NORMAN — Many Oklahoma fans agree with football coach Brent Venables on something.

“I know at the end of the day three defeats in a row really sucks,” Venables said this week. “It smells.”

Yes. The coach and the fan base agree on this issue.

The Sooners are mired in a three-game losing streak, their second under Venables; 24 years without such a bad stain.

Oklahoma had become the shining city on the hill for college football programs looking for consistent wins. In the Big 12 Conference Bob leans over And Lincoln Riley He won 14 league championships in 21 years. What other major college program can say that? Not Alabama, not Ohio State, not Michigan. Not Georgia, not Texas, and definitely not USC.

But Venables sits here with a 20-14 coaching record, just 3-5 against AP Top 25 teams, and three chances ahead of him: next week at Missouri, after that at Alabama in Norman and Nov. 30 at LSU. – to make this record better or worse.

Venables’ career winning percentage is now .588. For comparison, Gary Gibbs‘ It was .652 (44-23-2).

Venables’ career development certainly parallels that of Gibbs. Gibbs was a former OU linebacker who became defensive coordinator and was hired to lend his by-the-book grit to a program that needed to clean up.Barry Switzerland age. Venables was a former OU linebackers coach who became the defensive coordinator and was hired to bring no-nonsense focus to a program that needed a cleanup in the post-Lincoln Riley era.

Gibbs’ only sin as Oklahoma coach was failing to beat Nebraska, Colorado or Texas, 2-15-1 against the big three. Outside of those 18 games, his career record over six seasons was 42-8-1, or .833. Switzer won 83.7 percent of his matches. Stoops received 79.9 percent of the vote.

But no one outside Gibbs’ immediate family would suggest that the Sooners were heading in the right direction under his leadership.

The same should be said for the Sooners under Venables for 2 2/3 seasons.

Championships are the standard in Oklahoma, not incremental improvements. That’s all Venables has so far.

“We’re a lot better defensively and we’ve definitely made great strides in our shooting game,” he said.

And the offense is historically bad; The only real problem in a season in which a shocking defeat in November was the team’s only hope of continuing its 24-year winning streak.

Hey, losses happen. But all four of OU’s losses this year have been by double digits. The combination of Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina and Ole Miss outrebounded the Sooners 120-41. Oklahoma led the Rebels 14-10 at halftime in Oxford, but games against the Vols, Longhorns and Gamecocks (two in Norman) ended at halftime.

Venables also noted offensive improvements in 2023 compared to his rookie year in 2022. offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby with another year under his belt, Dillon Gabriel He was a year closer to being the Heisman frontrunner for the national championship contender (Oregon, not Oklahoma), and the OU offense had better efficiency and explosive numbers.

But Venables and his team, faced with the problem of hiring a new OC and landing a new QB, were uncomfortable with the situation. Seth Littrell that wasn’t the answer and jackson arnold did not develop. OU coaching staff this season “falls incredibly short” — Venables’ words.

Venables should not be blamed for the injuries to his top five wide receivers. This was the kind of blind shot no one could have predicted coming. But if OU had all five back this season, would that have been enough to beat Tennessee, Texas, South Carolina and Ole Miss? Maybe.

However, when Venables returned to Norman and chose to stay with the team, everyone saw the lack of attacking players in the squad. Bill Kendibaugh as offensive line coach. A more serious, more determined effort would have yielded better results than the high school recruiting ranks or the NCAA Transfer Portal. Instead, the inbox on the Sooners’ online line lagged behind the outbox for three years, and now the offense is beset by arguably the worst line in school history.

By the way, this is not a subjective complaint. Empirical data shows Oklahoma leads the nation by a wide margin with 39 quarterback sacks allowed this season. The school record for sacks allowed since OU began maintaining this statistic in 1992 was 41 in 2015. This point can be broken during the halftime of the match against Maine Black Bears on Saturday at 13:30.

OU is also last in the nation in yards per play, just 4.27. Only the Sooners in 1961 (3.8) and 1965 (3.9) had lower averages than this year’s team.

And this OU team is averaging just 3.05 yards rushing per rush. That would rank 124th in the nation (out of 133 teams) this year and set a new school record in a statistic that dates back to 1947.

No, Oklahoma isn’t going in the right direction; unless there is a backwards direction.

Venables is right. The defense is better. Zac Street He was a good hire as defensive coordinator. However Ted Roof It wasn’t. However, Venables addressed the issue and resolved it. However Danny Stutsman And Billy Bowman The decision to return was big parts of improved defense. How good will this unit be next year when they leave and other front-line players leave as well?

Special teams are better Doug Deakin because they are under them Jay NunezAlthough Deakin was allowed to coach players under new NCAA rules, Nunez was not. So this is probably a stretch.

In the big picture, after scores of 6-7, 10-3 and now 4-4, Oklahoma is going in circles.

Like Joe Jon Finley And Kevin Johns and Jackson Arnold continue to move forward and try to make this offense better – neither of them have made or offered any guarantees that they will be here in 2025 or beyond – the future is dark. The 2024 schedule remains one of the toughest in the country, and it gets even tougher next year with the Sooners playing the same SEC opponents and also hosting 2023 national champion Michigan.

And realistically, Arnold was hired by Lebby. Does he want to stay here next year to play with a third QB coach and offensive coordinator? michael hawkins He professed his love for OU, but may have no ties to the new OC. Do Arnold and Hawkins’ future decisions encourage the 2025 QB? Kevin SperryOr make him angry? And if the new OC insists on using his own online coach, how will that affect the impressive offensive linemen who signed to play for Kendibaugh in both the 2024 and 2025 classes? Which of the current players could return if the position coaches get back on track? Finley signed No. 1 tight end (Davon Mitchell), DeMarco Murray Signed running back No. 1 (Taylor Tatum), And Emmett Jones He was a master at landing in a wide area.

“There’s been a decline in our offensive production for a lot of the obvious reasons that you’ve probably reported over the last couple of weeks — a dramatic decline this season,” Venables said. “But I believe in the young talent we’re recruiting, the guys coming in the future and our ability to help recruit and make our squad better in today’s environment. We’ve built a really good roster, we’re going into fourth year, and again, I like the guys on our defensive staff and the things Zac is doing with the other guys on our defensive staff. (They) did a tremendous job and really kept us in every game, gave us a chance.”

This statement offers a glimpse into Venables’ mindset; that he is a defensive coach at heart and never gives too much thought to how the offenses performed at Kansas State, Oklahoma or Clemson. It was always someone else’s problem. He had enough on his plate.

But now the table belongs entirely to Venables; hell, the entire dining room: his fingerprints are on every plate, every cup, every fork, every saucer. The focus should be holistic and more of a CEO than for $8 million a year. At a school with resources like Oklahoma’s offense should never be among the worst in the nation (or defense since 2016-18).

Venables showed that strength and ownership when asked earlier this week if he had talked to the athletic director. Joe Castiglione about the firing of offensive coordinator Seth Littrell.

“I told him what I was going to do,” Venables said. “I didn’t talk to him about what he thought about it or whether he thought about it; When I called him, I made the decision. It was great.

“Two weeks ago I had to make a difficult decision to help us get better. And I believe so. But only time will tell.”

He said he met with Castiglione every week and spoke to him throughout the week “per normal protocol.”

“He is the best in his business. He has encountered many situations, both good and bad, and faced difficult situations; “Being in this profession, in the coaching profession, in college athletics, he has a lot of wisdom that can guide all coaches here at this university.”

Asked if Castiglione had the “vote of confidence” to get the football team out of its current doldrums, Venables did not hesitate.

“Yes, definitely,” he said. “He has a good perspective. He knows things like whether what we’re dealing with is a great fit in perspective. That’s the extent of the conversations. “He lives and dies during the season, just like a coach, but he’s a great support tool.”

OU will beat Maine, and the Sooners will probably look good doing it. The average score in the previous seven meetings with FCS-level opponents was 62-4.

But this set doesn’t need wallpaper or window dressing. It needs real improvement. To quote Venables’ frequent mantra in Year 1, he may not need to “strip it down to the studs,” but there are some bruises that need to be removed. OU football has good bones, but the Sooners are now competing in a new neighborhood. The foundation is strong. But the front porch (crime) is dilapidated and the place needs a new roof.

What this team needs right now is more reps, more photos and more practice. To get there, they’ll need to stun Mizzou, ‘Bama, or LSU to win six and qualify for the bowl game. Then, they’ll get an additional 15 postseason practices and maybe then some real improvements can be made.

Venables, of course, does not think so.

“We’re on a three-game losing streak; let’s move on,” he said. “Let’s start building some momentum and maybe feel a little better. Winning improves many things, and having some success improves confidence.

“If we improve and get a few players back, maybe we can build on some of the success we’ve had – some, but not enough – and have a chance to put together a winning streak to finish the year. It’s going to be tough, it’s going to be a big challenge. It can be done. That’s our focus.”