Paul Finebaum: 'No doubt' Oklahoma is on the path back as they enter SEC

There were plenty of question marks about the Oklahoma program after Lincoln Riley left for USC. But as the Sooners enter their first season in the SEC, the program appears to be back on the rise.

Brent Venables led Oklahoma to 10 wins in Year 2 in Norman, including a victory over rival Texas. Oklahoma will be in the SEC for the first time in 2024, and Paul Finebaum believes the Sooners are ready to compete.

Texas is the former Big 12 power that everyone is talking about, but Finebaum cautions to not forget about OU.

“I don’t think they’re that far behind,” Finebaum said on McElroy and Cubelic in the Morning. “Now again, sometimes you can get a little too close to the sun. But I sensed genuine confidence from Brent Venables a week ago when we talked to him. I think that showed in Joe Castiglione’s decision to reward him after only two years, including one bad year. I think from a recruiting standpoint they’re on their way.”

Oklahoma signed top-10 recruiting classes in 2023 and 2024, according to the On3 Industry rankings. And the Sooners currently hold the No. 9 class for 2025.

Venables has also done an excellent job of bringing in talent from the transfer portal. The Sooners have a brutal schedule in 2024, but Finebaum believes OU will have no problem competing in the SEC for years to come.

“They took a bump and a hit after Lincoln Riley left. They had to reprogram the entire place, reboot it. … From a vibes standpoint I think the program, I think this year if they can land somewhere between 8-4 and 9-3 they’ll be OK, considering their schedule,” Finebaum said. “But I don’t have any doubt Oklahoma is clearly on the way back.”

Paul Finebaum predicts Lincoln Riley will be out at USC at the end of 2024 season

As for former Oklahoma head coach Lincoln Riley, Finebaum isn’t nearly as high on him. In fact, he predicted Monday that this will be Riley’s final season at USC.

“It’s not a matter of wishing him bad luck out there – that’s already happening. And if you look at the reality, the number of players that are bailing on Lincoln Riley in Southern California is startling,” Finebaum said. “I’ve always thought he was a good coach, especially on the offensive side. But I don’t think anybody today views him in that same realm. And quite frankly, I think he’ll be out of Southern Cal at the end of the season.”

That is a bold prediction from Finebaum about a coach who a couple of years ago was being mentioned as one of the best in the nation.

However, Finebaum believes Lincoln Riley is in a downward spin now and won’t be able to recover.

“It’s a matter of whether he crashes and burns or he decides he’s got to seek elsewhere, but I don’t think there’s any way he’s going to be successful out there. I think that train has pulled out of the station,” Finebaum said. “And if indeed that happens, this is one of the most historic crash and burns in the history of college football.

“Because five years ago Lincoln Riley was literally considered among the top three or four coaches in the country. Every time the Cowboys job came along everybody feared he would leave. But he made a disastrous decision, I think, in the end.”