Oklahoma Sooners head coach Brent Venables wants everyone to know that his team isn’t running away from pressure
The Oklahoma Sooners are ready for a big season in which Brent Venables and company feel like they can be an excellent football team.
The Oklahoma Sooners have a big opportunity ahead of them. They made the College Football Playoff last season. And yet, they could be even better this season if things go as planned.
This team is better on paper, for the most part, and the staff has been together for another year. Plus, they have made a few additions to the staff. That, along with health and continuity, has this team looking like they could be a National Championship contender. There’s a lot of pressure that comes with that. But the Sooners are not afraid of pressure. Head coach Brent Venables said it perfectly—they don’t fold under pressure; they should be even better.
Brent Venables talks about the pressure of the 2026 season
“We have an opportunity to have a really good football team,” Venables told reporters at OU Media Day on Tuesday. “I like pressure. Pressure is a good thing… When the fire gets hot, that’s when we should be at our best.”
The Sooners are entering the 2026 season with something to prove. They want to show that last year wasn’t a fluke, even though it does come off flukey. They made the CFP with maybe the worst offense in the SEC. Off the backs of the defense, they won all but two games. Then, in the CFP against Alabama, they had a huge lead but blew it. So, their season did feel flukey to some.
Now they’re entering with an offense that should be dramatically improved. Oklahoma went and got some new tight ends who can actually block in the run game. They got more receivers for the pass game, and the running back room is together for another year with the addition of the true freshman and Lloyd Avant.
Then on defense, you have a team that looks very similar to last year’s squad. The depth could be worse than it was last year. But at the same time, we didn’t go into 2025 thinking that depth was going to be some of the best depth we have ever seen. That could end up being the case this season. They have the team to compete with any team in the country. Now it’s just about actually doing it rather than talking about it.
