I believe Brent Venables is a good man and a good defensive coordinator. But time is running out for him to prove he’s a good head coach. Under Stoops, the Sooners rarely dipped below double-digit wins. Now, Oklahoma can’t find a way to stumble into a bowl game.

When Lincoln Riley left, and Brent Venables was hired, he promised discipline, toughness, and excellence. Right now, he’s 0-for-3. The Sooners make way too many mistakes to win games in the SEC. Even when they have a chance, they find a way to mess it up.

The single biggest decision of Venables’ time as OU’s head coach will be the offensive coordinator hire. If that goes well, it could save his job. If it goes south, he’ll be gone. The Sooners can’t keep playing with half a team. The result will look exactly like Saturday night.

As things currently stand, Oklahoma doesn’t have good enough coaches or players to compete in the SEC. We’re about to find out over the next year how seriously OU’s people calling the shots take winning.