To Brent Venables, many of Oklahoma’s struggles amid its three-game losing streak have been self-inflicted, particularly on the offensive line.
But during the first half of the Sooners’ 26-14 loss to Mississippi, when OU rushed for 125 yards and took a 14-10 lead into halftime, OU showed what it can be when it plays clean football.
"It's only affirmation of what I’ve said,” Venables said during his weekly press conference Tuesday. “If we get out of our own way, if we don't beat Oklahoma, if we do the things that winning requires, even though we have XYZ down with injuries, if we do that, and it's hard, it's always going to be hard. This year it's even more difficult because of the challenge of the people that we're playing. But if we do that, we can play with anybody, we can beat anybody that we play against.
“That may not be popular for people to hear and everybody wants to find negative and all of it, that's cool too. But I know what I know, and I'm not wrong.”
The Sooners allowed 10 sacks on Saturday and have now given up 19 in two weeks. Six of those sacks came on OU’s final 11 plays from scrimmage.
Redshirt sophomore Jake Taylor did not travel with the team and junior Jacob Sexton suffered an injury in the first half and did not return, leaving redshirt freshmen Heath Ozaeta and Logan Howland on the left side of the offensive line. Venables attributed some of the group’s issues to inexperience.
“Nobody wants to hear it but I'm going to say it … freshmen play like freshmen sometimes,” Venables said. “They don't have experience and wisdom they can lean on. But at the end of the day, I really felt like … through three quarters, we gave ourselves a chance on the offensive line. We played at winning performance.”
At the center of the scrutiny is offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh. Despite his impressive track record of developing offensive linemen and sending them to the NFL, his unit leads the nation with 39 sacks allowed this season.
While talk of Bedenbaugh being on the hot seat has emerged within OU’s fanbase, Venables made clear his trust for the Sooners’ longest-tenured assistant coach.
“Bill Bedenbaugh is one of the best in the business,” Venables said. “He's done a great job. He has a career of doing more with less, and developing guys, taking undervalued guys and getting them in position to play well.”
Jackson Arnold's potential return, OU's NIL
Venables believes sophomore quarterback Jackson Arnold wants to return to Oklahoma next season.
“My assumption is that you’re dang right he wants to be back,” Venables said of Arnold. “Why would he not? That's how I look at it. I don't have my head in the sand, I would be concerned if I was thinking in that way, ‘I wonder if he wants to be back?’ Well, shit, he’s the starting quarterback at Oklahoma.
“That's your dream. You turned down a lot of good people to come here, and now you've faced some headwinds, and now you're just going to quit? I don't see that in him, and I don't see that in guys in our locker room. Does it happen in college football or in life? You’re damn right, but not to the people that are built with the right stuff, not at all. And Jackson has the right stuff ...
“If the storms are the reason why guys want to leave, then I'm all for it. I'll help them pack their bags.”
It’s been a season full of ups and downs for Arnold, who characterized the three games he was benched for freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. as “the hardest few weeks of my life.”
Arnold was benched after committing three turnovers in the first half against Tennessee. He returned against South Carolina after Hawkins struggled early against the Gamecocks, committing three turnovers within six minutes of play in the first quarter.
Arnold completed 10 of 13 passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns in the first half of Saturday’s game, which appeared to be the best half of football OU’s offense has turned in all season.
“I thought Jackson had his best performance of the year,” Venables said. “I thought he did a great job going on the road and playing against a top-ranked defense. He completed over 70% of his passes, made a lot of great decisions, ran the ball well, threw it on time. He had a great game, and (he was) having fun, getting comfortable and not playing with a bear on his back.”
OU now has two quarterbacks who have shown flashes of potential this season, begging the question of whether the program will be able to afford to keep both Arnold and Hawkins. Venables also turned down the notion that Oklahoma doesn’t have enough NIL money to pay Arnold.
“We’ve got good NIL,” Venables said. “There’s a thing now called (revenue) sharing that is past its initial steps, and we’ll be in a great position from that standpoint.”
Leadership stepping up
It’s been a testing three weeks for Oklahoma’s locker room.
After two blowouts and a second half meltdown have led to three straight losses, it’s been the leaders in the Sooners’ locker room that have been forced to step up. During Venables’ hour-long weekly press conference on Tuesday, player leadership was the first thing he praised.
“Getting an opportunity to look back at last weekend's game, obviously, I’m disappointed in the result, but really thankful for the leadership on this team …” Venables said. “I would be remiss if I didn’t recognize our leadership, the continued investment, the fight from our guys.”
Two of the primary leaders are seniors Billy Bowman and Danny Stutsman, who bypassed high stocks in the 2024 NFL Draft to return to the Sooners, a decision Stutsman doesn’t regret despite the team’s 4-4 record.
“If I had the chance to do it all over again, I would, without a doubt,” Stutsman said after OU’s loss to Mississippi on Saturday. “I love this team. I love coach Venables. I love this school. I'm so happy with my decision. I sleep great at night, it’s the best decision I’ve ever made.”
It’s leaders like Stutsman and Bowman who experienced the 6-7 season in 2022, and have been prepared to lead through tough times.
As a result, spirits have remained high in Oklahoma’s locker room through the losing streak.
“I haven’t seen any bad body language or attitudes or anything like that,” junior defensive lineman R Mason Thomas said Monday. “We know we haven’t played good football the past few weeks, but I haven’t seen any doubt creep into our minds.
“I’d say we were voicing more concerns in 2022. But this 2024 season is different. We’ve got a lot more older guys, and the juniors in my class who were here for our freshman season are more scattered throughout the offense and defense, so we know what to remind them of what that looks like.”
