The Oklahoma Sooners are in year two of the Brent Venables era and rank No. 12 in the AP poll. Year one wasn’t so stellar as the Sooners only won three out of their nine conference games, including a 49-0 thrashing at the hands of the Longhorns. 

Venables has a deep background in coaching. After his first stint with the Sooners, which included a national championship and multiple conference championships, Venables left for the University of Clemson. He also won a national championship with the Tigers, holding positions like associate head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. 

Oklahoma wanted their longtime assistant coach back after he won the Broyles Award in 2016 for being the top assistant coach in the country. When previous Sooner head coach Lincoln Riley left for USC, Venables was announced as the 2023 head coach and signed a six-year contract. 

This year is crucial in terms of the confidence Sooner fans have in Venables to be able to take Oklahoma back to being a championship-winning team. This week is also crucial for Venables himself, as plenty of high school players with open commitments will be at the Cotton Bowl for recruitment. 

Many say that it takes at least three years for a head coach to implement the kind of culture and bring on the type of players he wants. However, if the Sooners can be competitive this year and even have a shot of winning a conference title, then fans will be confident in Venables and what he does for this team moving forward.  

Venables knows the kind of team he faces this week and understands that the Longhorns have been impressive so far. 

“(Texas is) coming off a really good, strong game last week against Kansas, where they had almost 700 yards of offense and really were unstoppable,” Venables said. 

Confidence is key in college football, especially when being the head coach of a Division I program. Venables sees promise in his squad after the developments he has seen them make week in and week out. 

“We’re making incremental improvement every week and we’ve become more efficient in all the areas we really focused on,” Venables said at his weekly media availability.

This week will certainly be a challenge as the Sooners have yet to play a ranked opponent this year. However, a win this weekend could not only catapult them into the top 10 teams in the country but would also be a key win in the young tenure of Venables. 

“It’s always important, I want to win every year,” Venables said. 

Last year is over and done with. Venables knows the importance of understanding that the past can’t be changed. However, this is a new team entering a new season where anything can happen. 

“The momentum from a year ago shouldn’t have anything to do with this year,” Venables said. “We’ve got a much different team, many of the players in our locker room weren’t here.”