Oklahoma entered the 2026 campaign with high expectations, but the Sooners’ season has quickly turned on its head. And depending on the results of the next few weeks, Oklahoma’s quest to return to the College Football Playoff could be replaced with a fight for bowl eligibility.
The Sooners were favored by more than three touchdowns last week against New Mexico but only beat the Lobos 14–6. The week before, they were upset by Michigan in a surprising 17–10 result, one week after the Wolverines’ controversial win over Western Michigan. Oklahoma opened the season ranked 10th in the AP Top 25, but has fallen in the polls in subsequent weeks: No. 11 after Week 1, No. 24 after Week 2, and unranked in this week’s poll.
These developments, paired with the Sooners’ upcoming schedule, have created an increased sense of urgency. The next two games are against the two highest-ranked teams in the country, with a bye week sandwiched between matchups against No. 2 Georgia on Saturday and No. 1 Texas in the annual Red River Rivalry.
The schedule doesn’t let up afterward, either. Oklahoma has five more ranked opponents through the rest of the regular season. A disappointing record this season would be a significant setback for the program, which reached the CFP as the eight-seed last season, its first Playoff appearance since 2019.
As pressure mounts from inside and outside of the program for better results, Sooners coach Brent Venables chalks both up to what he’s signed up for in Norman.
“We know that it comes with a place like Oklahoma,” Venables said. “Incredibly high expectations and standards. We focus on our standards, have honest conversations, have great self-awareness and go to work.”
An Identity Flip
Venables replaced Lincoln Riley in December 2021. Riley had a successful run at Oklahoma, highlighted by four Big 12 championships and two Heisman Trophy winners, but was criticized for not pairing his elite offenses with adequate defenses. Oklahoma went 0–3 in the Playoff under Riley and allowed an average of 54 points in those games. Venables, widely regarded as one of the country’s best assistant coaches as the defensive coordinator at Clemson, was expected to stabilize the defense and round out Oklahoma as a complementary program. But now, the Sooners’ biggest problem has flipped.
The defense has improved dramatically, from 121st in yards allowed in Venables’s first season in 2022 to sixth last season and 10th so far this year. However, the offense has gotten progressively worse, from 32nd in 2022 to 91st last season, and 112th this season.
One of the biggest culprits has been constant turnover. Current Mississippi State head coach Jeff Lebby was the offensive coordinator in 2022–23, when Oklahoma was a top-35 offense. Since his departure, Oklahoma’s had four different coordinators: Seth Littrell (fired midway through the 2024 season), Joe Jon Finley and Kevin Johns (co-interim offensive coordinators in 2024, neither was retained), and Ben Arbuckle (2025–present).
Arbuckle, hired at 29 years old, arrived in Norman with high expectations from Washington State, in part because he brought quarterback John Mateer with him. To this point, the offense has largely disappointed and frustrations reached a tipping point last weekend, as Oklahoma scraped by New Mexico while committing three turnovers and averaging just 1.9 yards per rush. After the game, Venables was asked if the offense had anything it could hang its hat on through three games. His response left little doubt.
“Not really. No, no,” Venables said. When you watched the game, did you see anything?… We haven’t gotten to a rhythm with really much of anything.”
A few days later, Arbuckle was asked how much of his offense from Washington State has been implemented at Oklahoma.
“I‘m always looking to evolve as an offensive coordinator,” Arbuckle said. “There‘s a lot of things that I do that are non-negotiable staples, and we still do a lot of those today. But based off personnel, the teams that you go against, I think you have to always continue evolving.
“Us coaches, we meet and talk about it consistently throughout spring ball, fall camp, and the summer. What do we need to do, what‘s our personnel, how can we put them in position to go make plays and be effective.”
Oklahoma made several offensive staff hires in the off-season: John Kuceyeski (quarterbacks), Jason Witten (tight ends), Deland McCullough (running backs), while promoting Kevin Wilson, Oklahoma’s offensive coordinator from 2002 to 2010, from an analyst to assistant head coach for offense. Early season results have put Oklahoma’s identity—or lack thereof—into focus, and whether Venables should take more action.
“I don’t want to be the offensive coordinator,” Venables said. “I want the offensive staff to come up with a great game plan and to have great balance, to be physical, take care of the ball, run the football, create explosive plays, have great balance and attack people’s weaknesses.”
Injuries have been a significant part of the struggles as well. Starting left tackle Michael Fasusi, the team’s best offensive lineman, was injured in the opening game and has not returned. Fellow starting offensive linemen Ryan Fodje and Jake Maikkula have also missed time. The Sooners have yet to play a full game with their projected starting offensive line.
Transfer wide receiver Trell Harris, the team’s second-leading receiver, was injured against Michigan and remains out. No other wide receiver besides Harris and leading receiver Isaiah Sategna III has more than 50 total yards through three games.
Oklahoma also has a defensive injury of note. Star defensive lineman David Stone was injured in practice on Monday and his status for this weekend is “questionable,” according to Oklahoma’s latest availability report. There were conflicting reports at the time of his injury, with some suggesting he was injured while playing on offense in practice, while others reported otherwise. Venables opened his Tuesday press conference explaining that Stone was injured in a team walkthrough, not while working on an offensive package.
What’s Venables’s Standing at Oklahoma?
Oklahoma hired a new athletic director, Roger Denny, in January 2026. In August, Venables agreed to a two-year extension, creating a new six-year contract worth $63 million that runs through 2032. His new $10.5 million average annual salary, up from his originally slated $8.6 million salary in 2026, is just outside the top 10 highest-paid college football coaches.
Last week, the Oklahoma Board of Regents approved his new contract, and the buyout number is not publicly known yet. The deal is the first significant contract extension for Denny since he replaced previous athletic director Joe Castiglione.
Venables’s new deal largely removes speculation he could be fired, but comes at a time where the program is searching for the consistency it once had. The Sooners recorded 23 winning seasons in a row before Venables was hired; now, the program has alternated winning and losing seasons over the last four years: 6–7, 10–3, 6–7, 10–3 and currently 2–1.
Postseason success has also been a struggle, Oklahoma is 0–4 in the postseason under Venables including a 17-point blown lead in last year’s first-round Playoff game against Alabama; tied for the largest blown lead in Playoff history, matching the 2018 Rose Bowl where Oklahoma lost to Georgia.
Change, if any, is more likely within the assistant coaches. Venables hasn’t reached that point yet, at least publicly, but the next few weeks are an inflection point in where Oklahoma’s season is trending.
“If you’re winning and you‘re kicking butt, everybody has these unrealistic expectations of what it should look like down the road,” Venables said. “If things are a little harder than you want it to be, then people are at the bottom of the barrel and in the mud, and it‘s a really negative place.
“Just kind of the climb of the season, if you will, is the best part of all of it. And you got to take the bad with the good.”
