The honeymoon appears to be over for Brent Venables as the head coach of the Oklahoma Sooners.
The Sooners came into Saturday with a 3-2 record and a chance to get back on track against the rival Texas Longhorns. Instead, they got absolutely embarrassed in the Red River Rivalry, losing by an astounding score of 49-0.
According to The Athletic’s Matt Brown, that’s Texas’s biggest win over Oklahoma ever and the Sooner’s first shutout loss since 1998.
Oklahoma came into the season expected to compete for the Big 12 title. Instead, at 3-3, they’re going to spend the rest of the year scrambling to keep up with TCU, Kansas, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and Kansas State. That might be fine at most college football programs, but not OU.
It also doesn’t help that Venables‘ predecessor, Lincoln Riley, has immediately turned the USC Trojans into national contenders. Meanwhile, Josh Heupel, a Sooner grad whom many alumni would have loved to hire as head coach, is turning Tennessee into a powerhouse as well.
It’s too early to say that Venables is in trouble of losing his job, but whatever leeway he was expecting in Year One is probably already gone. And the reactions around the college football world during and after Oklahoma’s epic loss on Saturday seem to confirm that.
https://twitter.com/thejasonkirk/status/1578826564917395456
During its three-game losing streak, Brent Venables’ OU defense has allowed 145 points and 1,762 yards. Woof.
— Ross Dellenger (@RossDellenger) October 8, 2022
Good luck to Brent for the rest of the season. It’s not going to be fun.