Oklahoma may have had the worst Saturday of any CFB program

There are bad Saturdays, and then there is whatever the Oklahoma Sooners just endured.

Saturday was not a day to remember for Brent Venables and the Oklahoma football program.

It was a rough year for Boomer Sooner Nation, no doubt, but Saturday has to be one of the worst days in program history. Not only did Oklahoma lose to Texas Tech in Lubbock in overtime to stumble to 6-6, but former Sooners of note flourished on the biggest of stages. Spencer Rattler is thriving now at South Carolina, while Caleb Williams and Lincoln Riley are thinking about the CFP.

The Gamecocks finished the regular season at 8-4 with huge upset wins over rivals Tennessee and Clemson. As for the Trojans, they are sitting at a surprising 11-1 on the year. USC is a Pac-12 Championship game victory over rival Utah away from making the College Football Playoff for the first time ever. When it comes to Williams, he secured the Heisman Trophy in the Notre Dame win.

Venables and his team may have achieved bowl eligibility, but OU has to be filled only with regret.

Oklahoma just suffered one of the worst Saturdays in Sooners program history

Not since the end of the John Blake era has Oklahoma felt so directionless. Historically, this is a top-three program all time. With the Sooners moving to the SEC in a few years, that will certainly impact the type of job this place becomes. For now, Venables faces immense pressure in 2023. He does not have to win the Big 12, but he needs to have a year two as Steve Sarkisian had at Texas.

While most programs of Oklahoma’s caliber pop in year two when they have the right head coach, keep in mind that Riley had that thing humming before he left for USC. Not only that, but he took over a gem of a program over half a decade ago when Bob Stoops opted to retire. In short, OU will need to go somewhere around 8-4 or 9-3 next year for Venables to realistically get a third season.

Ultimately, the last thing the Sooners will want is for the program to be trending down when it heads into the SEC. They are not going to be the blue-blood of that new league like they have been in the Big 12, or in the Big Eight before that. Oklahoma can still have great success in the SEC, but it may look more like LSU or Florida having success, not like Alabama or Georgia being dominant.

For now, Oklahoma must get ready to play in a meaningless bowl game after a lousy 6-6 season.

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