Oklahoma football coach Brent Venables’ ‘challenge’ to Sooners on SEC move

Oklahoma’s football program is officially a member of the SEC, along with Texas, amid a flurry of realignment changes next season. The Sooners going to the SEC is a big move and it will be a tough task for Brent Venables.

Moving from the Big 12 Conference to the SEC – arguably the best conference in college football – is a massive change for the Sooners. Venables talked about the challenges of moving to the SEC, per Chris Low of ESPN.com.

“Everything counts. There is very little margin for error,” Venables said. “There are so many things that decide games in this league and you better be ready for all of them. How prepared are we? We will find out. Until you’re in the middle of it, you don’t really know. So it would just be a guess on my part. Like I said, we’ll find out. What I do know is the challenge of it all, the depth of the teams in that conference, and what I feel the best about is the depth of investment we have from our players, many of whom are going into their third year here.”

Venables is set to enter his third year as Oklahoma’s football coach after taking over for Lincoln Riley when he left for USC. In two years, he’s 16-10, with a 10-3 mark last season and a second-place finish in the Big 12. But, they’ve lost the bowl game every year, and Venables knows there’s less room for error against teams like Alabama, Georgia and LSU.

Venables just signed a contract extension in June, so he’s set in Norman for the foreseeable future.

Big changes for Oklahoma

Oklahoma going to the SEC is a big change, but it should set them up well if they want to make a run at the College Football Playoff. Danny Stutsman, one of the Sooners’ leaders, spoke about the SEC move:

“SEC is only three letters. It doesn’t really change how we approach things. We will prepare every game in exactly the same way, no matter who the opponent is. Obviously, it’s better competition in some ways, but when you think you’re the best, you prepare like that every week.”

While it’s a big deal, Stuntman insists that mindset and mentality won’t change at all.

“We’re hungry, man. Hearing all this talk about the SEC, it’s being talked about every day. At some point, you realize that the best is the standard for us. That doesn’t change.”

The Sooners have a packed schedule in 2024. They have road games against Auburn, Texas, Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU, as well as home games against Alabama, South Carolina and Tennessee. It will be a very difficult first season in the SEC for Brent Venables and the Sooners, but if things work out, they could be a team to contend with in the future of the SEC.