Oklahoma wrapped up its regular season with a gritty 17-13 victory over LSU. It improved to 10-2 and solidified its position at No. 8 in the College Football Playoff rankings. But while the team waits for Selection Sunday, general manager Jim Nagy has found another cause to rally Sooner Nation around. Nagy is mobilizing the fanbase to support kicker Tate Sandell’s campaign for the Lou Groza Award, given annually to the nation’s top placekicker.​

“This shouldn’t be close. Takes 10 seconds to support our guy, @TateSandell1. Do your thing, Sooner Nation!,” Nagy tweeted. 

The tweet was a response to fan voting for the Lou Groza Award. Sandell finds himself in an unexpectedly tight race despite putting together one of the most dominant kicking seasons in college football. The backdrop to Nagy’s tweet is a fascinating three-way battle for college football’s most prestigious kicking honor. 

Sandell is competing against Georgia Tech’s Aidan Birr and Hawaii’s Kansei Matsuzawa. The fan voting showed Birr at 39.83%, Sandell at 37.97%, and Matsuzawa at 22.20%. What makes the tight race so surprising is that Sandell’s numbers are historically elite. The UTSA transfer has connected on 23 of 24 field goal attempts this season. It boasts a 95.8% conversion rate, ranking fourth in the FBS. 

His only miss came on his very first attempt of the season against Michigan in Week 2. He has since made 22 consecutive field goals, which is the longest active streak in program history and the second-longest in SEC history. Even more impressive, Sandell is a perfect 7-for-7 from 50 yards or longer, including four makes from 55 yards. He tied an FBS record for most field goals from that distance in a single season over the past 30 years. 

His 15 makes from 40-plus yards lead the nation and set a new Oklahoma single-season record, and his average distance on made field goals (42 yards) is the best in college football.

Nagy’s passionate defense of Sandell comes just days after the Oklahoma GM made national headlines for an expletive-laden response to CBS Sports’ Tom Fornelli. Fornelli questioned whether the Sooners deserved a playoff spot. Fornelli had tweeted, “This country needs to have a serious discussion about letting Oklahoma into the playoffs.” 

And this prompted Nagy to fire back, “‘Letting’ Oklahoma into the playoff. Show me a better resume. GTFOH.” The tweet garnered over 147,000 views and sparked debate across college football about Oklahoma’s playoff worthiness. Nagy’s argument centered on the Sooners’ resume. The Sooners have five wins against teams ranked in the Top 25 at the time they played, including victories over Michigan, Tennessee, Alabama, and Missouri. While critics pointed out that Oklahoma’s offense has struggled to consistently move the ball, Nagy would argue that winning ugly still counts as winning.​

These two recent social media campaigns reveal a lot about who Jim Nagy is as a GM. Whether he is advocating for his team or one of his players, he brings the same intensity and belief to the table in every aspect of football. If any future fiascos happen and if they’re even remotely related to the Oklahoma Sooners, we know that Jim Nagy would be on the forefront defending his program.

Venables’ “Hard to Kill” Sooners survive LSU chaos

While Nagy was out rallying Sooner Nation to support Tate Sandell’s Lou Groza Award campaign, Brent Venables was busy proving exactly why Oklahoma deserves their playoff spot. The 17-13 win over LSU on November 29th was a microcosm of everything Oklahoma has been this season. It was chaotic, mistake-prone, and absolutely resilient. Quarterback John Mateer threw three first-half interceptions that had fans screaming for backup Michael Hawkins Jr., and the Sooners were penalized eight times for 60 yards. 

But Venables’ defense held LSU to just 198 total yards and forced them into 2-of-14 on third-down conversions. When Mateer finally found his rhythm in the fourth quarter, it felt inevitable rather than miraculous. LSU got the ball back at midfield with a chance to break Oklahoma’s hearts. But Venables’ defense refused to let it happen.​

In his postgame interview with ESPN, Venables delivered a quote that perfectly encapsulated this Oklahoma team and their journey from last year’s 6-7 disaster to a 99% playoff lock. 

“Hard to kill. What a heck of a game. Nobody deserved to lose that. LSU, man, they’ve really fought, man, big-time. But, man, am I proud of our guys. We overcame a lot of mistakes, penalties, turnovers, just a lot of miscues today. But, hey, we’re a pretty good football team and can overcome all of that.”

It’s Venables’ second 10-win season at Oklahoma. The Sooners have now beaten Tennessee, Alabama, Missouri, and LSU in succession. These four wins prove that Oklahoma doesn’t need to win pretty. They just need to win permanently.