Brent Venables has had a pretty rocky head coaching tenure so far at Oklahoma. Two losing seasons and a move into the toughest conference in the country has not helped his cause.
The Sooners have lost four of their last five games against Top 25 opponents with their only win coming last season against Alabama.
This years Sooner squad moves their way into the national spotlight as they host the Michigan Wolverines. It is going to take everything they have in them to come out with victory but here are three keys
Offensive Line Improvement
The biggest disappointment for Oklahoma last season was the offensive line. The combination of injuries and extremely poor play made for an atrocious campaign from the big men up front. Last weeks game against Illinois State was less then impressive and left a lot to be desired in terms of performance.
Michigan has had one of the best defensive lines in the country over the past decade and this years bunch is no different. Derrick Moore is the leader of the group from his edge rusher position along with interior linemen Damon Payne and Trey Pierce they can ruin the Sooners offensive gameplan.
The big addition for Oklahoma this weekend is that tackles Michael Fasusi and Western Carolina transfer Derrick Simmons are expected to return to the lineup and could slide into the starting lineup against the Wolverines.
Jaydn Ott's Availability
The biggest story among Sooner Nation over the past week has been "Will Jadyn Ott get more snaps at running back?"
Ott logged just four offensive snaps and only had one rushing attempt. Ott was injured in the 2024 season opener against UC Davis and that injury lingered throughout the entire season. He also was banged up in fall camp and was never really 100%.
Brent Venables said in his weekly press conference on Tuesday that "He's one of the most explosive players in college football. He will play a real factor in our season going forward.... we are going to need him."
If Oklahoma is going to be able to take down Michigan they are going to need Ott to be the guy that the coaches and players need him to be.
Stopping Michigan's Offense.
For Oklahoma to come away with the victory they are going have to shut down the Wolverines offense.
True Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood will start for Michigan. Underwood holds arguably the highest NIL contract in all of college athletics and hopes to become the next great Michigan Quarterback,
He can make every throw and is an illusive dual-threat athlete that can keep the Sooner defense guessing.
The way that Oklahoma will win this game is if they can limit the Michigan running game. Alabama transfer Justice Haynes and Jordan Marshall are the two lead backs who will maintain a lot of the carries.
Haynes carried the ball 16 times for 159 yards and three touchdowns in their 34-17 season opening victory over New Mexico.
The thing that makes their offense so interesting and hard to maintain is that if you load the box to stop the run, Underwood can make you pay in the passing game.
The key for Brent Venables and his Oklahoma defense to come away with the victory they will have to keep Michigan off balance and allow their playmakers like Kip Lewis, R Mason Thomas and Damonic Williams to wreck havoc on the Wolverines offensive gameplan.