Sooners' Brent Venables' message to his team: 'Don't lose confidence'

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

When you have an early-season setback like the Oklahoma Sooners did against the Michigan Wolverines, your confidence naturally takes a hit. But in college football, you don't have time to mope around; you've got to pick yourself up and get ready for the next one.

While the New Mexico Lobos aren't one of the bigger names in the sport, they are a formidable challenge to Oklahoma. The Lobos won nine games last year and are off to a 2-0 start this year with one of the best defenses in college football. They are coming to Norman this weekend expecting to leave with a win.

Head coach Brent Venables said at his press conference that the team watched the tape from the Michigan game together. Ultimately, he concluded

"We watched several plays from the game," Venables said via Sooners Illustrated. "Certainly a lot on offense as a football team. Just to be very pointed. Is that them making a play? Is that us getting got, or is that us not doing some of the most basic fundamental things… I think it's important for everybody to know: don't lose confidence in what we're doing."

That doesn't mean Oklahoma can overlook Michigan's problems. The offensive line needs to improve, the offense needs to sustain more drives, and the Sooners need to eliminate the fundamental mistakes that repeatedly put them behind schedule.

But Saturday against New Mexico gives Oklahoma an immediate opportunity to do both at once: acknowledge what went wrong without letting the loss define the team. The Sooners don't need to erase the Michigan game; they need to prove they learned from it.

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: Sooners' Brent Venables' message to his team: 'Don't lose confidence'

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