Brent Venables discusses Oklahoma’s thin margins, weaknesses

Oklahoma is no stranger to close calls. On Thursday, Sooners head coach Brent Venables addressed the team’s uncomfortable trend toward nail-biting finishes.

“Don’t do the things that will absolutely punish you,” Venables said. “Through seven games, we didn’t turn the ball over and the game will honor you for that. On the flip side, I make it that simple. Because, again, when you turn the ball over, everything else just gets highlighted; all the other mistakes that are there.”

The game hasn’t honored Oklahoma lately. After beginning the season 7-0, the Sooners have lost back-to-back contests by a combined eight points. In its two losses, Oklahoma has committed six total turnovers.

Although the team’s mistakes certainly haven’t helped, Oklahoma’s recent shortcomings don’t fall solely on turnovers. Oklahoma’s tendency toward tight finishes reared its ugly head far before Week 9.

Oklahoma beat UCF by just two points. The week before? The Sooners squeezed out a 34-30 win over Texas. It’s been over a month since Oklahoma has enjoyed a comfortable victory. Venables doesn’t deny Oklahoma’s issues have quietly been haunting the team all season.

Not a new issue for Oklahoma

“There’s always all these underlying issues that sometimes aren’t necessarily under the same microscope,” Venables said. “It’s just not an Oklahoma issue, it’s just football. We don’t have our heads in the sand of what those [issues] might be.

“We may not get the result that we want or everybody else wants as fast as everybody might want. But, we recognize whatever those are. We understand where our weaknesses are better than anybody else.”

With three games remaining for the Sooners, Oklahoma must fix those weaknesses quickly. After dropping two straight games, Oklahoma has dropped to No. 17 in the AP Top 25. Although the College Football Playoff may no longer be in the cards for the Sooners, Venables isn’t giving up on his team.

“When I watch film, I watch practice, I see what the bad stuff is because I feel like that’s what the opponent’s always looking at,” Venables said. “They’re gonna see that and that’s what our job is, as coaches, is to always be on guard and have a plan on how to try to fix things.

“Some things are a little bit easier than others. Some of it’s developing, continuing to develop in your personnel where they might be weak.”

Venables and Co. will have a chance to show off its improvements this weekend. On Saturday, Oklahoma will square off against West Virginia at 7 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast on FOX.