This time last year, the Oklahoma Sooners were gearing up to play their final regular season game of the season against the [autotag]Texas Tech Red Raiders[/autotag]. The Sooners were sitting at an abysmal 6-5 just barely bowl eligible.
They lost that game and their bowl game to fall to 6-7 in year one under [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag]. Fast forward to this year. The Sooners sit at 9-2 and have an outside chance at playing for a conference championship.
This offseasons, most fans would have taken that any day of the week after what happened a year ago. Venables spoke about where the program is at in year two.
“I’ve experienced tremendous success at the very highest level, and it’s never been a straight line,” Venables said. “I think having that right perspective is important. Coming off a game where it was a tough, hard-fought victory. Where maybe we had to overcome several things. Whether it’s losing our quarterback, not having him in the second half. For not fitting gaps right pretty consistently for most of the day with our linebackers. But still finding a way to win. So, the improvement has been incremental in most ways, and we’ll never stop improving.”
The improvement has been clear, especially on the defense. The thing they are still missing is true difference-makers along that defensive line. That will come over time with recruiting and development. But this year was about if Venables was the right man for the job. Could they take a massive leap as a program?
For a lot of people, including myself, a 9-3 or 10-2 season would have shown that. The Sooners already have that ninth win. Now it’s about finishing the season strong with plenty of momentum heading into next year.
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