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The Oklahoma football program had an up and down 2024 season, concluding with a tough loss against LSU in Death Valley but also including some huge wins, including most notably a blowout victory over Alabama. Oklahoma ultimately finished the season at 6-6 in their first full campaign as members of the SEC, and are now preparing for their bowl game matchup vs Navy.
Recently, head coach Brent Venables gave an interview to the SEC Network about what a challenge it was coaching in the SEC for the first time.
“I was warned ahead of time, but just the challenge week in and week out,” said Venables when asked about what he learned in his first year in the conference. “What the conference schedule is going to be like. The environments. The fronts that you're going to play, both the offensive line and the defensive line of everybody that you play. Everybody's got really good players. We probably saw six of the top ten defenses in all of college football.”
Venables also spoke on the specific challenges that his Sooners faced during their first year in the SEC.
“There was a baptism, if you will,” said Venables. “We had a bunch of injuries that we had to go through on offense, so a good welcoming to the SEC. But the length, the speed, the physicality, and then the depth of the conference were the things, having gone through it. It's a very real thing.”
Indeed, the SEC has long been known as the premier conference in college football, consistently sending the most talent to the NFL year after year, a figure that is only expected to increase with the recent additions of Oklahoma and Texas.
Overall, it's hard to be too critical of what Oklahoma was able to accomplish in 2024, especially considering the truly unbelievable amount of injuries the team was dealt, including in their win over Alabama.
In any case, the Sooners will look to finish out their season on a high note on Dec. 27 against Navy.
