OU Football 2024 Season

[Bill Robertson]

The radio coverage said about 50k but that was pre-game as I was driving to my watch spot. By the second quarter TV views looked much more full than at kickoff.

[OKCRealtor]

This is an embarrassing loss, can’t beat a backup QB and total choke by the defense. We don’t deserve to go to a bowl. Almost certainly going to finish 1-7 & last in SEC.

[BG918]

I think this was a must win for Venables. I don’t see how he isn’t fired if OU goes 5-7 with only 1 SEC win.

Does OU go after someone like Cignetti?

[OKCRealtor]

I don’t know what they do, everyone seems to think he’s safe with the buyout for another year.

They really screwed up on the extension but I’m sure there’s chatter behind the scenes. No idea if it’s even feasible but if buyout weren’t an obstacle I’m sure he’d be gone. There is no excuse for this. We have 4 & 5 star guys at every position on the field and we aren’t even in the top 50 teams in the country & that’s being generous.

[Jersey Boss]

OU does not have the $ to fire BV at the end of the year. They don't get SEC tv money until next year. OU is a poor school compared to the rest of the conferance

[Libbymin]

It’s hard to see what’s going to be any different about next year either. Our OL has not improved at all this year and Arnold has shown himself to lack accuracy, situational awareness, ball security, and any kind of confidence. It is shocking that we found a way to lose that game after having it given to us on a platter.

[Bill Robertson]

It’s hard to see what’s going to be any different about next year either. Our OL has not improved at all this year and Arnold has shown himself to lack accuracy, situational awareness, ball security, and any kind of confidence. It is shocking that we found a way to lose that game after having it given to us on a platter.

If we can get a couple good o-linemen from the portal plus the incoming guys they already have coming that should make them much better. Should.
And maybe a QB. I'm not sure we have a winning QB on campus right now.
And the celebration after the fake punt that caused a delay of game penalty was inexcusable. And completely Venables fault as he was celebrating more than anyone. Things like that cannot happen.

[okatty]

Final 200 seconds = 28 combined points. Two defensive TDs. OU gives up a 75 yard TD drive in 57 seconds that was capped by an amazing catch by a former Sooner. Heading down the road for a 5-7 overall record, and one pick six away from being 0-fer in inaugural SEC season.

[OKCRealtor]

It’s hard to see what’s going to be any different about next year either. Our OL has not improved at all this year and Arnold has shown himself to lack accuracy, situational awareness, ball security, and any kind of confidence. It is shocking that we found a way to lose that game after having it given to us on a platter.

Agreed on next year, this isn't getting much better. We have no idea what the makeup of the team will look like after the season either. The only reason we were even decent last year was Jeff Lebby.

Hate to say it but BV isn't the guy as much as I like him, this starts at the top & until we make a change there probably going to be a long few years. Hopefully this doesn't age well but I think I've seen enough to be convinced. We really deserve to be winless in SEC as pointed out on pick 6 at Auburn.

The offense has been totally screwed up starting with Litrell hire. Feel BV probably went with his emotions/heart on that deal & not the logical thing which would have been to get another up & coming coordinator. This is year 3 & we are going in very bad direction. He's had great recruiting classes every year so it's not talent. It's certainly possible we don't have a QB on campus either but hard to say given the line and just unfortunate product of really bad offensive coaching. Either way considering we don't have the money like the bigger programs, horrendous showing this year & overall feel BV just isn't the guy with the totality of the program I agree not a lot of optimism.

Even if we were still in the big 12 we would have several conference losses, this is just a bad team all around. Defense is decent but nothing special.

[Boop]

I think this was a must win for Venables. I don’t see how he isn’t fired if OU goes 5-7 with only 1 SEC win.

Does OU go after someone like Cignetti?

Brent is not getting fired after getting his contract extension and his buyout is $45 million and Sooners are not paying that so Brent will be here next year but if Brent fails again, Brent is definitely gone next year

[Bill Robertson]

Brent is not getting fired after getting his contract extension and his buyout is $45 million and Sooners are not paying that so Brent will be here next year but if Brent fails again, Brent is definitely gone next year

I think you're right on both. He gets one more year. Then if next season isn't a marked improvement he'll be gone.
Also by that time we'll have the SEC tv money which should open up the pool a bit to choose from.

[BG918]

I think you're right on both. He gets one more year. Then if next season isn't a marked improvement he'll be gone.
Also by that time we'll have the SEC tv money which should open up the pool a bit to choose from.

I think it’s 50/50 whether BV is coaching the Sooners in 2025. Lots of donors are very unhappy and may force Castiglione to can him. IF he remains he is squarely on the hot seat and without a major improvement he 100% will be fired. And when I say major improvement that means 9-3 or better, otherwise he is a Dead Man Walking.

OU should start looking a potential candidates to replace him now - Cignetti, Beamer, etc. Definitely need a new OC, Will Stein from Oregon?

[OKCRealtor]

You guys are probably right about the buyout at least that's been the consensus so far their hands are completely tied but we know that seat is likely very hot.

I heard from someone I believe that after the SC game Joe Castiglione ripped into BV immediately after in front of his family and other people. Later apologized. Supposedly he rode the elevators down from the coaches box and caught him right after. I think the message is pretty clear that this standard is totally unacceptable at OU.

Even if it was totally fabricated which I'm pretty sure there's some degree of accuracy to it it's another troubling sign.

[Dob Hooligan]

I think the direct payment structure that is coming next year, or thereabouts, is so uncertain that no school wants to be on the hook for over $20 million in buyout payments. The rumors I read suggest about $20-25 million a year in player salary obligations. Everything related to acquiring and retaining talent is going to be completely different from how it has operated for over 75 years.

