The Brent Venables period at Oklahoma didn’t get off to a easy begin, to say the least. The Sooners went 6-7 in 2022 throughout their first season beneath Venables as head coach, margin this system’s first dropping season since 1998. An 0-3 begin to Big 12 play — one which included blowout loses to TCU and Texas — have been the first on-field indications that issues could be getting worse earlier than they get higher in Norman, and the general injury resulted in Venbales’ debut marketing campaign receiving an “F” from CBS Sports.
“Venables faced a difficult situation taking over for (Lincoln) Riley, but the lows were still shocking,” CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah wrote of Venables’ grade. “The Sooners posted a losing record and finished with a losing conference mark for the first time since 1998, the year before the Bob Stoops period started. Oklahoma misplaced 49-0 towards rival Texas, whereas Venables’ signature protection ranked 123rd. The bar is excessive at Oklahoma, and 2022 wasn’t even in the identical stratosphere.”
Oklahoma’s woes beneath Venables in 2022 got here regardless of the Sooners boasting a roster that ranked within the high 10 nationally in 247Sports’ 2022 College Football Team Talent Composite. The Sooners checked in at No. 9 nationally, solely trailing Texas amongst Big 12 groups. The Longhorns ranked sixth in expertise, although neither of the 2 colleges — each SEC-bound no later than 2025 — certified for the Big 12 Championship Game.
Venables was no stranger to Oklahoma when he took over in 2021 after Riley’s sudden departure for USC. Venables was an authentic member of ex-Sooners head coach Bob Stoops’ employees in 1999 and was with this system by way of 2011. Venables departed that offseason to hitch Dabo Swinney’s employees at Clemson, the place the Tigers received two nationwide championships with Venables at defensive coordinator. Oklahoma is Venables’ first head teaching gig, nonetheless, and the 2022 marketing campaign confirmed that it may be a completely totally different ballgame when taking over a task of that magnitude a storied program.
“They invested a tremendous amount,” Venables said of his players after the season concluded with a Cheez-It Bowl loss to Florida State in December. “It should hurt. That’s never going to be acceptable. But at the same time, you have no regret when you put everything you’ve got into it. And that’s what this football team did. Proud of the players and all of their hard work and their perseverance and just fighting till the end. And proud of the coaches, too. Were there plenty of mistakes? Absolutely. We’ll have to, you know, look at those once we get to the out of season as well. But what I saw tonight was what I saw the last three weeks, and proud of these guys for that.”
Oklahoma’s 2023 schedule just isn’t launched, although the Big 12 schedule is anticipated to be out within the coming days. The Big 12 expands to 14 groups with the additions of UCF, Houston, BYU and Cincinnati.
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