Even with my last-minute boost of optimism, I had thought Oklahoma would have a tough time in Lubbock.
However, I never imagined the Sooners would get blown out.
Make no mistake. Regardless of the 34-27 final score, this was a blowout win for Texas Tech. Those dastardly Red Raiders controlled the line of scrimmage and the ballgame, having taken a 34-13 lead in the third quarter before OU made a decent comeback.
While I've been somewhat critical of Oklahoma defensive coordinator Brent Venables in the past, I had always fallen short of calling for his job. However, that's done.
Brent Venables should be flat-out dismissed as defensive coordinator.
Help find him a head-coaching gig. Let him resign with dignity. Just make sure we have somebody hungry for this job next season.
Frankly, Oklahoma might have three national titles in the Stoops era instead of one if it hadn't been for Brent. In 2004, when OU was beaten 55-19 by USC, the Sooners' defense was just terrible. Pee wee league bad.
And then this year.
Yes, I know coach Bob Stoops and Brent are buddies going back to their Kansas State Miracle-in-Manhattan days. Perhaps it's not such a good thing that Stoops hired a pal for such a crucial position. However, Stoops also gets somewhere close to $3M a year, so he needs to deal with it.
When Mike Stoops shared co-defensive coordinator responsibilities with Venables, Oklahoma had an aggressive, risk-taking defense that produced huge plays, including one of the most memorable plays in college football history -- Roy Williams' leap at the Cotton Bowl.
Since Mike left for the Arizona desert and started sucking as a head coach, Brent managed to suck all by himself as a defensive coordinator. Oklahoma plays a soft zone with a three-man front, can't produce a pass rush, can't break up passes and can't tackle.
I heard WWLS' Al Eschbach cackling over the notion that some Oklahoma fans would have rather had Bo Pellini as a defensive coordinator than Venables. And, I admit to cackling along with Al because Pellini stinks as badly as Venables does, a good reason why LSU could easily lose a national title game. They'll give up 25 to 40 points on any given day.
What's just as bad for the Sooners is that their offensive coordinator isn't much better. While Kevin Wilson has shown flashes of creativity this season, he still insisted on using a three-man running back rotation, when against Tech, clearly, the only effective back was DeMarco Murray.
Coaches told Sports Animal hosts that they were "very happy" with the running back situation, making me wonder again what sort of drugs are available to the Oklahoma athletic department.
The difference between a 9-2 team and a 7-5 team, to me, are zip. It's the same thing: Go to a bowl game without a shot for a national title.
Seriously. We love Bob Stoops here in Norman-land and hope that he stays here a long, long time, raising his family and living in the comfort $3M a year can provide for him.
Whether the man is Oklahoma's football coach for that long, long time is another thing.
Bob needs to make some tough decisions in the off-season this year.
He needs to fire his pal, Brent Venables.
I totally agree. Bob Stoops has become way too conservative, & the defense can handle the run decently, but they suck when it comes to defending the pass. I do not want to hear Sooner fans saying that we deserved to be in the National Title hunt when we are not a top five team.
I don't totally disagree with your assement on Venables. But where was Austin English? Stoops said that he was ready last Tuesday!
In the past against TT they played their zone but challenged those short passes. Maybe Harris and Walker are not strong cover guys!
English was fine up until mid-week, and then because of pain, he had an extra procedure that made him day-to-day and then eventually unavailable.
Well... I completely agree with what you said about having a record of 9-2 is the same as having a record of 7-5. My thing is... if you aren't playing for a national championship, it's time to jump on the nearest bandwagon. Go TIGERS!
Many of us OU fans have said for years that maybe OU let the wrong STOOPS leave Oklahoma! Venables has proven himself as a horible defensive coordinator. I tell all my OU family and friends that OU will NOT win a BIG game under Ventables and I keep proving this year after year. If Bob does not bring in a better defensive coordinator before next season you can MARK MY COMMENTS OU WILL NOT WIN ANOTHER BIG GAME OR BCS TITLE GAME UNDER VENTABLES! We will have to accept 10 win seasons for years to come when we should have 8 or 9 Championships by now. I pray for Brent to leave every year!
Wake UP OU venables is keeping OU from being a great team. I have seen some BAD defensive play ever since Mike Stoops left OU and Venables is the reason for it. We, OU, will NOT win a big time game while Brent is the Defensive Coordinator so as long as he is the one we will never be #1. Bob needs to PULL THE TRIGGER!!!