Mussatto: Brent Venables has his marquee win and now OU football can dream real big

DALLAS — The Sooners parted the Red River, opening their path to the promised land.

By upsetting Texas 34-30 Saturday at the Cotton Bowl, the Sooners not only cleared their way toward the Big 12 Championship Game, but also the College Football Playoff.

Had OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel not led the Sooners on a five-play, 75-yard game-winning drive in the final minute, OU’s playoff hopes would’ve been wobblier than a carnival ladder. But now the Sooners, with a bye week upcoming, can grab a celebratory corny dog to go as they cruise out of the Cotton Bowl.

“This one doesn’t take a back seat to any one of them,” OU coach Brent Venables said, putting the win on par with the national and conference championships he’s won.

No one in Sooner Nation dared to even whisper the word playoff before Saturday. OU was undefeated, but the Sooners hadn’t faced anyone close to the Longhorns’ quality.

By beating Texas, OU picked up a transitive property win over Alabama. Texas’ win against the Crimson Tide was the best in the nation. Until the Sooners snatched that crown from the Horns on Saturday.

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Say the Sooners had lost Saturday but ran through the rest of their schedule to finish 11-1. Some years, an 11-1 OU team would be in good shape to make the four-team playoff.

But this year? In this Big 12? Seems unlikely.

The SEC and Big Ten will likely take up two spots — and maybe three. Then there’s Florida State in the ACC, and a whole slew of teams out West which could have a one-loss resume more impressive than OU’s.

Texas already had a marquee win. OU didn’t, and Saturday might have been its only chance to get one.

Sure, the Sooners could slip up sometime in the next two months. Odds are they will. But they won’t face a more talented team than Texas until a possible Big 12 championship game against … Texas.

The Sooners and Longhorns are the class of the Big 12, which seems even more evident after watching a tight Cotton Bowl clash and seeing Kansas State — thought to be the third-best team in the league — lose at OSU on Friday night.

Here are OU’s final six games: vs. UCF, at Kansas, at OSU, vs. West Virginia, at BYU, vs. TCU. Bedlam, given what it means, might be the biggest challenge. And while none of those wins will be automatic, the Sooners should be favored in each of their remaining games.

More: OU football wins first battle of unbeatens at Red River Rivalry since 2011 & more stats

Texas’ toughest game left is probably at TCU on Nov. 24. The Horns, like the Sooners, will be favored to run the slate.

What a sight it would be to see a Texas-OU Big 12 Championship before they ditch the league for the SEC.

“I have no doubt we’re going to see them again in the Big 12 championship,” OU freshman safety Peyton Bowen said.

“We just got to take care of business, too,” added Bowman, careful not to look too far ahead. “Job ain’t finished. There’s still teams out there that could give us a little run. We gotta keep playing. Can’t get complacent.”

Fellow safety Billy Bowman said much of the same.

“Obviously there’s that possibility, but we need to make sure we’re doing our end of the bargain,” Bowman said. “We’re 6-0 right now, but that don’t mean nothing.”

Oh but it does. Because OU’s sixth win wasn’t like the rest. It gave the Sooners legitimacy. It gave them a path to the playoff, which doesn’t sound so taboo now.

Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football can dream of playoff after Brent Venables' marquee win