Brent Venables enters this season in a ‘hot seat’, the program might have lost patience with Venables, who has managed to garner a 22-17 record in his three years. This season? Results should be apparent otherwise, there would likely be no leeway given to Venables. It’s also understandable, as the program, which has seen significant highs with Lincoln Riley, has since fallen into oblivion of mediocrity. Something needs to change, and it needs to be urgent.

This year, Brent Venables might have prepared whatever, but the common sentiment amongst FBS analysts was that Oklahoma would not do much better than the previous season. Sure, improving on a 6-7 record would not seem much, but given how deep the Sooners were in the rut last season, the sentiment somewhere was justified. Last year, the team was plagued with injuries, as Seth Litrrell was fired mid-season, and Joe Jon Finley took over the play-calling duties. The QB room?

Well, the Sooners ranked 77th nationally in scoring offense, 119th in total offense, and 125th in third-down conversions. Sure, with these appalling numbers, any QB would fail, right? Well, both Jackson Arnold and Hawkins Jr failed to do anything as he averaged just 5.8 yards per attempt, and Hawkins Jr? The QB could only do so much, as in the limited games he got, he garnered just 783 yards, which culminated in a loss in the Bowl game against Navy. At the back of all of this, the 2025 season would look bleak, right?

Not necessarily, according to Josh Pate, Oklahoma might be one of the best and well-oiled teams this season. “Oklahoma, you know, coming out of spring, it’s hard to it’s hard to pinpoint glaring weaknesses with them. It’s really weird when you come off a season like they had last year. You would think there’s weakness everywhere…. Add material at quarterback and Ben Arbuckle at offensive coordinator, they got these wide receivers out of the portal as well. I mean, if we’re quantum leaps better offensively, which I believe they will be, that’s a top 20, easily top 20 defensive team, that’s a playoff caliber team.”

Playoff Caliber? Yes, you heard that right, and some things do point towards significant improvement for Brent Venables. The head coach had roped in a top 20 recruiting class this year with an incredible rank 1 OT in Michael Fasusi. Moreover, the head coach has also added 20 players from the portal, which just shows the level at which Venables is building things this season. Also, the hiring of their new OC Ben Arbuckle, who had incredible success at Washington State with John Mateer, who again will be his QB, just seems so exciting. So, all in all, everything is there to succeed for Oklahoma, but will John Mateer deliver?

John Mateer will be the casualty of a tough schedule?

Well, the quarterback last season, playing for Washington State, produced more than 3,000 passing yards and 829 rushing yards. This is a transfer that fits like a glove for Ben Arbuckle, and even with Brent Venables’ offensive philosophy, who uses dual-threat QBs in his system. But, the only concern regarding him was the doubt if he could replicate the same in high-stakes games in the SEC. Well, J.D. PicKell of On3 has a wholly opposite theory.

“So I’m not saying he’s going to win the Heisman Trophy. I’m not saying he’s going to be the first overall pick. But the way they speak about John Mateer, the confidence they speak about John Mateer with—I am very, very excited to watch him continue what he did in Pullman, Washington, with Ben Arbuckle now running the show out there in Norman”

The only thing concerning Oklahoma this year will be their schedule, though. They have some of the most challenging games, starting with Michigan at home in week 2, then going on to different high-caliber programs. Those would be Auburn in week 3, Texas, Ole Miss, Tennessee (on the road), Alabama (on the road), and LSU at last. This might be the most difficult schedule in CFB for the 2025 season. So, yes, there will still be some doubt regarding Brent Venables’ playoff hopes as far as the schedule is concerned.