’t be their first rodeo from that standpoint. But at the same time, energy and momentum is a real thing and they can help create that here at home.
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Heupel, the former OU quarterback and longtime assistant coach, has experienced his share of big-time games in Norman.
“Should be a great crowd,” Heupel said. “It’s a passionate fan base. I’m expecting them to be extremely quiet for us, out of respect to me and our program, too.”
Sooners’ linebacker Danny Stutsman said extra noise Saturday would be appreciated, especially with Tennessee having a redshirt freshman at quarterback in Nico Iamaleava.
“It wouldn’t hurt,” Stutsman said. “I think it’s only going to help us with kind of a younger quarterback, I think that’s what you kind of need.”
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football: Brent Venables says crowd can help Sooners vs. Tennessee
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/ou-football-coach-brent-venables-161015766.html
Author : The Oklahoman
Publish date : 2024-09-18 16:10:15
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