Brent Venables is sending a message after the loss to Alabama that should scare the rest of the SEC
Sooners HC Brent Venables is getting the SEC ready for what’s to come.
The Oklahoma Sooners are ahead of schedule. That’s not what the fan base wants to hear, just days after losing a home College Football Playoff game the way they did to the Alabama Crimson Tide, but it’s the truth. Think about the way you felt this time a year ago.
Last year, the Sooners were getting ready to lose to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl. Everyone was discussing why the Sooners were so bad and how it could be about the same in 2025. Let’s also not forget that a large portion of this Sooners fan base was calling for head coach Brent Venables’ job. Now, they’re a team that just played in the CFP. OU is ahead of schedule and can be better next season.
“Our best days are sitting in front of us. I really believe that,” Venables told reporters after the loss to Alabama. “This is a group that got us to our fifth playoff and did, in many ways, to many people, the unthinkable.”
Sooners could compete for a National Championship in 2026
The biggest issues in 2025 fell on the offensive side of the ball. Oklahoma struggled to be consistent after quarterback John Mateer’s hand injury. However, the issues on offense were not all Mateer’s fault; some were due to play-calling, some to the offensive line, and even to injuries.
If Oklahoma plans on being any better next season, the offense has to improve. The defense and special teams were amazing all year, and they need to be in a similar stratosphere next season. It helps that the class they have coming in has players who could help contribute to every phase of the team.
On offense, Oklahoma could be hoping to get an even better version of Mateer back. It would be the second year in a row in offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle’s system, and the young, but great, offensive line gets another year under its belt. As for the defense, they played a ton of young guys who either started or were rotational. Those players will only get better, too.
Venables is sending this message to the SEC not only because they are ahead of schedule, but also because he knows how much better this team is about to get.