Paul Finebaum talks about the state of football in Oklahoma

The Oklahoma Sooners have seen the general college football audience throw their weight at them multiple times over the last month, and it's certainly not a good feeling.

First, it was a sloppy loss to Tennessee in front of a national television audience that forced head coach Brent Venables to make a change at quarterback.

Then last Saturday, again in defeat, it was again in front of the entire nation on ABC. With ESPN's top play-by-play duo calling the Sooners again, OU suffered an ugly Red River Rivalry loss to Texas.

The college football world seems to believe that Oklahoma isn't “SEC ready,” but at this point they're probably right. Because of its offense, OU lags far behind the elite teams in the Southeastern Conference. They appear to be many steps behind Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns, and the schedule doesn't get any easier in the new league.

The final voice to be cited was ESPN SEC analyst Paul Finebaum, who had high praise for Venables and the Sooners' start to the season. He appears to have changed his tune after watching Oklahoma stumble to a 4-2 start and 1-2 finish in the conference.

On The Paul Finebaum Show earlier this week, the SEC Network analyst discussed where the Sooners are currently. He expressed concern about where things could be heading, saying a decision made back in the winter of 2021 could be partly the reason for the current struggles.

“Here’s the problem with Oklahoma: They chose an unusual path when they hired Brent Venables,” Finebaum said. “Part of it had to do with the fact that he was a popular figure because he had trained under Bob Stoops. So he did terrible the first year, he bounced back, and this year he's trending towards being a mess.”

Finebaum went on to say that if Venables isn't careful and Oklahoma suffers a few more losses, Sooner Nation fans will “start chirping again.” He also said that's just the nature of coaching at a school like Oklahoma. So if he fails to turn things around, the questions about whether he is the right head coach for the program will only grow louder. This is something Venables needs to address, and quickly, by winning football games. The best way to do that is to address the long list of problems his Sooners had offensively in 2024.

Brent Venables is by no means a bad coach. But a 6-7 mark in the first year was painful to watch. Bouncing back as a sophomore with a 10-3 record was promising, but OU still lost a few games it should have won and missed the Big 12 championship game. Now halfway through year three, Venables is 4-2. With a brutal schedule, a depleted defense and a terrible offense, OU could be looking at another .500 season.

That's not nearly good enough at Norman, and like it or not, head coaches are measured by wins. Venables should (and will) be given time by the administration, but six-win seasons are not what this program is about.

Venables has mostly fixed the defense. A unit that has plagued the Sooners for years is doing pretty well this season. What Venables does to get his offense in order will determine how much OU can improve in 2025 and how the rest of the country views him as head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners.

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