Why Oklahoma LB Kip Lewis Remains Optimistic Despite Team’s Struggles

NORMAN — Linebacker Kip Lewis has been there for the highs and the lows of Brent Venables’ tenure at Oklahoma.

Lewis enrolled at OU in 2022, just after Venables replaced Lincoln Riley as the Sooners’ head coach. Over the last four years, Oklahoma has finished 10-3 twice and 6-7 twice.

The first four weeks of 2026 drew more parallels to the two losing seasons than the winning campaigns. OU is 2-2 with eight SEC games remaining, and the Sooners opened conference play with a 41-13 loss to No. 2 Georgia on Saturday.

Lewis is well aware that the first month of 2026 hasn’t lived up to Oklahoma’s standards. But as someone who has been through it all, he also doesn’t think it’s time for the Sooners to panic.

“We've been through it before, so we kind of know how to nurture the situation that everybody just kind of grows together all at once as a team,” Lewis said.

Lewis has appeared in 47 games and started 33 times over his five seasons in Norman. He is also one of nine captains for OU’s 2026 squad.

The veteran linebacker knows that he has plenty of responsibility in keeping the team together amid its struggles. But according to him, that hasn’t been particularly challenging.

“Everybody wants the one common goal, so it's not as hard to break the band apart as people may think,” Lewis said. “It's easy, just coming together, trying to contribute to one goal.”

In addition to the leadership qualities that Lewis brings, his on-field abilities make him a staple on OU’s defense.

Lewis suffered a knee injury early in the Sooners’ 17-10 loss to Michigan on Sept. 12 and played only 10 snaps against the Wolverines. He was unable to play the next week against New Mexico before returning to face Georgia.

In the Michigan and New Mexico games, the Sooners combined for 30 missed tackles. Against the Bulldogs, OU’s defenders missed only four tackles.

Individually, Lewis was OU’s highest-graded defender against Georgia with an 81.1 Pro Football Focus defensive grade. He logged five tackles, 0.5 sacks and a pass breakup.

“It felt great,” Lewis said. “Just wanting to contribute in any type of way for the team, so it felt amazing.”

Lewis was far from the only defender who played well against Georgia. And he believes that he and his teammates came into that game with the right mindset to improve from their prior two games.

“Tackling is all just about attitude, so kind of just changing our attitudes, saying that we're not gonna miss anymore,” Lewis said. “I think that was just kind of the key part.

The chances that OU can make it back to the College Football Playoff are very low. All eight of the Sooners’ remaining opponents are loaded with talent, and several of them are ranked in the AP Top 25.

The next challenge for Oklahoma will be No. 1 Texas in this year’s Red River Rivalry game after the current bye week. OU has lost three of its last four meetings against the Longhorns.

Obviously, Oklahoma’s offense must be much more productive for the Sooners to have a chance against the Longhorns — and a handful of their other opponents. But Lewis also believes that the defense must play at an even higher level than it has so far in 2026.

OU isn’t where it wants to be through the first four weeks. But Lewis sees opportunity amid the struggle and thinks that the Sooners can use the bye week to build chemistry.

“Just another week to prepare,” Lewis said. “Use it to its advantage and just handle it as best as we can, just recovery-wise, game planning and just anything that we can do to get it managed.”

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