TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — He hasn’t been perfect, but Oklahoma Sooners fans are now witnessing the payoff of the patience they invested in head coach Brent Venables.

Venables arrived at Oklahoma as one of College Football’s premier assistant coaches. Four years into his tenure, the Sooners have endured peaks and valleys, yet clear evidence now shows that Venables has grown into the role.

On Saturday night, the Sooners’ head coach secured the defining victory of his career, a 23-21 road win over No. 4 Alabama.

Oklahoma now stands just two victories away from clinching a berth in the 12-team College Football Playoff for the first time under Venables.

At worst, the Sooners close the season with eight wins, a top quarterback, and an elite defense returning in 2026. 

Every indicator signals that this program is firmly on the rise.

During the Lincoln Riley era in the Big 12, no one can dispute that the Sooners were a perennial threat to reach the four-team College Football Playoff every year. 

Yet they were never sufficiently battle-tested within the conference, and Riley’s defenses carried too many flaws to contend for national titles.

Fast-forward to 2025: Oklahoma has now defeated college football’s most storied brand, Alabama, in back-to-back seasons.

True, Nick Saban no longer paces the opposing sideline, but there remains profound significance in toppling the SEC’s alpha in each of your first two years inside the league.

While the offense remains a work in progress, Venables has made the correct investments in the defense. Teams coached by Riley were never going to be stout enough defensively to chase championships.

Though the Sooners have taken the longer, less-traveled path, they are proving they committed to building it the right way—how Venables has rebuilt the defense and forged a squad capable of matching any SEC foe.

Oklahoma’s odds of winning it all this season may still appear slim, but after conquering Alabama on the road, who in the SEC can they not compete against?

Texas A&M needed late heroics to survive a three-win South Carolina team. Georgia no longer resembles the juggernaut that claimed two titles under Kirby Smart.

This victory brings relief, yet it also serves as a beacon that the Venables-led Sooners are headed in the right direction.