Brent Venables' Oklahoma Sooners have made significant strides in defense and special teams under his coaching, but the offense remains a concern.
The Sooners' defense, once ranked No. 122 in total defense, has improved to No. 6 in Year 4. Meanwhile, the team's special teams efficiency has also shown notable improvement, jumping from No. 72 in 2022 to No. 10 in 2025.
According to On3's J.D. PicKell, Brent Venables is a "fixer" who can make significant improvements in a specific department from one year to the next. This ability has allowed Venables to turn around the Sooners' defense and special teams.
Venables now faces the task of fixing the offense, which was No. 13 in total offense in 2022, No. 3 in 2023, but then struggled, ranking No. 113 in 2024 and No. 92 in 2025.
Despite these struggles, PicKell remains optimistic about Venables' ability to improve the offense. He believes that if the offense can make a similar leap to the defense and special teams, Oklahoma could emerge as one of the nation's most complete teams.
The Sooners already have a championship-caliber defense, but whether they can contend for an SEC title and a national championship in 2026 may ultimately depend on whether the offense finally catches up.
Source: Yahoo Sports