Final from Athens, Sept. 26, 2026
Georgia 41, Oklahoma 13. Five seasons in, the Sooners are 2–2, winless in the SEC, and fading. It's time for a change at the top.
See the game plan Every lossThe clock is running. The timeouts never get used.
Oklahoma hired Brent Venables in December 2021 to replace Lincoln Riley. Here is what five seasons have produced, bowl games and playoff included.
A timeline of failures. The warning signs started before Venables coached a single game.
Oklahoma's longest-tenured assistant, on staff since 1999 and one of the program's most trusted recruiters, resigned weeks before the season after reading an offensive word aloud from a player's iPad during a film session. Venables issued a statement accepting the resignation "with sadness," then a much harsher second statement the next day. The first test of his leadership produced a lost pillar of the program and mixed messages.
A Red River shutout in year one, part of a three-game skid against Kansas State, TCU and Texas that set the tone for a 6–7 season and OU's first losing record since 1998.
Unbeaten and rolling, OU fell apart in the second half at Kansas: delay-of-game penalties, a wasted timeout, and a game-winning drive allowed. Venables' own verdict afterward: "So I blew it."
After a 35–9 loss at South Carolina, Venables dismissed offensive coordinator Seth Littrell in the middle of OU's SEC debut. The offense never recovered that year.
OU blew a 14–0 lead in the Armed Forces Bowl and lost 21–20 to finish 6–7 and 2–6 in the SEC. "Everything falls on me," Venables said. We agree.
OU hosted Alabama in the first round of the College Football Playoff and led 17–0. A dropped punt snap, a pick-six and a second-half collapse later, Alabama won 34–24 in Norman.
Days after a 17–10 loss at Michigan, OU's regents approved a six-year, $63 million extension. The next two games: a 14–6 scrape past New Mexico and a 41–13 beating at Georgia.
Great teams steal points before halftime. Venables' teams give them away. These aren't one-offs; they're a pattern.
The two-minute drill as drawn up in Norman: everybody runs, nobody calls timeout.
OU failed to beat the play clock twice on one possession and burned a timeout early in the third quarter. On Kansas' game-winning drive, Venables didn't call the timeout he later said he should have: So I blew it.
With a timeout in hand and the clock running, OU let it tick to 10 seconds before calling time, then threw a desperation pass into the end zone that was intercepted. No kick, no points, and Texas pulled away in the second half to win 23–6.
Starting at its own 26 with one timeout before halftime, OU called two straight runs and had to spike the ball just to try a field goal. The protests from the stands said it all.
Oklahoma had already used its second timeout with about two minutes left in the first quarter in Athens. By halftime it trailed 28–0.
Second quarter. Ball at the opponent's 30. You have one timeout. Can you get a field goal try off before the half?
Twenty-two of them since 2022. Filter by season.
| Season | Opponent | Score | What happened |
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He did, and credit where it's due. Here's why that isn't enough.
"The 2025 team made the playoff."
It did, behind a top-10 scoring defense, then lost a home playoff game after leading by 17. Every Venables season has ended with a loss, and the good years have been followed by a collapse, not a climb.
"His defenses are elite."
Brent Venables is one of the best defensive minds of his generation, and a good man who clearly loves this school. But Oklahoma needs a head coach, not a coordinator with a bigger title. Game management, offense and the big picture are the job.
"Give him time. It's a new league."
This is year five. Every roster on the field is his. The SEC schedule ahead includes Texas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M and Florida, and the program just lost by 28 to the kind of team it has to beat.
"The buyout is too big."
The new six-year deal makes a change expensive, and that's a real cost. But every season spent drifting costs recruiting, portal battles and seasons of Oklahoma football that don't come back.
Oklahoma has seven national titles and a history of hiring bold. It can do it again.
Thank Brent Venables for his service and move on at season's end, before the December transfer portal window and early signing period decide the 2027 roster.
Hire a search firm, set a deadline, and aim at sitting head coaches who have already won big. Oklahoma is a top-ten job; it should recruit like one.
Back the new coach with NIL, a full support staff and a dedicated game-management analyst on the headset, so what happened at the end of halves never happens again.
Share this page with every Sooner fan you know. Make your voice heard respectfully, through the proper channels, and keep showing up for the players who wear the crimson and cream.