It’s been 294 days. 294 days since Lincoln Riley broke the college football world, left Oklahoma, and took his family west to USC. Yet here we are, 294 days later, and Oklahoma fans still miss him.
Despite beating down one of the worst Nebraska teams we’ve seen in quite a while, they are still asking for Brett Venables to be fired. Is it because Jeff Lebby isn’t the offensive genius he was stacked up to be? Is it because Dillon Gabriel is an extremely poor mans version of Johnny Manziel? Is it because Venables just isn’t meant to be a head coach? These aren’t the questions we’re asking. These are the questions of the Oklahoma faithful.
Brett Venables was supposed to bring over a tough nose defense. Something that was improved upon by the Alex Grinch defenses in the past. However, Oklahoma is ranked 43rd and 42nd in rush and pass EPA/play. For Oklahoma fans reading this and scratching their head, EPA/play is an advanced metric that translates yards to points. Essentially, the defense brought over by Venables is about average. And average doesn’t get it done in a Big 12 schedule, let alone a future SEC schedule.
We get it. Breakups are tough. Oklahoma is going through one that is especially tough because of the success Riley brought to their program, and they can’t seem to get over their ex. Our hope is Oklahoma settles on their future as a 7-6 SEC team with Brett Venables at the helm. It’s worked out well for Florida! Unfortunately it’s going to be tough to watch a USC-led Lincoln Riley team make headlines every week. Headlines that come naturally to a head coach in the entertainment capital of the world. But you’ll get over it one day, right Oklahoma fans?
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