Brent Venables says Oklahoma isn't “close” to standard right now

Brent Venables said after Saturday's 35-9 home loss to South Carolina that his program does nothing to enhance Oklahoma's brand or honor what the program has represented “for so long.”

The Sooners opened Saturday's loss with an interception on the first play from scrimmage, a fumble that was recovered for a score on their fourth offensive play and a pick-6 on their ninth offensive play. Jackson Arnold replaced Michael Hawkins Jr. at quarterback on OU's fourth possession, which Venables said was an easy decision.

OU lost by more than 20 points for the second straight week. After being defeated 34-3 by Texas in the Cotton Bowl last week, Oklahoma was thrown right back to the mat on Saturday.

“What we put out today as a football team is nowhere near the standard here,” Venables said.

The Sooners actually outscored the Gamecocks 291-254 in the game, but South Carolina was more efficient. The Sooners averaged just 3.5 yards per play. OU once again squandered a pretty strong defensive performance, which may have been the straw that broke the camel's back for the fan base.

South Carolina averaged just 3.7 yards per play. Starting in the second quarter, South Carolina only scored 14 points. Had OU not scored the Gamecocks' 21 points on its first dozen offensive plays, OU might have written a different story.

But “almost” and “what if” are hard to digest for the Sooners right now. Oklahoma has a 1-3 lead heading into SEC league play. Last 4 SEC opponents: at Ole Miss, at Missouri, Alabama, at LSU.

Unless something changes, Oklahoma (4-3) could be in danger of missing a bowl game for the first time since 1998.

“Our job is to put our guys in a position to be successful no matter what,” Venables said. “No excuses, no injuries, no new quarterback, no question of who we're playing, none of it matters. Everyone knows that’s what you sign up for.”

Venables said the problems for OU are “easy to identify” right now, but actually fixing those problems is “not always that easy.” When asked if there were any changes on offense, Venables told the media they would be the first to know if anything changed.

“We have a strong culture. We have a strong belief system,” Venables said. “Nobody wants the results we have achieved in the last few weeks. Nobody wants that. Nobody accepts this in any way. It is not acceptable. But the only way to bounce back from this is to get better. Man, you gotta fight. You have to keep believing.”