Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables was recently named Paul “Bear” Bryant National Coach of the Week after the Sooners upset Alabama on the road on Saturday, but his recognition for the award should also be for the entire season.
The Sooners' 23-21 upset over then-No. 4 Alabama in what seemed like an impossible circumstance solidified OU as a legit College Football Playoff contender at 8-2 and as the No. 8 team in the country in a season that started with Venables on one of the hottest seats in the nation.
Brent Venables has transformed Sooners into College Football Playoff contenders
It's been a season of unprecedented coach firings, and in August, it was presumed Venables would be part of the coaching carousel after the Sooners went 6-7 last season in their first round in the SEC. But with his job on the line, and Venables not even denying it was, he bet on himself and hit the jackpot.
With a vacancy at defensive coordinator, Venables decided to go back to what got him his status and take over defensive play-calling himself.
"Last year, we went 6-7. I didn't call the defense, so that didn't work very well, right," Venables said this offseason.
Under Venables, the Sooners have one of the best defenses in the country, and it's why they could have the chance to compete for their first national championship since 2000, when Venables was OU's co-defensive coordinator. Offensively, Venables brought in a new offensive coordinator in Ben Arbuckle, and although OU's offense hasn't raised any eyebrows and may have even been lackluster at times, Venables knew he just needed to assemble a functioning offense for his defense to carry the load.
The Sooners have tallied four wins against teams that were ranked in the AP Top 25 at the time. Three are still ranked in the latest CFP rankings. The Sooners just left Knoxville and Tuscaloosa with top-15 wins in two of the toughest environments in college football. OU's upset of Alabama snapped the longest home winning streak in the country. With two home games left, a pair of wins will secure the Sooners' spot in the playoff and maybe even a first-round game in Norman.
“I think Coach Venables is to be commended," said Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz this week before facing OU. "I think he's doing an outstanding job. Obviously, him taking over the defensive side of the ball and calling the defense, you can tell his aggressive nature and style is on display. They do a really good job of playing team football, utilizing both special teams, offense and defense to win games."
Drinkwitz himself could be considered a candidate for any Coach of the Year awards, as well as Texas A&M's Mike Elko, Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, BYU’s Kalani Sitake, Texas Tech's Joey McGuire and Ole Miss' Lane Kiffin. But all we're already building off successful previous seasons. None had more pressure than Venables entering 2025. None had more odds to defy. None had to coach as well as Venables to get their team where it's at this late in the season.
Many expected Venables to conclude 2025 without a job. He could instead finish it as the best coach in college football, and it's time to start realizing that possibility.