Can Brent Venables lead Oklahoma to a National Championship?

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The Oklahoma Sooners enjoyed a breakthrough 2025 season, returning to the College Football Playoff for the first time since 2019 and marking their first CFP appearance under Brent Venables. While it marked a significant step forward for a program that had endured two losing seasons in the previous three years, it still fell short of the ultimate goal: a national championship.

Oklahoma has, unfortunately, developed a reputation for reaching the College Football Playoff but failing to capitalize once it gets there. They have five appearances in the CFP, but have yet to win a game, which is the most a team has made it without a win in the country.

That's the narrative that Venables is trying to change. But it's one of the biggest questions that national analysts have about the Sooners and Venables.

"I think the only way that you look at 2025 is a massive success," Chris Phillips said on 'SEC Unfiltered.' "But here's the big question. How do they follow it up?"

Venables has already proven he can win national championships as a coordinator, helping Oklahoma and the Clemson Tigers capture three titles combined. But he has yet to prove he can win it as a head coach. That's the next step in his development.

Making the CFP again would reinforce that Oklahoma is back among the nation's elite, but it won't be enough to change the conversation surrounding Venables. The next step is winning on college football's biggest stage.

If the Sooners can finally break through in the postseason and make a deep playoff run, Venables will replace one lingering narrative with another: that he has officially arrived as a championship-caliber head coach, ready to lead Oklahoma to No. 8.

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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Can Brent Venables lead Oklahoma to a National Championship?

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