Oklahoma, having more losing records the past three seasons than their previous quarter century combined, is in need of a good year in their fourth under Brent Venables. The Sooners are somewhat of a question mark, though, considering their circumstances for this season. Joel Klatt, during his show on Monday, rated the Sooners at No. […]
Oklahoma, having more losing records the past three seasons than their previous quarter century combined, is in need of a good year in their fourth under Brent Venables. The Sooners are somewhat of a question mark, though, considering their circumstances for this season.
Joel Klatt, during his show on Monday, rated the Sooners at No. 24 in his Preseason Top-25. That was him taking a guess with one of the better programs in the sport to fill out some of the final spots of his ranking.
“At No. 24? I struggled here at the back of the Top-25, so I went, basically, with some guys that I trusted,” said Klatt. “In this case, it’s a place that I trust, because they’re always successful. They’ve been one of the most successful programs in the history of the sport. A coach that I still believe in, even though, you know, it’s been up and down at times in this location. And then a quarterback that transferred in that I think is really good.”
“I’m talking about…the Oklahoma Sooners,” Klatt stated. “I’ve got Oklahoma at 24.”
Again, with two losing records from 1998 to 2021, Oklahoma now has two in the past three seasons under Venables with a 10-3 record in 2023 splitting a pair of 6-7 finishes in 2022 and 2024. That was namely disappointing last season to fall back off upon their arrival in the Southeastern Conference.
In order to fix that, the Sooners had to start from scratch with their offense after scoring just 24 points and posting 331 yards of offense per game, turning the ball over 21 times and allowing 50 sacks. They did just that with another new offensive coordinator, the third-best portal quarterback who Klatt is a fan of, and a different combination of returners and additions in their weapons and offensive linemen.
“Offense was a disaster last year, okay. We all know that,” said Klatt. “Venables had to make those changes at offensive coordinator. The wide receiver group was devastated by injuries. The line was a mess, allowed over 50 sacks – that was tied for most in the country.”
“They bring in a new offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle from Washington State, along with Washington State’s quarterback, John Mateer,” Klatt said. “I like Mateer a lot. When I was prepping for the Holiday Bowl, getting ready for the Washington State-Syracuse game, I watched a lot of Mateer. And, unfortunately, he had transferred out so we didn’t get to see him in that game but, man, I was impressed with everything that he does. He’s more athletic than you, maybe I gave him credit for. Very good arm. He’s accurate. He’s the type of guy that I think will improve them right away.”
Klattt then already has faith in the defense in Norman. That’s with Venables still have the resumé he does on that side, including their best unit of his tenure so far last season which allowed just 21.5 points and 318.2 yards of offense per game while forcing 21 turnovers and having 35 sacks of their own.
“Venables on the defensive side? He’s back to calling the plays on defense,” noted Klat. “They were a top-twenty defense last year, so that side of the football has gotten fixed.”
However, that all said, Oklahoma is probably going to improve to some extent anyways. It just may not reflect fully in their record considering the schedule they’re going to play, namely in conference play without even mentioning a non-conference matchup with Michigan, in 2025.
“You might be wondering like, well, why are they just 24? Their schedule is brutal. It was brutal last year and it’s brutal again this year,” said Klatt. “They’ve got to navigate, in the second half of the season? Check out these last seven games – Texas, at South Carolina, Ole Miss, at Tennessee, at Alabama, Missouri, and LSU. That’s just tough.”
“The SEC has wild fluctuations in terms of some of these teams that have the most difficult schedules in the league and the ones that don’t,” Klatt said. “Oklahoma certainly kind of – not even kind of. They got the poor end of that draw.”
It’s uncertain if Oklahoma, with that slate, will be able to fully go from losing mark to pushing for playoff consideration out of the SEC. Still, the pressure is on for things to be better by season’s end in Norman, with Top-25 consideration like this entering the year setting that expectation at OU.
Category: General Sports
