The primary post-Lincoln Riley season at Oklahoma couldn’t have gone worse

Whereas Ohio State followers maintain the newest grudge towards Lincoln Riley, Caleb Williams, and USC, the fanbase that’s nonetheless essentially the most upset in regards to the Trojans’ success this 12 months resides in Norman. Williams was presupposed to be the third Heisman winner in crimson and cream beneath Riley, and it’s OU that needs to be a convention title away from a spot within the School Soccer Playoff.

As a substitute of a fourth journey to the playoff, Oklahoma is 6-6 and can be enjoying in a nondescript postseason sport. Proper now, predictions have them slated for the Assured Price Bowl towards Wisconsin. If they will’t prime the Badgers, it is going to be the Sooners first shedding season since 1998, when John Blake oversaw a 5-6 marketing campaign, was fired, and changed by Bob Stoops.

First-year coach Brent Venables, the longtime defensive coordinator at Clemson, wasn’t left with an empty cabinet, and though some gamers, together with Williams, adopted Riley to Southern California, it shouldn’t have been this unhealthy.

The one issues Venables actually needed to repair was the quarterback place and the protection, however followers actually would’ve been understanding if he went one for 2, with the group bettering on the facet of the ball that’s allegedly the power of its new coach.

Not solely did the protection not enhance, however it received worse. The Sooners had been a hundredth in faculty soccer in factors allowed, 109th in speeding protection, and 107th in move protection. They misplaced three of their previous 4 video games to unranked groups. Throughout a three-week span from late September to early October, the Sooners had been outscored 145-58. Granted two of these groups are vying for the Large 12 title and the opposite one is Texas, it’s nonetheless alarming to learn.

The final time an OU group received drubbed that badly for 3 straight weeks was a stretch in 1997 after they misplaced to Nebraska, Oklahoma State, and Texas A&M by a mixed rating of 156-21. Should you’re an Oklahmoa fan (and also you’re nonetheless studying this), you’re most likely questioning who the fuck is that this man and what’s his level.

Aside from highlighting the lowlights of a extremely shitty season — the one different program to concede 50-plus factors to Texas Tech this 12 months was Murray State — I’m saying life comes at you quick, and Venables has to proper this quickly or OU is vulnerable to hopping aboard a training carousel that’s sort to only a few colleges regardless of how prestigious.

After the loss to the Pink Raiders, OU main receiver and group chief Marvin Mims didn’t fairly brazenly reject his new head coach’s tweaks to this system, however he did say he had hassle getting used to the cultural adjustments.

“The largest factor about him, it’s simply — I wouldn’t name it a tradition shock. However, you already know, he introduced quite a lot of issues that gamers should get adjusted to, particularly Coach Schmitty (power coach Jerry Schmidt) coming again. I imply, there’s no, you already know, teeter-tottering on the road and stuff like that. You bought to do the issues he desires you to do the methods he desires you to do them. Principally, that’s the most important factor, is simply getting adjusted to that.”

It’s not truthful to yell “You had one job” at Venables, contemplating how tremendously troublesome it’s to efficiently coach faculty soccer within the period of switch portals and NIL offers. Anticipating a man who’s by no means been a head coach to do what Riley or Ryan Day did after they inherited all of the gamers and assets of their extraordinarily profitable predecessors was at all times an excessive amount of. It’s like assuming Dillon Gabriel would step in for Williams and win 9 or 10 video games. OK, it’s not fairly that, however you get what I’m saying.

Whereas Oklahoma lived within the prime 10 in recruiting rankings beneath Riley, it was actually what the coach received out of his quarterbacks that set OU aside from different perennial powerhouses. No Riley-led Oklahoma group completed greater than twenty ninth in common factors allowed, and as a rule that quantity was in 60s.

For no matter cause, the Sooners couldn’t get the overwhelming athletes that Alabama, Clemson, LSU, and Georgia churn out. If that’s what Venables must get his protection on par with the Tigers items that destroyed ACC gameplans for years, it would take a few years to remake the id of the group.

Don’t snicker too laborious, Texas followers. You even have lots to determine earlier than leaping into the deep finish and swimming with SEC groups week after week.These two packages have to be working close to the height of their potential after they make the transfer down South, or they’re going to have a tough time sustaining — or, in UT’s case, getting again to — that lofty established order.

There’s not way more that might’ve gone improper in Norman since Riley and Williams bounced, but when the duo will get again to the CFP and provides the one particular person {hardware} that issues, it’ll be like twisting the knife, throwing salt within the wound, and kicking a followers whereas they’re down all rolled into one.