Oklahoma in bowl jeopardy after big home loss to South Carolina

Oklahoma is down bad.

The Sooners fell to South Carolina at home on Saturday, 35-9, dropping them to 4-3 in their first season as an SEC member.

With a brutal remaining conference schedule, Oklahoma could easily finish the season 5-7 and miss a bowl game for the first time since 1998. The Sooners play Associated Press No. 18 Ole Miss (5-2, 1-2 in SEC), No. 19 Missouri (6-1, 2-1 in SEC), No. 7 Alabama (5-1, 2-1 in SEC) and No. 8 LSU (5-1, 2-0 in SEC) in their final four SEC games.

It would be the second time Oklahoma has had a losing record in three seasons under head coach Brent Venables. He was hired in December 2021 to replace former head coach Lincoln Riley, who left for USC that offseason.

Venables received a six-year extension in June 2024.

The Sooners finished 6-7 in 2022, Venables’ first season as head coach, losing the Cheez-It Bowl to Florida State, 35-32. The program rebounded last fall to go 10-3, finishing the year ranked 15th in the AP poll.

Oklahoma has sorely missed former offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, who was hired as Mississippi State head coach in November 2023. Venables promoted former North Texas head coach Seth Littrell to offensive coordinator after he spent the 2023 season as an Oklahoma offensive analyst. The results on the field have been disastrous.

The Sooners entered Week 8 ranked 96th in FBS in scoring (24.3 points per game) and 126th in total offense (287.7 yards per game). Against South Carolina, Oklahoma gained 291 yards. The team’s offensive shortcomings will make winning any of its remaining SEC games extremely difficult.

Through Week 7, Missouri ranks 12th in total defense (270.8 yards allowed per game) while allowing 15.3 points per game. Ole Miss is 16th in yards allowed (289.4 per game) and third in scoring defense (10.6 points per game). And while Alabama and LSU have been weaker on defense, both have explosive offenses. Oklahoma will likely have difficulty keeping pace.

As ugly as Saturday’s loss to South Carolina was, it’s likely just the beginning of Oklahoma’s nightmare.