Brent Venables does not believe Oklahoma's Week 9 loss to Ole Miss is anything to lose sleep over. Although he acknowledged that the Sooners have work to do to right the ship, Venables does not view the result as a “setback.”
The result gave Oklahoma its second loss in the last three weeks. When asked whether he felt his team had taken a step back in recent weeks after the game, Venables instead said he needs to “coach better” down the stretch.
“Yeah, no, I think we missed some opportunities,” Venables said, via 247 Sports. “I don't know, setback, that's for everybody else to say. Losing ain't ever good. And there's nothing necessarily that — we're not gonna be bragging on anything. There's nothing to brag about. We need to coach them better and play better, be better situationally. We made some critical mistakes in the game. And if the players are making the mistakes on the field, then we gotta look at ourselves and what we're asking them to do.”
Oklahoma entered Week 9 as one of the nation's best defenses, but allowed 431 total yards to Ole Miss. The Sooners have been particularly potent against the pass, but ceded 315 passing yards and a touchdown to Rebels quarterback Trinidad Chambliss.
Oklahoma is still 6-2 on the year, but two losses might be difficult to overcome in the ultra-competitive SEC. The Sooners' 2-2 conference record is tied for eighth in the league with Florida and Missouri.
Brent Venables leads Oklahoma into brutal schedule stretch
If Oklahoma was hoping for a tune-up week, it will not get one for the rest of the year. The Sooners' end-of-season schedule is arguably the toughest in the country, as each of its final four regular-season opponents is currently ranked in the top 20.
After facing Ole Miss' high-powered offense, Venables' defense will be tested again in Week 10 against Tennessee, which currently averages 45.6 points per game, second-most in the FBS. The Volunteers have scored 34 or more points in all but one game in 2025.
Oklahoma has its final bye in Week 11 before its season-ending three-game stretch. The Sooners will come out of their bye on the road against Alabama before returning home to face Missouri and LSU to end the year.
Despite its recent struggles, Oklahoma still has College Football Playoff aspirations as it approaches the final month of the regular season. They might still miss the SEC title game, even if they win out, but should land within the top 12 with at least three wins in their next four games.
