Coming into this season, there were numerous questions whether [autotag]Brent Venables[/autotag] was the guy to lead the Oklahoma Sooners into the [autotag]SEC[/autotag]. There was a great deal of excitement from the fan base on the hire, but he was dealt a bad hand in 2022.
Still, the national questions were there. Was he another in the long line of coaches who were great coordinators but not good head coaches? Venables has put those questions to rest in the first half of the season.
Now, there’s still a second half of the season to go. So the Sooners can’t have a letdown. However, starting 6-0 and being the only undefeated team in the Big 12 Conference is a good place to start. A big reason for his success in Year 2 is the big jump the Sooners made on the defensive side of the ball.
The Year 2 jump is something Venables has had at every one of his stops as a defensive coordinator. But as we’ve seen repeatedly since the Sooners won their last national title in 2000, the Sooners typically lose a game they shouldn’t.
That’s not to say if that happens this season, Venables isn’t the guy for the job. That kind of loss happens to just about everyone. The key is to not make it a habit where one loss becomes multiple.
Venables told reporters last week what it’ll take for the team to stay focused the rest of the way.
“I want a hungry, committed football team,” Venables said. “I love the humility we had today had great self-awareness. Mismanaged success is a very normal thing when you’re in these positions. So keeping two hands on the wheel, white knuckle, grip with both hands is something we’re really focused on, and counting on the leaders of this team to stay hungry, driven, humble, and willing to show up every day, work their butts off.”
Venables also said he thinks the latter half of their schedule presents an even bigger challenge.
“I think the back half of our schedule from top to bottom is much more challenging than the front part of our schedule,” Venables said. “We should have an expectation of improving and getting better.”
Now it’s up to the team to stay focused going forward, and it starts Saturday at home against the [autotag]UCF Knights[/autotag].
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