If you're going to talk the talk, then you gotta walk the walk. That phrase usually applies to something you're going to prove but Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables is blowing hot air without bringing his receipts.
The Sooners boss was asked by reporters on Tuesday about the competitiveness of the SEC, which the school newly joined two seasons ago after departing the Big 12, and he had quite a revisionist response.
“This isn't the old Big 12 days where Oklahoma destroys everybody every single week except one game of the year," he said confidently. Well, those are some fighting words and they did not go unanswered.
Coach Venables lost eight Conference games in his two seasons in the Big 12 https://t.co/O4eLzaJ3lo
— Big 12 Conference (@Big12Conference) October 14, 2025
"Coach Venables lost eight Conference games in his two seasons in the Big 12," the conference's official X account wrote in response.
Indeed, Kansas State, TCU, Baylor, West Virginia, Texas Tech, Kansas and Oklahoma State all defeated Venables and the Sooners in their final two years as members.
Big 12's savage clap back at Oklahoma's Brent Venables exposes SEC's lack of parity
The Big 12 came with its receipts and humbled Venables but also reignited a debate that isn't talked about enough. The SEC may have better quality programs but parity has been rare for the league compared to the Big 12.
Sure, Oklahoma won the conference six years in a row from 2015-20 but it hasn't had a repeat champion since then. In fact, four of the last five champs were two-loss teams, illustrating the kind of parity the league has had for quite some time.
The SEC has been won by Alabama or Georgia 10 of the last 11 seasons with only one of those instances including a team with two losses (2024-25). There has been practically zero parity in the SEC for quite some time and that should strengthen the Big 12 in the quality argument.
Just as the Pac-12 was maligned for its members constantly cannibalizing one another, the Big 12 has inherited that mantle and it should wear that honor with pride. Having more than a handful of teams that can beat any other team in the league on any given weekend just shows how good the conference is across the board.
Parity is good for college football and ironically the only way Venables and Oklahoma will win the SEC is if parity assists them in toppling the Crimson Tide-Bulldogs monopoly.