One Year Later, Brent Venables' Vision for Oklahoma Football is Becoming More Realized

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The throne upon which the head coach at the University of Oklahoma sits wasn't a smoldering ruin during the 2024 season. There was no total loss — just a slow burn that refused to die out.

The OU football program suffered a multitude of major stumbles in 2024, many of those self-inflicted: making the wrong hire at the coordinator position, busting on a former 5-star quarterback, missed evaluations on offensive linemen portal transfers and a seemingly endless stream of injuries.

Then the football gods, merciless in their unforgiving gaze at the Sooners, threw them a bone. Alabama, the kings of the south, came to Norman with their eyes on the College Football Playoff. The Crimson Tide were the team of the previous decade, but it would be Oklahoma's night to shine.

As it turned out, it may have been more than just a good night — it became the night Oklahoma finally looked like the team Venables had been preaching.

"Oklahoma was the most physical football team tonight," Venables said on Nov. 24 of last year following the win over Alabama. "That was the vision, and that's what we wanted the tape to say."

Venables wasn't speaking only on the Sooners' 24-3 upset victory. He was foreshadowing — whether he saw it coming or simply had an old-fashioned belief that it would — what his program would become.

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During his postgame press conference that night, Venables praised OU's ability to take care of the football and win the turnover battle against the Crimson Tide.

"When we’ve taken care of the ball, last two years, we’re 13-0," he said. "And when we haven’t this season, we’re 0-5, or at least won the turnover margin."

That seems fairly logical — don't turn the ball over and you'll stand a good chance at winning. But, in the SEC, you're asked to do more than the bare minimum.

OU has played 13 games since that night. They've improved their record to 18-0 when they win the turnover battle. The more telling stat? The Sooners' 0-5 mark when they lost the turnover battle has now improved to 4-8 — Oklahoma is becoming a program that can win ugly, win close and overcome mistakes.

"Tonight, when this game’s over, what’s it going to say? What’s it going to read?" Venables asked last season. "Here’s my read, this is my vision: that Oklahoma was absolutely relentless in all three phases."

Oklahoma Sooners, Brent Venables — Oklahoma coach Brent Venables | Carson Field, Sooners On SI

The 2025 Sooners have navigated an injury to the quarterback midseason — though one of their two losses may have been heavily impacted by that injury. They've allowed a 30-year-old offensive coordinator, who' experiencing big-time college football for the first time, to grow on the job. As they march deeper into the season, they're even dealing with injuries to either individual stars or entire units.

And yet, they've continued to win games — nine total now, heading into this Saturday's season finale against LSU — per Venables' vision.

Oklahoma can now count two wins over the Tide since last year. The second win was more indicative of a team with big aspirations than last year's, when the program benefited from a singular great night.

"The tree is judged by the fruit," Venables said following their win over Alabama two weeks ago. "No trophy is being awarded and things of that nature. I want to be mindful of that. It says a lot. I’m not surprised by the guys that were here last year and where we’re at right now."

The 2025 Sooners have done more than climb out of the hole they dug in 2024. They’ve evolved into a clearer reflection of the program Venables envisioned when he took over in December 2021. Venables will remind anyone they still have work to do, but their season finale offers a chance to see that vision come further into focus.

LSU represents a challenge for how people view the program at Oklahoma. If OU drops its game to the Bayou Bengals, 9-3 would be casually viewed as a triumph from the pits of 6-7 last year. Venables and others more hyper-focused on the program may see it as a squandered opportunity for something greater.

The vision for the program that Venables has would finish the job against LSU and walk into the College Football Playoff at 10-2.

Venables and Oklahoma have come a long way from Nov. 24, 2024. The throne is now cool and comfortable to sit on.