How Brent Venables turned Oklahoma around in Year 2 entering Red River Rivalry vs Texas

Who are the Oklahoma Sooners, really?

When Oklahoma played in the Red River Rivalry last year against Texas, it entered 3-2 with losses at the hands of eventual Big 12 champion Kansas State and national champion runner-up TCU. This year, the Sooners blow into Dallas up 5-0 but without a signature win.

The Sooners, of course, can only play their schedule. The No. 12 team in the country is coming off a 50-20 win over Iowa State, and it faces its staunchest test so far this season against No. 4 Texas. It's a chance for second-year coach Brent Venables and the Sooners to prove what the college football world is beginning to suspect: Oklahoma belongs in the national conversation.

This raises the question: How did Oklahoma go from 6-6 in the regular season with an appearance in the Pop-Tart Bowl last year to a legitimate conversation piece as a dark horse playoff threat in 2023? And will Oklahoma avoid a second-half slump similar to 2022 in which it dropped four of its last five games? This Sooner squad has the makeup to do so. But execution is going to be key.

Why did Oklahoma hire Brent Venables?

Following Lincoln Riley's abrupt departure to USC, Oklahoma found itself trying to uphold a legacy of success that was revitalized with Bob Stoops following the brief John Blake years.

REQUIRED READING: Mussatto: Brent Venables has rebuilt the OU football defense, but is it ready for Texas?

About a week after Riley's absconsion, Oklahoma announced its man: Former Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables, who had helped to build an ACC dynasty alongside Dabo Swinney.

Venables had spent time with Oklahoma prior to his tenure in South Carolina, having been a co-defensive coordinator, defensive coordinator, and assistant head coach from 1999 to 2011. In many ways, it was a "back to roots" hire for Oklahoma, with Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione singing Venables' praises in the school's release.

"This is a truly great day for Oklahoma," Castiglione said in a statement at the time. "A born leader, [Venables] helped build and sustain an exceptional culture during his 13 years here at Oklahoma and his 10 seasons at Clemson. He has a track record of establishing meaningful relationships with his players and preparing them for the next level. Brent embraces competition and the challenges that come with it, and there is no doubt in my mind he is the right man to lead OU football into its next great era."

To Castiglione's point, it's hard to question Venables' results with the Clemson defense. Once Clemson found sustained success, his defense was a big part of it. In 2017, Clemson's defense was second in the country in points per game; in 2018 it was first; in 2019 it was third; and in 2021 it was second. That type of production over an extended period of time comes with some great coaching, something that wasn't lost on Oklahoma.

It was a hard pivot from the QB whisperer Riley, but it made sense for the direction of the program.

What went wrong in Brent Venables' first season at Oklahoma?

2022 for Oklahoma was a failure on multiple levels, with a myriad of things going wrong.

For starters, one of the biggest things that put Oklahoma on the back foot was with Riley leaving, so too did 2022 Heisman winner and All-American Caleb Williams. Losing Williams would be a massive blow for any team, let alone one with a new incoming coach.

Oklahoma turned to UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel, and that underlined a bigger issue: Oklahoma, a school that historically recruits extremely well, didn't have many returning starters and brought in a lot of transfers. That isn't inherently bad, but it did throw some writing up on the wall before a game was played in 2022.

The expectations, as they often are for new coaches, were also way too high. Former Oklahoma quarterback Trevor Knight declared the year a failure at this time last year, saying the losses to Kansas State and TCU made 2022 a wash.

“You’re not going to the Big 12 title game,” Knight said at the time, per The Field of 12 After Dark podcast. “It is a failed season already in Norman, if you ask me.”

Even with the (relatively) diminished QB play with Riley gone, the bigger concern was the defense. Oklahoma gave up 30 points per game in 2022, 99th in the country. As Venables put it earlier this year, per Eric Bailey of Tulsa World: "We have to play great defense at the point of attack. We got bullied around and beat up too much ... we got to get better as coaches and players."

Oklahoma also played last season without the most important part of a Venables defense: Elite pass rushing and linebacker play. Though underperformance in the NFL was a recurring theme, Vic Beasley, Clelin Farrell, Shaq Lawson, and Isaiah Simmons were all major names to come out of the Clemson program. Oklahoma needs to find those players to make replicate Venables' defensive success.

What's changed in Year 2 for Brent Venables at Oklahoma?

There's an elephant in the room when talking about Oklahoma's 5-0 start: The biggest difference from 3-2 last year is the schedule.

Oklahoma has wins over Arkansas State, SMU, Tulsa, Cincinnati, and Iowa State. Hardly the Kansas State-TCU 1-2 punch heading into Dallas last year.

There is, however, no doubt Oklahoma has looked better via the eye test, which is all we have when it comes to this schedule.

One of the big changes in 2023? Venables getting his hands dirty in the defense more, and seemingly wresting some control from defensive coordinator Ted Roof, a controversial hire last year.

"Not being involved, to me, isn't where I need to be," Venables said in August, per Football Scoop. "I need to be completely involved defensively. Not that they need my help but that's what I know. That's how I got to this position. A year ago was certainly involved but not to the depth that I think I needed to be after evaluating all of it. It's going to be a collective thing, just like every other defensive staff I've ever been a part of."

Even with a down 2022, Oklahoma had the fifth-best recruiting class in the country for 2023, up from No. 8 in 2022. The Sooners.

But it isn't all defense. Another key is the consistency of Gabriel.

Gabriel is completing 75% of his passes, fifth in the country. He has 1,593 yards, 15 touchdowns, and just two interceptions. Gabriel didn't play against Texas last year after suffering a concussion against TCU. This will be the true litmus test for the fifth-year senior.

Though Gabriel put up strong numbers last season, a series of one-possession losses led to some grumblings about closing out big games. The criticism of Gabriel wasn't a condemnation of his ability. But Oklahoma was coming off a string of Baker Mayfield, Kyler Murray, Jalen Hurts, and Williams (with Spencer Rattler bridging Murray and Hurts). Much like those of Venables, the expectations were always sky high.

With all of this in mind, Oklahoma's game against Texas is a gigantic litmus test for both Venables and Gabriel. Oklahoma has played very well against its competition so far. But Texas is sure to bring competition. In college football, that distinction is important. Saturday marks the first time we see where Oklahoma really is in Year 2 of Venables' tenure, along with where it is going to go.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: How Brent Venables made Oklahoma-Texas matter in 2023 Red River Rivalry