“There is a certain level of optimism, a certain level of confidence coming out of the 2024 season that you just wouldn’t have expected.” Some OU fans often wonder what’s wrong with Brent Venables. When he took the Oklahoma Sooners job, there was promise in the air in Norman. But let’s be real, since moving to the SEC, that promise has looked more like poison. The Oklahoma Sooners are now stuck in mediocrity while their Big 12 cousin, Texas, is scoring back-to-back playoff appearances. The defense is a joke, and we don’t even talk about the Sooners’ offense. They had to fire their OC mid-season and BENCH their starting QB. This alone speaks volumes about where Brent Venables and the Sooners stand.
And maybe that’s exactly why the school’s longtime athletic director, Joe Castiglione, had to come out and do some serious damage control. “In this league… a B-minus performance will get you beat almost everywhere,” Castiglione said. “You don’t really fully understand it until you get in and do it.” In a nutshell? He’s basically telling the fans that the SEC is just “built different”, that the sheer “toll” of the weekly grind leads to those “unexpected losses.” This makes little to no sense. For a team that has hunted down 7 natties, having two 6-7 seasons sandwiching a lucky 10-win run is a joke.
“It’s the gauntlet everybody said… that’s what we signed up for, that’s where we want to be.”
@soonerad Joe Castiglione talked about Year 1 in the @SEC for @OU_Athletics on #SECThisMorning!
#BoomerSooner | @RoyPhilpott | @ChrisDoering pic.twitter.com/K6fiwxOjJF
— College Sports on SiriusXM (@SXMCollege) July 6, 2025
See, you can’t win in the SEC when you can’t block anybody. In 2024, the Oklahoma offensive line was a complete disaster. We’re talking about a unit that ranked 14th in the entire country in sacks allowed. That’s not just bad; it’s embarrassing. Then the running corp—non-existent being the best way to define it.
Finally, the quarterback room has essentially been stuck in the same void since Dillion Gabriel left after the 2023 run. And for all the talk about Brent Venables being a defensive guru, his defense still hasn’t cracked the top 25 in his tenure.
It’s one thing to have a rebuilding year, but it’s another to get consistently pushed around in the trenches on both sides of the b-ll. See, the question now is not about “How will Venables fix the problems?” It’s more on the lines of “Will anything Venables does ever be enough?”.
Some hope for the Oklahoma Sooners?
“I think that there’s a lot of people, and obviously so, going into this next season…that the expectations and the pressure on Brent Venables to see what his tenure is going to be. You’ve got to win football games.” Eddie Radosevich explained perfectly the situation Venables has dug himself into.
With the contract termination hovering right above his neck, you best believe that the HC is going to do everything in his power to make OU better. The first brick in this stairway to glory was placed when Ben Arbuckle was roped in as the new OC. Followed by John Mateer—a legit dual-threat who accounted for 44 touchdowns last year—and the top running back in Cal’s Jadyn Ott joining in.
On defense, he’s bringing in studs like edge rusher Marvin Jones Jr. from Florida State. And in the biggest move of all, Venables is taking over the defensive play-calling himself. With Michigan, Auburn, Texas, Ole Miss, Tenn, and Bama waiting, this might either be a highlight reel-worthy season for OU or just a plain dumpster fire.
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