The Oklahoma football program is officially a member of the SEC along with Texas amid a flurry of realignment changes this upcoming season. The Sooners going to the SEC is a big move and will be a tough task for Brent Venables.
Going from the Big 12 Conference to the SEC — arguably the best conference in college football — is a massive change for the Sooners. Venables spoke about the challenges of moving to the SEC, per Chris Low of ESPN.com.
“Everything matters. There's a very small margin for error,” Venables said. “There are so many things that decide games in this league, and you better be ready for all of them. How ready are we? We're going to find out. Until you're in the middle of it, you don't really truly know. So it would just be conjecture on my part. As I said, we'll find out. What I do know is the challenge of it all, the depth of the teams in that conference, and what I feel best about is the depth of the investment that we have from our players, several of them going on their third year here.”
Venables is set to enter his third year as the Oklahoma football coach after taking over for Lincoln Riley as he left for USC. In two years, he has a 16-10 record with a 10-3 make last season and a second-place Big 12 finish. But, they lost the bowl game each year, and Venables knows there is even less room for mistakes going against teams such as Alabama, Georgia, and LSU.
Venables just inked a contract extension in June, so he is set in Norman for the foreseeable future.
Big changes for Oklahoma
Oklahoma going to the SEC is a big change, but it should prepare them well if they want to make a run at the College Football Playoff. Danny Stutsman, one of the leaders for the Sooners, opened up on the SEC move:
“The SEC is just three letters. It doesn't really change our mindset of how we approach things. We're going to prepare every single game the exact same way no matter who the opponent is. Obviously, it's better competition in some ways, but when you consider yourself the best, you prepare like that every single week.”
While it is a big deal, Stuntman insists the mentality and mindset won't change one bit.
“We're hungry, man. Hearing all that, the talk about the SEC, it gets brought up every single day. At some point, you realize that the best is the standard for us. That doesn't change.”
The Sooners have a jam-packed schedule in 2024. They have road games against Auburn, Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri, and LSU as well as home games against Alabama, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It will be a very difficult first season in the SEC for Brent Venables and the Sooners, but if things work out, they could be a team to compete with in the future of the SEC.
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