What Would Oklahoma's Best-Case Scenario Mean for Brent Venables?

Column

It seems unrealistic considering Oklahoma's struggles on offense, but a 9-3 finish is still possible.

A 9-3 record will yield no awards and won't inspire any stories at a place like OU, but considering the hole the team dug itself in by late-September, it would salvage a potentially lost season.

For Brent Venables, it would mean he finally bucked the trend of his coaching tenure in Norman — a six-win season followed by a 10-win jump. It's happened twice now, and could very well happen again if the Sooners continue to shoot themselves in the foot.

But what would this do for Venables' status as a head coach at a blue blood like Oklahoma?

Should OU take care of business Saturday against South Carolina, which Venables dubbed one of "the hottest teams in the country" Tuesday, the Sooners can begin to see a path, a light at the end of what appeared to be a deep abyss.

Oklahoma's offense is still, at best, a work in progress. Eight weeks into the season, that is an indictment on Venables and his staff, but that's a conversation for a different time.

The next few weeks pits OU's offense against some average at-best defensive units. Per ESPN's SP+ metric, the Sooners will face only one defense rated in the top 30 (Missouri at No. 12) the rest of the way. Pair that with the knowledge the Sooners faced the No. 3, No. 4 and No. 7-rated defenses already, and that path becomes easier to talk about.

So, the opponents aren't as formidable. In the last two weeks, the Sooners' offense went for 346 yards against Kentucky (the No. 38-rated defense) and 467 yards against lowly Mississippi State. Both games, Oklahoma out gained their opponent. Having the No. 6-rated defense helps with that.

If Oklahoma does win the remainder of its games, it would mean that even in what appeared to be a disasterous year — and frankly, considering OU's lack of offensive development on multiple levels, it could still be considered one regardless of the outcome — Venables would have proved himself a strong coach.

A "strong" coach still needs to become an "elite" coach at a place like Oklahoma, but it could go a long way in showing Venables' prowess as a leader. When you consider what coaches who were hired during his coaching cycle like Dan Lanning or even Lincoln Riley are currently dealing with, it could place Venables on a higher level of respect.

That respect means little to a fanbase that demands championships, let alone an offense that doesn't routinely self-destruct during crucial moments. But Venables would prove himself a savvy coach who is able to rally his troops week-to-week.

Some of Bob Stoops' best coaching jobs came as a result of 8-4 seasons in 2005 and 2009. The context with those years were teams either decimated by graduation or injuries, yet Stoops was able to lead his team away from oblivion.

Now Stoops had already established himself as a championship-level coach, something Venables is still pursuing.

There's even a more optimistic view that a 9-3 finish could see the Sooners earn their way into the SEC Championship game with a chance to win a bid to the College Football Playoff. In that scenario, OU must not only win out but hope for other teams to lose along the way.

But even a 9-3 with no conference championship appearance should be celebrated from Venables' standpoint. From the University of Oklahoma's perspective, it would be a better outcome than potential alternatives, and it would allow for the administration's belief in him to be reasonably justified.

Perhaps a 9-3 season would return Venables' status back to where it was this previous offseason with the team coming off a College Football Playoff appearance. Changes will need to be made on the staff and the roster, but at that point, Venables would prove himself a winning coach in the SEC.

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