The 2024 season has taken a bit of the shine off of Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables. After going 10-3 in 2023, the Sooners’ final season in the Big 12, Oklahoma’s inaugural season in the SEC hasn’t gone according to plan.
But the Oklahoma Sooners are still behind Venables as they look to finish the season strong with games against Alabama and LSU remaining on the docket. Oklahoma administrators Joseph Harroz and Joe Castiglione offered votes of confidence for the Sooners head coach earlier this week. One of the most important players on the team, [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], is still a believer, too.
“Obviously, I have no doubt (in Venables),” Stutsman said after practice Wednesday via The Oklahoman. “The people here, the staff has no doubt. You guys talked to the president, there’s no doubt. Obviously, there’s something right that Coach Venables does where everyone that’s close around him and sees him every day, they have no, they have unwavering faith in Coach Venables.”
Danny Stutsman has taken his game to another level, just as the defense has every year under Venables. The Sooners’ defense has given the Sooners opportunities to stay in some games, but the offense hasn’t been consistent enough to take advantage of the defense’s progression.
Venables has done a really good job on the recruiting trail, putting together a trio of top 10 classes in his first three cycles, and has the 2025 class just outside the top 10.
Until this year, the Sooners offense had been fine. Even with some of the shortcomings, Oklahoma averaged 32.8 points per game in 2022 and 41.7 points per game in 2023. This year, they’ve taken a drastic step back amid a plethora of injuries and inconsistent quarterback play and are averaging just 25.1 points per game. That’s their lowest per game scoring average since the Sooners averaged 26.9 points per game in 2005. That was the year Rhett Bomar started at quarterback and you had Adrian Peterson run for 1,104 yards and 14 touchdowns.
The Sooners have, more often than not, had good offense over the last 25 years. So there’s no reason to expect the Sooners won’t be able to return their offense back to a place of respectability.
Brent Venables has a huge offseason ahead of him. The next offensive coordinator will define his legacy at OU. He made a good hire with Jeff Lebby and did so with Zac Alley. Though his most recent coordinator hire didn’t work out, Venables will have the support of the administration to be aggressive in the coordinator marketplace as the end of the season approaches.