Oklahoma football coach Brent Venables made some interesting comments about his old conference, the Big 12. The Sooners, who are now in the SEC, have lost some SEC league games the last few years. Venables defended his team Tuesday by pointing out what he saw as the SEC's strength, compared to the Big 12.
“This isn't the old Big 12 days where Oklahoma destroys everybody every single week except one game of the year,” Venables said, per On3.
Well, the Big 12 heard those comments, and league officials apparently weren't happy with what Venables said. The conference fired a shot right back at the Oklahoma football head coach.
“Coach Venables lost eight conference games in his two seasons in the Big 12,” the league posted to X, formerly Twitter.
Venables made the initial comments when discussing his team's latest performance. Oklahoma lost its last game to Texas, 23-6, on October 11. Texas joined Oklahoma in the SEC before the 2024 season, after the two schools played for years in the Big 12.
Oklahoma football has a tough road ahead
While Venables' comments will not win him many fans from Big 12 schools, the Oklahoma coach has other matters on his mind. His Sooners squad has a daunting road ahead in the SEC. Oklahoma's conference schedule includes many more meetings with ranked schools this season.
In upcoming weeks, Oklahoma has to play Alabama on the road, as well as Tennessee. Oklahoma also has home games against three teams that are currently ranked: Ole Miss, LSU and Missouri. That is a brutal slate to say the least.
Venables was seen as a hot seat candidate by many entering the 2025 season. In the team's first SEC campaign in 2024, the Sooners finished 6-7. Oklahoma won a lot of fans over this year, with an early season win over Michigan. Oklahoma fans hope Venables can keep the ship sailing in the right direction for the rest of the year.
Oklahoma's next game is Saturday, on the road at South Carolina. South Carolina is the only team left on the Oklahoma schedule that is not currently ranked.
