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Oklahoma, Venables seek 'dominate' defense heading into SEC

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DALLAS -- As Oklahoma makes its entrance into the SEC, third-year coach Brent Venables has not wavered in his vision of having a dominant defense. But he admitted Tuesday the growing pains in getting there have not been fun.

Venables, who spent the bulk of his career as a defensive coordinator at Oklahoma and then Clemson before becoming Sooners head coach, made his name with his relentless, aggressive defenses setting the tone year in and year out. While the Sooners made strides in getting there last season, Venables said in Year 3 the time has come to "vehemently defend the standard.