Brent Venables and Lincoln Riley are on thin ice at Oklahoma and USC

Venables — USA TODAY Sports Syndication, The Oklahoman

When Lincoln Riley came to USC football and Brent Venables came to Oklahoma football, fan wars between Trojan and Sooner backers raged on social media and elsewhere. As we pointed out, though, neither side has emerged a winner in this exchange.

“We were all waiting for that moment when one school and one fan base could say it won the war. It turns out the joke was on all of us, on both sides. USC and Oklahoma fans were both wrong. Neither school has prospered. Neither school has the upper hand. Both teams are mired in misery.”

What adds to the shock value attached to the struggles of both Oklahoma and USC is that Venables and Riley have both produced a really good season at their current jobs. Riley’s 2022 season achieved 11 wins, and Venables won 10 games in a solid 2023 season. There were flaws with those two teams (2022 USC and 2023 Oklahoma), but when USC wins 11 or Oklahoma wins 10, that should generally translate into recruiting and transfer portal momentum which carries into future seasons and leads to rosters deep enough to have answers to various questions. That hasn’t happened at either school. Now we have to contemplate this surprising point: Both Brent Venables and Lincoln Riley are firmly on the hot seat entering 2025. Let’s talk more about these two coaching situations:

OKLAHOMA LOSS TO MISSOURI

Venables – USA TODAY Sports Syndication – The Oklahoman

Oklahoma led Missouri 23-16 late in regulation and then allowed Missouri — which has a below-average offense — to march right down the field. OU then coughed up a turnover for Missouri’s winning touchdown. The loss has OU fans irate at Venables. Many people who follow Sooner football think this is one of the worst losses in Oklahoma football history.

OKLAHOMA-USC COMPARISONS GROW

Oct 19, 2024; College Park,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/brent-venables-lincoln-riley-thin-174228072.html

Author : Trojans Wire

Publish date : 2024-11-11 17:42:28

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