Will next year be the last for OU coach Brent Venables in Norman? Navy will be too much for OU?

OU and NAVY  in Fort Worth…..

The Oklahoma Sooners will take on the Navy in fifteen days in a bowl game in Fort Worth.  A win will keep the Big Red from having it’s second losing season in three under head coach Brent Venables.  That, sports fans, especially Sooner Nation members, is totally not acceptable in this neck of the woods (Oklahoma).  The fact that OU will enter the game with a lessor squad, as of injuries and those players that are money hunting and are in the portal, including the starting quarterback for the final games of the 2024 season, Jackson Arnold, do not do the Sooners any favors.  All these negative issues do not bode well for an OU victory in the bowl, and a win over the Midshipmen will not be an easy task to pull off.  As of this date of publication, the number of Sooner players opting out  of the game continue to grow.  Lets not forget that the Navy will have their full compliment (minus any injuries) of players of a 8-3 or 8-4 team, depending upon the game with Army this Saturday.

We can say that 2025 season will be a make or break one for Venables and his regime at OU.  The schedule will be harder with the addition of Michigan in a home contest in Norman. The Sooners get seven home games (including Michigan) and that is a positive, but games on the road at Alabama, Tennessee, South Carolina, and the Red River shootout with Texas are negatives.  Included in the home games are the toughs of LSU, Auburn, Ole Miss, and Missouri.  Every one of those games are not guaranteed wins.  Needless to say, OU will play a schedule where nine of the games are losable, and Venables and his team have a monster schedule again, just like 2024.

Having a new offensive coordinator, no matter who is the quarterback, Hawkins or a portal transfer, and with a still questionable offensive line and a set of new top receivers, the wins might be hard to come by.  Counting on a continued growth of the defense is not a certain right now.  So face the facts Sooner Nation, 2025 could be more of the same as of 2024.  Nobody really knows right now, just before the bowl game in two weeks.

In a quick look at the Navy game, money says, Navy.  The Sooners must stop the potent Navy running game, which the Sooners should be capable.  But playing a version of the option game will not be easy, and OU might be short again on scoring. Do not look for interceptions for the OU secondary and if OU is going to get some needed points from the defense, causing fumbles and taking advantage of those turnovers will be paramount.   Navy will run the ball, shorten the game, and with that, three and outs by the Sooner offense give the Middies the advantage.  Right now, Navy is my pick, 27 to 16.

When is Oklahoma’s bowl game?

The Armed Forces Bowl between Oklahoma and Navy starts at 11 a.m. from Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas.

What channel is Oklahoma vs. Navy?

TV channel: ESPN

Livestream: ESPN+ (here’s how to stream it live)

The Armed Forces Bowl between Oklahoma and Navy will be broadcasted on ESPN. It will also be streamed on ESPN+.

More: Why new OU football offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle was at top of Brent Venables’ list

Feature photo:  BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images