It's no secret that Brent Venables' first three years at Oklahoma have not been the brightest. With an overall record of 23–17, several disappointing losses, and recent changes including Venables taking back defensive play-calling duties and a revamped offensive unit aimed to address what has been Sooners’ biggest issue, significant improvement is expected in 2025.
Oklahoma faces its first major test of the season on Saturday in a massive home matchup, as the No. 18 Sooners will face No. 15 Michigan in Norman. Brent Venables will be looking to improve his 4-7 record against ranked opponents in what is a must-win game for both him and Oklahoma.
Michigan enters this matchup with several questions about just how good they are and how high their ceiling is, which is in large part due to starting true freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood. However, as always, the Wolverines look to have an elite running game and a top defense led by coordinator Wink Martindale. In my mind, Michigan is the perfect type of opponent for the Sooners to get a statement win over early in the season.
What makes this game even more of a must-win though, is the daunting road that lies ahead for Oklahoma. While it’s never good to look past a major matchup that is right in front of you, the brutal SEC schedule gauntlet the Sooners will face later in the year is impossible to ignore.
Oklahoma will begin conference play in Week 4 against an Auburn team that looks much improved, followed by a brutal stretch starting in Week 7 that includes games against Texas, South Carolina, Ole Miss, Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, and LSU. With wins likely hard to come by during that stretch, securing a victory over Michigan at home feels like even more of a must.
Now it will be hard to move on from Venables with him already having a 10 win season, and especially if he can pull off an upset or two this year. And who knows, with John Mateer at quarterback and several new offensive weapons, this team could easily go on a run and emerge as one of the top teams in college football, with a win against Michigan being the first step in that.
However, if Oklahoma falls to Michigan at home on Saturday night, a game in which they’re currently favored by 5.5 points, the noise surrounding Venables will only grow louder and things will look even darker with an extremely difficult road ahead.