Colin Cowherd compares possible downfall of Brent Venables' Oklahoma to Nebraska

Oklahoma and Nebraska were bitter rivals back in the day but the intensity has faded in recent times. Even so, the two programs will always be connected, with a home-and-home series taking place as recently as 2021 and 2022. But FOX Sports’ Colin Cowherd believes there could be another similarity between them as the Sooners transition into the SEC.

Cowherd believes Oklahoma has the chance to “disappear” in college football once leaving the Big 12 in 2024. He thinks it could be a similar path to the one Nebraska has been on over recent years, fading into consecutive losing seasons and struggling to get back to prominence.

“There is only one college football program in the last 25 to 30 years that went from a national power to — and I mean vying for titles, big brand, TV — to irrelevant,” Cowherd said. “Nebraska… Keep your eye on Oklahoma. Is Oklahoma going to be the second program in our adult life that disappears?”

Three major reasons stick out to Cowherd, with a major one being the recruiting world.

“There are three reasons why,” Cowherd said. “No. 1 is, they’re from a state that doesn’t produce high school football players.

“They have to convince every kid, that didn’t grow up a Husker, to be a Husker. That’s harder than convincing a kid in LA who grew up a Trojan, to be a Trojan. Or a kid who grew up near New Orleans to be a Tiger. Nebraska had to convince every kid that wasn’t a Nebraska fan because most kids are fans of local teams.”

From an in-state perspective, Cowherd does have a point. In Brent Venables‘ first full recruiting cycle, the 2023 class, just three signees were from Oklahoma. Only two of the top 10 in-state kids signed with the Sooners.

However, the Dallas-Fort Worth area — and the state of Texas as a whole — can also be considered home territory for Venables. Three quarterbacks, stretching from Jackson Arnold in 2023 to Kevin Sperry in 2025 and 2024’s Michael Hawkins in between, are from North Texas.

But it’s not just limited to quarterbacks. Oklahoma does have deep roots in the DFW area, putting up a fight against other regional and even national powers. Continuing to be a mainstay just south of the Red River will be a must for Venables.

Oklahoma could struggle with SEC move

Oklahoma saw what life will look like in the SEC on Wednesday night with the 2024 opponents list being released. Road trips to Auburn, Baton Rouge, and Oxford are all on the cards. Alabama and Tennessee will come to Norman as well, setting up two highly-anticipated matchups.

And that’s all without the Red River Showdown against Texas.

Cowherd thinks it’s the wrong move, saying the SEC is not the conference for Oklahoma. He did not offer a different option but tied it back to recruiting, saying they would fall behind.

“Secondly, they joined the wrong conference,” Cowherd said. “When Nebraska left the state of Texas in the Big 12, they lost a lot of recruits. They joined the wrong conference.”

Nebraska left the Big 12 in favor of the Big Ten. The Cornhuskers have not won a conference championship since then, appearing in Indianapolis just once. In fact, they have not had a winning record against Big Ten foes since 2016.

Oklahoma has been the opposite in the Big 12, being considered the class of the conference. At one point, six consecutive championships came back to Norman. In total, the Sooners have 14 Big 12 titles.

That’s not something easy to do in the SEC.

Cowherd questions hire of Brent Venables

“And No. 3, they couldn’t get the coach right,” Cowherd said to wrap up.

Of the three points laid out by Cowherd, the head coaching decision was a big one for him. Of course, Lincoln Riley was the one who left Oklahoma. To some extent, there was nothing the Sooners could do. Riley packed his bags in the middle of the night and headed out West.

Venables wound up being the decision for athletic director Joe Castiglione. A familiar face in Venables was back with the program. It’s not one the FOX Sports personality fully agreed with — especially after the performance in 2022.

“In an offensive era, they hired a defensive coach,” Cowherd said. “He was completely, utterly over his skis. They didn’t get the coach right.”

Oklahoma suffered its first losing season since 1998 at 6-7. A bowl loss to Florida State put them over the edge. Venables stated the ship can immediately be turned around if the Sooners’ can improve on defense.

To no surprise, Cowherd also defended Riley making the move to USC. He believes Riley looked at the direction Oklahoma was going and, rightfully, made the decision to join the Trojans.

In Cowherd’s mind, winning in Los Angeles with USC against Big Ten competition is a whole lot easier than in Norman with Oklahoma against SEC competition.

“Why did Lincoln Riley leave? Because he was joining the SEC, looked at it,” Cowherd said. “Looked at the Bamas, the Georgias and the LSUs and the Floridas and those states and those kids and their leanings — and USC was wide open.

“You think Lincoln Riley didn’t have a gut feeling, somehow, someway, kind of felt Oklahoma to the SEC was going to be a hard pull?”