Brent Venables logged two dropping seasons in his first three years at Oklahoma. The traditionally poor begin to his tenure comes with a slight asterisk given final season’s horrendous damage luck, however Sooners followers are unlikely to welcome any excuses for an additional down yr. Following various teaching workers and roster adjustments, maybe a desperately wanted bounce again is in retailer. Sooners Illustrated’s Josh Callaway joined Bud Elliott on the Cover 3 College Football Summer School sequence to preview expectations for the Sooners this fall.
What are the stakes for Oklahoma in 2025?
Just one coach in America has a warmer seat than Venables, based on CBS Sports activities’ voting panel of faculty soccer specialists. That’s the product of a pair of 6-7 campaigns in three years — the worst stretch of Oklahoma soccer since John Blake posted three-straight dropping data in a short tenure from 1996-99. Including insult to damage was that the Sooners hoped to make a splashy debut within the SEC final fall however as an alternative fell on their face en path to a putrid 2-6 league mark.
“Brent Venables is aware of, everybody is aware of, that it is a large yr for him,” Callaway stated “Oklahoma must be higher. They can not go 6-7 once more and Brent can count on to be again, frankly, in 2026.”
The protection ought to nonetheless be one of many SEC’s finest. Enchancment has to come back from the offense, which welcomed a brand new coordinator this offseason in Ben Arbuckle and hauled in a prized switch at quarterback in John Mateer. That tandem, plus what the Sooners hope will likely be higher luck on the damage entrance (particularly at broad receiver and on the offensive line), could possibly be the spark they should begin a journey again to perennial convention title rivalry.
Breakout participant all people must know
Former five-star recruit David Stone debuted with the Sooners final season and performed in all 13 video games at defensive deal with and on particular groups. It was solely a modest yr for the 295-pound lineman along with his six stops, together with two tackles for loss and a sack. The freshman-to-sophomore leap is commonly a big one for former blue-chip prospects, and Oklahoma followers ought to be capable of comfortably count on an even bigger second yr from Stone, who has all of the potential on the planet.
“He appears superior,” stated Callaway. “Only a Mack truck man. You are speaking about constructing the within out within the SEC, this is without doubt one of the guys that should blossom. He really entered the portal actually briefly post-spring, however they obtained him again out of the portal. One of many sneaky wins of the offseason, retaining David. He is a man able to make a subsequent step. And that defensive deal with group might be the energy of the workforce.”
For all of their struggles, the Sooners have been extraordinarily stout up entrance final yr and ranked twenty fourth nationally in run protection at 115.1 yards allowed per sport. If Stone elevates his sport to the following stage, the defensive entrance as a complete would possible spherical into a very elite unit.
Win whole outlook
FanDuel Sportsbook set the Oklahoma win whole at a modest 6.5 wins, albeit with heavy -180 juice on the over. Something near the .500 mark might not be sufficient to appease the Sooners fanbase, which is instantly starved for high-level competitors after changing into accustomed to playoff berths, convention titles and Heisman Trophy winners. If the beneath cashes, that’s virtually actually dangerous information for Venables.
“I feel eight or 9 wins is an affordable expectation and might be what they should do to be ok with it with what they’ve achieved this offseason,” stated Callaway. “I feel that is honest. The humorous factor is that we will know fairly fast, I feel. Week 2, Oklahoma hosts Michigan in Norman. That is a sport proper within the early a part of the yr that if Oklahoma loses at residence … that is a ‘smash the panic button’ within the second week of September.”
Venables proved simply two years in the past that he can clear 6.5 wins and accomplish that by a large margin. That was within the Large 12, although. Pulling this system out of the muck is much tougher within the SEC than it will have been within the pre-conference realignment period.
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