And I don't want to sound like a smart-aleck, but, the reason they give extensions and large buyouts is to make sure the coach does get more time on job.

[Laramie]

Nevermind

[FighttheGoodFight]

Still thinking about this loss. It has to be the worst of the season. College football in Oklahoma is rough right now.

[gjl]

Blaming the scoop and score at the end of the game for the loss is dumb Missouri gave OU a scoop and score on a fumble earlier in the game so those cancel each other out Ou still loses because their offense struggles to score touchdowns. Scoring just field goals in this league won’t cut it.

[BG918]

Blaming the scoop and score at the end of the game for the loss is dumb Missouri gave OU a scoop and score on a fumble earlier in the game so those cancel each other out Ou still loses because their offense struggles to score touchdowns. Scoring just field goals in this league won’t cut it.

The entire program is in shambles. Both sides of the ball are not where they should be to compete in the SEC. Venables has had two years to prep this team and they look worse than ever. Some may think he gets another year and maybe he will but I have my doubts especially if the last two games are ugly.

Right now we are Nebraska. Great past accomplishments, tradition, fan base, facilities, etc but lacking in leadership to build a team that competes at an elite level. The next coaching hire will be critical whether OU stays like Nebraska has been for basically the past 20 years (mid to lower tier of their conference, irrelevant nationally) or can actually compete for SEC/national titles. It can change fast, look at Texas which was in the same position 5 years ago and also Indiana and Oregon. The key is having a head coach that knows what he is doing..

[Bill Robertson]

Unless some group of major donors is willing to fund the buyout and a good chunk of a new HC's first year or two salary I would be very surprised if BV is not here next season. After the SEC TV money kicks in we will have a lot more money to hire a lot better HC if it's still necessary then.

[PhiAlpha]

The entire program is in shambles. Both sides of the ball are not where they should be to compete in the SEC. Venables has had two years to prep this team and they look worse than ever. Some may think he gets another year and maybe he will but I have my doubts especially if the last two games are ugly.

Right now we are Nebraska. Great past accomplishments, tradition, fan base, facilities, etc but lacking in leadership to build a team that competes at an elite level. The next coaching hire will be critical whether OU stays like Nebraska has been for basically the past 20 years (mid to lower tier of their conference, irrelevant nationally) or can actually compete for SEC/national titles. It can change fast, look at Texas which was in the same position 5 years ago and also Indiana and Oregon. The key is having a head coach that knows what he is doing..

Quit with the Nebraska stuff. That is just reactionary and asinine at this point. We’ve literally had 1 bad and maybe 2 mediocre seasons in the span of 25 years and in between won a national title, 14 conference championships, played for the national championship 3 more times and made the playoffs off 4 times. We were 10-3 last season. Nebraska has been mediocre at best since firing Frank Solich 20 years ago and has won nothing championshipwise since the 2001 season. It’s just a dumb and lazy comparison that emotional fans make. 2 bad seasons in 3 years doesn’t turn a program into that.

That said, they have to be careful what they do from here on out. I still think it would be best to try to run it back next season with a new OC and portal additions on offense before blowing things up. The defense would look a lot better this season if we weren’t tied for 118th in turnovers lost this season. Opponents have scored 44 points off Jackson Arnold TOs and 28 off Hawkins TOs alone. Cut those number down to something normal and that alone probably moves at least 2 games into the win column and if we were playing the equivalent to our worst offensive football between 1999-2023, we probably win every game but Texas and we would’ve been in that one. All of that to say…the defense is good but not good enough to stop good teams forever when we are handing the ball back to them at a historic rate. I think that can quickly be fixed with the right hire and some portal additions (probably a QB and a few OL guys at minimum). It at least seems worth trying over paying a 44 million buyout, losing a bunch of players to the portal, decimating our recruiting class and likely guaranteeing we are going to suck for several more years.

If they do decide to let BV go at the end of the season, they had better have a concrete plan in place and it had better work or we are going to be on the road to becoming the next Nebraska.

[kukblue1]

We beat Auburn. Alabama in Primetime? How many OU fans selling their tickets? Home game for Alabama? Also isn't this how Nebraska started out. Switch Conferences never won many games and never recovered.

[PhiAlpha]

We beat Auburn. Alabama in Primetime? How many OU fans selling their tickets? Home game for Alabama? Also isn't this how Nebraska started out. Switch Conferences never won many games and never recovered.

We’ve been in a new conference for 3/4 of 1 season.

[kukblue1]

We’ve been in a new conference for 3/4 of 1 season.

Yep but this isn't the Big 12 or the Big 10 this is the SEC. This is the best of the best. Your are 1-5 in conference for a reason. You stink and being that this is the SEC and not the Big 12 getting a little bit better won't cut it. Put together 3-4 seasons when your winning only 2 or 3 conference games a year and your worse than Nebraska.

[PhiAlpha]

Yep but this isn't the Big 12 or the Big 10 this is the SEC. This is the best of the best. Your are 1-5 in conference for a reason. You stink and being that this is the SEC and not the Big 12 getting a little bit better won't cut it. Put together 3-4 seasons when your winning only 2 or 3 conference games a year and your worse than Nebraska.

yes and It’s been 3/4 of one season, not 3-4.

[Bill Robertson]

yes and It’s been 3/4 of one season, not 3-4.

Agree. If we're still like this in 3-4 years then we can start to panic. Many teams, A&M comes to mind for one, have really good facilities and programs but never are really good because they bail on coaches way too often trying to find that perfect guy. This is one season that we missed on a bunch of o-lineman and had 5 WRs hurt almost all season.