Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables knows what's being said about his Sooners, but he does not care and hasn't all season.
The Sooners earned the 8-seed in the College Football Playoff and the right to host No. 9 Alabama for a first-round rematch on Friday, Dec. 19, at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Many, though, argued OU didn't even deserve to be one of the 12 teams to compete for a national title at 10-2, and even after the Sooners did get in, almost no one is giving them respect to do anything with their opportunity.
Sooners looking to prove haters wrong
"I know, for some people, maybe we don't belong in the playoffs," Venables said during a videoconference on Selection Sunday. "But we're here. I know a lot of teams were hoping they'd get matched up with Oklahoma, potentially, in the playoffs.
"Our focus, our energy, detail, is to be able to play for a championship, no matter how crazy that might seem to everybody else. Our team believes we have everything we need to be able to do so. It's going to be incredibly challenging, but something that we're looking forward to."
After the bracket was revealed, Vegas handed the Sooners some of the worst odds to win it all at +6600, according to BetMGM. Only Group of Five participants Tulane and James Madison were given worse chances to be national champions. Vegas also opened OU as an 1.5-point underdog despite the Sooners being at home and already beating Bama 23-21 in Tuscaloosa just over a month before this rematch.
College football experts have doubted the Sooners just as much as oddsmakers, with most predicting OU to get bounced in the first round, let alone make a run to the CFP final on Jan. 19 in Miami Gardens, Florida.
"Well, every game we've played all year is the biggest game of my career, and surely, we can't beat the next team," Venables said with a laugh when asked about OU having a chip on its shoulder. "And so, yeah, it's been there. It's been there all year; not throwing it back at anybody, but that has been the narrative, and (there) hasn't been a lot of people that believed we were able to do what we've done.
"Whether that's justifiable or not, who knows? It doesn't really matter. Again, the same thing: We'll go into this with very slim odds, whatever that means. We're just thankful to have the opportunity that's sitting in front of us. I know our guys are looking forward to the challenge."