SEC Network analyst believes Brent Venables saved his job last season

NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...

The Oklahoma Sooners are coming off a season in which they were one of the best teams in the SEC. The Sooners went 10-3 and made the College Football Playoff for the first time under head coach Brent Venables.

While the ending product turned out well, it was close to teetering toward disaster. The Sooners went 6-2 in their first eight games, with the two losses coming against their two best opponents up to that point. Oklahoma still had road trips against the Tennessee Volunteers and the Alabama Crimson Tide. On top of that, the Sooners had to face the Missouri Tigers and the LSU Tigers at home.

If the Sooners fell apart down the stretch, that could have been the end of Venables' time in Norman. However, the team would go 4-0, shocking SEC Network analyst Paul Finebaum.

"The fact that Venables cobbled together that record was pretty remarkable," Finebaum said on WWLS The Sports Animal. "I remember being in Norman for the Ole Miss game and felt like the season was over. Felt like maybe Venables was over. And what did he do? Went to Tennessee and Alabama and won."

Venables not only kept Oklahoma's season alive, but he also changed the perception of his tenure in Norman. Winning at Tennessee and Alabama while finishing with a College Football Playoff berth gave the Sooners momentum heading into 2026 and restored confidence that the program is trending in the right direction.

Now comes the next challenge: proving last season was the beginning of sustained success rather than a one-year breakthrough. If Oklahoma can build on that finish, the Sooners should once again find themselves in the SEC championship and College Football Playoff conversation.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on X (formerly known as Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on X @jaronspor.

This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: SEC Network analyst believes Brent Venables saved his job last season

More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos