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Brent Venables gives game ball to Oklahoma DC Zac Alley after dominant performance vs. Temple
Published:
Zac Alley couldn’t have asked for a more memorable night in his debut as Oklahoma co-defensive coordinator.
Alley’s unit nearly pitched a shutout in the Sooners’ season-opening 51-3 rout of Temple on Friday night in Norman. Oklahoma held the overmatched Owls to under 200 total yards — 197 to be exact. Temple only managed 13 1st downs and that 1 field goal in the 3rd quarter.
Alley’s defense was everywhere, and Temple kept giving up the ball, committing 6 turnovers, with 4 fumbles and 2 interceptions.
Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables recognized Alley in the postgame locker room celebration, giving him the game ball before Alley was lifted up by his players to a rousing cheer.
Earned it 🏈@CoachZAlley | #OUDNA pic.twitter.com/WDpTB85Zba
— Oklahoma Football (@OU_Football) September 1, 2024
Alley joined the Oklahoma staff this year after spending the previous 2 seasons as the defensive coordinator at Jacksonville State. Before that, Alley had assistant coaching stints at Louisiana-Monroe, Boise State and Clemson, where he won 2 national championships in 2016 and ’18 as a graduate assistant.
Alley is also the linebackers coach at Oklahoma in addition to his title as defensive coordinator, so his handprints were all over Friday night’s complete shutdown of Temple.
Alley will try for a successful encore next Saturday night in Norman, when the Sooners will look for a 2-0 start at home against Houston.
Cory Nightingale, a former sportswriter and sports editor at the Miami Herald and Palm Beach Post, is a South Florida-based freelance writer who covers Alabama for SaturdayDownSouth.com.
