Brent Venables Expects Mississippi State's Kamario Taylor to Play vs. Oklahoma

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables is not buying the idea that Mississippi State is suddenly easy to handle just because the injury report got ugly.

That was clear Monday on his coach’s show, when Venables basically waved off the suspense around Kamario Taylor and treated the Mississippi State quarterback like a full go.

“You know Kamario Taylor’s going to play,” Venables said.

In coach-speak, that is not a throwaway line. That is a staff telling its defense not to prepare for the softest possible version of Saturday night in Starkville.

And if Taylor does play, Oklahoma has every reason to take him seriously. Through his first five games this season, Taylor threw for 1,450 yards, 17 touchdowns, and four interceptions while adding 159 rushing yards and a score on the ground. He was completing just under 70 percent of his passes, ranked 13th nationally with an 83.4 QBR, and fit perfectly into the identity Jeff Lebby wants: tempo, pressure on the perimeter, and a quarterback who can hurt you from the pocket or through the middle of the defense.

Venables did not dress that up.

“He can sling it,” Venables said.

“He’s big, he’ll run right through your soul. Jeff’s done a good job.”

That combination is what makes Taylor different from a pure dropback problem. Oklahoma’s defense has been excellent against the pass and strong on early downs all year. A quarterback who can create after the snap changes the math, especially on a road field where one missed fit can turn into a chunk play before the safety even arrives.The LSU game is why some people outside Norman may be tempted to relax.

Without Taylor and running back Fluff Bothwell, both sidelined in walking boots, Mississippi State looked stagnant in a 31-0 loss. The tempo vanished. The explosiveness vanished. Billy Puckett made his first career start and went 16-of-26 for 121 yards and an interception while under constant pressure. True freshman Kolin Wilson carried the run game as best he could with 71 yards on 18 attempts, but the whole operation looked like an offense trying to survive rather than one dictating the night.

That tape is useful for Oklahoma only if the Sooners refuse to fall in love with it. Venables clearly has no interest in building the week around the idea that Mississippi State will be that limited again. He went out of his way to say Taylor and Bothwell would play, and he framed the Bulldogs in the same language you use for an offense that can still stress a defense if its best pieces are available.

“They’re averaging a gazillion points and a gazillion yards,” Venables said.

“They put pressure on you, man. They go with a really high tempo.”

That is the key for Oklahoma. The Sooners’ defense has made its living by taking away first downs, winning on third down, and keeping games in a lower-event structure. Mississippi State with Taylor is the opposite kind of problem. Lebby wants the ball snapped fast, the defense stressed horizontally, and the quarterback able to punish a leverage mistake either through the air or with his legs.

If Taylor is healthy enough to do even a portion of that, Oklahoma cannot defend this game like a standard pocket-passer week.

The practical challenge is the unknown. A quarterback coming off a foot injury may not be the same dual-threat force he was in September. That could mean fewer designed runs, less ability to escape cleanly, or a more limited version of the tempo package. It could also mean Mississippi State still uses his presence to keep Oklahoma honest while leaning on Anthony Evans III for manufactured touches and shot plays.

Either way, the Sooners have to prepare for the harder answer. If they gear down for Puckett and then get Taylor, the first quarter in Starkville can get away from them fast.

Oklahoma’s front is equipped for this if the plan is clean. The Sooners generate pressure, close throwing lanes, and have enough athletes at linebacker and in the secondary to handle residual run threat if the quarterback breaks contain.

What they cannot do is tackle poorly in space or lose track of the first read under tempo. Taylor’s best quality is not that every throw is perfect. It is that he forces a defense to account for one more layer than it wants to on every snap.

There is also a situational layer to all of this.

Oklahoma just lost at home to Kentucky in large part because the offense kept giving the game back. That puts even more responsibility on the defense to set a tone early in Starkville. If Taylor plays and Mississippi State hits a couple early explosives, the Sooners could be chasing the night on the road. If Oklahoma wins early downs, crowds the short passing game, and makes Taylor prove he is healthy enough to create under stress, then the injury cloud becomes more than just weekly speculation. It becomes a real factor.

Venables is preparing as if it will not be enough to save the Bulldogs from themselves. That is the right approach. Taylor has already shown he can light up a scoreboard in this offense. Bothwell gives them a second answer on early downs. Evans remains a problem in space. If those pieces are available, Mississippi State looks nothing like the team that got blanked by LSU.

So the Sooners are preparing for the quarterback who throws for explosive chunk plays, keeps defenses off-balance with his size and legs, and lets Lebby play on schedule. Maybe Taylor is less than 100 percent. Maybe the foot issue limits him more than Mississippi State wants to admit. Oklahoma cannot bank on that.

Venables already said what the week is about. Prepare for Kamario Taylor. Prepare for the version of Mississippi State that puts pressure on you. And make the Bulldogs prove the injury report matters more than the talent still available on the field.