Heading into the 2025 College Football season, it's now or never for Brent Venables in Oklahoma. Under Brent Venables' leadership, the Sooners have gone 22-17 with Conference records of 10-8 in the Big 12 and 2-6 in the SEC. Outside of one season where Dillon Gabriel lit up the scoreboard, the Sooners have gone 12-14 which is far below the Oklahoma standard.
The 2025 season is expected to be different for the Oklahoma Sooners as the moves the program made this offseason have brought excitement to the program. Offensive Coordinator Ben Arbuckle arrives with star Quarterback John Mateer which should help after struggles on offense kept this team from competing last season.
Around John Mateer, the Sooners should be improved compared to last season especially if they can stay healthy. The entire wide receiver room dealt with injuries last season which gave Jackson Arnold no real targets to pass to which shouldn't be the case this season. The offensive line that struggled last season should take the next step this year. Mateer will get to hand the ball off to an explosive back in transfer Jaydn Ott.
Finishing in the Top 25 isn't enough to keep Brent Venables in Oklahoma
Despite all of their offseason additions the Oklahoma Sooners aren't considered one of the top contenders in the Conference let alone the Country. Heading into the season, Sports Illustrated ranks the Oklahoma Sooners as the 25th best team in the Country.
While finishing in the Top 25 would be an improvement compared to last season, the Sooners just hardly finishing in the Top 25 isn't enough to justify keeping Brent Venables around. Under Lincoln Riley, the program never finished lower than 14th in the AP Poll and 13th in the Coaches Poll which is where the program expects to be.
The Sooners consider themselves one of the best programs in the Country and constantly moving from around the .500 mark to one good season isn't a great sign for the future going forward. If Brent Venables is going to prove he's the guy for the job, this team will need to finish in the Top 15 competing for a College Football Playoff bid.
Extending Brent Venables after one solid season could prove to be one of the biggest disasters if he doesn't exceed expectations this season as he'll have a lofty buyout figure for the years to come.