The CFP is Expanding? Why Oklahoma Coach Brent Venables Says 'Good, I Could Care Less'
NORMAN — Brent Venables is the head coach at an historical college football blue blood. By default, his opinion matters.
Like it or not, the words that come from the OU position and others of its station often help shape the policies and procedures for the rest of the sport.
But at his core, Venables doesn’t care. He is, down to his very DNA, a football coach, not a policy-maker.
That became apparent Tuesday during Venables’ weekly press conference.
The College Football Playoff board just voted unanimously to expand the CFP field from four teams to 12?
“Good,” Venables said. “That's great. Good. Alright? Nobody's asking me what I think. So literally, I'm very sincere when I say this, and I say it with all due respect: I could care less. I really could care less.”
The reality is that Venables should care. By the time the CFP expands, the Sooners’ conference affiliation will be with the Southeastern Conference. OU will no longer be a member of the Big 12.
That means an OU team that finishes third in the SEC standings could get into the playoffs much more than an OU team that finishes first in the Big 12.
Yet, to his credit, Venables is hyper-focused on 2022 — Sept. 6, to be exact — and not on what college football might look like in 2025.
“I don't even know what that means,” Venables said. “But I do know it doesn't have anything to do today's practice. It has nothing to do with Kent State. And I don't really know what it means in the big picture other than more teams are getting in.”
Venables was dialed into Tuesday’s practice, but he took a stab at a topic his mentor, Bob Stoops, and his predecessor, Lincoln Riley, used to field questions and offer opinions.
“I’m sure there's a narrative where that means there's going to be more teams when that happens,” Venables said. “Let’s say it happens in three years and we’re in the SEC. Well, more teams in the SEC will be able to get in. I guess that's what they might say. But I really don't know. And like I said, I don't really have an opinion on it whatsoever.”
It means more opportunities for championships for some schools currently operating outside of college football’s upper crust. The last two years, that’s been Oklahoma.
Venables considers himself a purist, and he’s trying to stay ahead of the oncoming wave that is America’s fastest-changing sport.
“I love college football,” Venables said. “I’m a loyalist at heart. I love the bowl system. I just love that reward. There's an innocence about college football. I don't want it to be professionalized, whatever that means. And commercialized. Professionalized.
“There's some things going on in NIL. I think that there's a lot of really good things with NIL and there's always a bad side of it, too. I try to look at the good, not the bad. If it goes to playoffs … I always thought that the NCAA basketball tournament was just — like, who doesn't love that? That's cool. And who do we pull for? Loyola Chicago, right? Or, you know, St. Bonaventure. Somebody like that, don't you? Yes, y'all are human right? Pull for the underdog. So maybe it gives, again, a chance for people.
“But I think that's good for the game. I don't like having all the same teams in it all the time either. So does it give somebody else an opportunity to get in? Maybe. I don't know what that looks like. I honestly don't. And like I said. I've got my hands in this program. And I'm just literally trying to be great today. This practice.”
