Oklahoma’s slow start vs. Maine won't quiet the calls asking for Brent Venables’ job

It did eventually correct itself, but things were looking dour for Brent Venables' Oklahoma Sooners in the first quarter of their must-win home game vs. the FCS Maine Black Bears. Yes, this is a must-win for OU if the Sooners want to go bowling, and no, it did not look promising through the first frame. 4-4 Oklahoma was tied with Maine through the first 15 minutes of Saturday's must-win home game.

Thankfully, Oklahoma got back to playing like Oklahoma in the second quarter. They scored 28 unanswered points to make it 35-7 heading into halftime. It is at home vs. a different level of competition, but this was the type of play we thought Oklahoma would be capable of vs. Power Four or even good Group of Five competition. Sometimes, you just have to pay seven figures for a win.

Where Oklahoma did the bulk of its damage in the second quarter was on the ground. Four of the Sooners' five first-half touchdowns came from the rushing attack. Their only touchdown pass was a 90-yard from Jackson Arnold to J.J. Hester late in the second quarter. On Arnold's 14 other first-half passing attempts, he was only 8-of-14 passes for 76 yards, averaging merely 5.4 yards per attempt.

We have to wonder if this offensive output will be good enough vs. Oklahoma's final three SEC foes.

Brent Venables is still on the hot seat despite Oklahoma's game vs. Maine

Let's be real. You have to keep the main thing the main thing, even if the main thing is the Maine thing for a week. Through the first nine weeks of the season, Venables has not shown us that he can be a trusted head coach in SEC play. The Sooners' only SEC win was over equally pitiful Auburn. With Missouri, Alabama and LSU left on the schedule, this means OU must win one to get to a bowl game.

While I think any of those SEC teams could conceivably lose to Oklahoma, it would probably require a C-minus game out of both Alabama and LSU for that to happen, in addition to Oklahoma playing its A-game. As for Missouri, that is the game that will inevitably determine if OU will go bowling or not. Missouri may still be ranked inside of the top 25 somehow, but that team is running out of gas quickly.

Ultimately, this was not the season Oklahoma expected. We knew that transitioning to the SEC was not going to be easy, but nobody really thought this team would be a borderline bowl team. I did initially have the Sooners going 6-6 before pivoting to 8-4. Clearly, I was right the first time around. While I suspect they will get a convincing win over Maine, I am not sure they get No. 6 this season.

For now, Boomer Sooner Nation should enjoy the winning while they can because it will be fleeting.