When Brent Venables arrived back in Norman in December 2021 as the newly hired Oklahoma head coach, the once unstoppable Sooner offense had slipped back somewhat while the defense couldn't manage to stop anybody, all while the Sooners were just two seasons away from joining the heavily defense-minded SEC, a characteristic that was the polar opposite of how teams won in the Big 12.
With the hiring of Venables, it was clear from the start that Oklahoma was destined to look very different if the Sooners were going to be ready to compete at the level they are historically accustomed to in the much stronger and deeper SEC.
Although Oklahoma's defensive presence went from decline to virtual decay while Lincoln Riley was head coach, the downturn actually began in the closing years of Bob Stoops' 18 seasons at the helm of OU football under brother Mark Stoops as defensive coordinator.
Brent Venables has Sooners as defensive powerhouse
Riley's OU teams featured Heisman-quality quarterback play and some of the most prolific offenses in the college game. Meanwhile, the Sooner defenses during that time found themselves taking up company among the least effective and efficient nationally in overall performance. For example, the defense that Venables inherited ranked 76th nationally in total defense and 109th in pass defense after the 2021 season.
The following season, with many of the same players on the roster, the Sooner defense fell to even greater depths at 99th in scoring defense, giving up 30 points per game, and a pathetic 122nd in total defense, allowing 460 yards a game.
It wasn't 24 hours after landing on campus that Venables declared in his introductory press conference, "We will employ a fast, exciting, explosive and diverse offense combined with a physical, punishing, relentless and suffocating defense."
That was the formula for the outstanding Clemson defenses that were under Venables' charge for a decade in 2012-2021, and the 2025 Oklahoma defense not only is one of the best in the country, but almost a carbon copy of what he promised to deliver.
The OU defensive performance has shown improvement every season under Venables' leadership and direction. This season he has taken over full responsibility for the Sooner defense, and the results speak for themselves.
Through 11 games, Oklahoma ranks 11th in the country in total defense (allowing 280.5 yards per game), 6th in scoring defense (14 points a game), 3rd in rushing defense (81.0 yards a game and 2.66 per rush) and tops nationally with 41 sacks.
The strength of the Oklahoma football team has dramatically shifted to defense over offense during Venables' reign. While the Sooner offense is still highly serviceable with Washington State transfer John Mateer at quarterback, it has battled through stretches of inconsistency. To be completely fair, though, Mateer broke the thumb on his throwing hand in OU's fourth game of the season and had surgery. He missed just one game, but hasn't been quite the same since the injury.
The once deplorable Sooner defense has been mostly dominant all season and is largely responsible for OU sitting at nine wins -- a three-game improvement over last season -- going into the regular-season finale on Saturday. A win over LSU on Saturday will give Oklahoma 10 wins in its second season in the SEC and all but assure a return trip to the College Football Playoff after a six-year absence.
Venables was asked earlier this week during his weekly coach's show to what he attributed the dramatic turnaround from last season's 6-7 team while playing virtually the same schedule.
"Doing the things that winning teams do," Venables said. "You know, taking care of the football, winning the line of scrimmage, eliminating negative plays and playing complementary football."