Oklahoma falls to 4-4 after 42-25 home loss to South Carolina, and the pressure is on Venables
South Carolina's LaNorris Sellers accounted for five touchdowns in Norman, leaving Oklahoma 4-4 and 2-3 in the SEC with a trip to No. 17 Florida next.
Oklahoma is at .500 eight games into a season that started with talk of a return to the College Football Playoff. South Carolina won 42-25 in Norman on Saturday, dropping the Sooners to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in SEC play. It was their second straight loss at home, and Easy Sportz reported that the crowd booed the offense during a slow start and chanted for changes to the coaching staff.
The game turned on LaNorris Sellers. The South Carolina quarterback threw for 301 yards and three touchdowns and ran for 96 yards and two more. Oklahoma's defense had carried the team for most of the fall, and it had no answer for him. The offense was worse. The Associated Press reported that the Sooners had 118 yards and 10 points through three quarters, and most of their 25 points came after the result was settled. The Gamecocks have now won three straight, a run that includes wins over Tennessee and at Florida.
Brent Venables didn't defend what he saw. Speaking to News9 after the game, he called the loss "embarrassing in every way" and took responsibility for it. He would not discuss possible changes to his staff or at quarterback. Those questions now hang over John Mateer and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle, a pairing that was expected to make the offense more dangerous this year.
The pattern is hard to ignore. Oklahoma scored 51 points against UTEP in the opener. In the seven games since, it has averaged 17.9 points and has not scored more than 27. The upset of then-No. 1 Texas was the high point, but the Sooners followed it by losing 21-13 at home to Kentucky. Oklahoma turned the ball over four times in that game and four times in the 41-13 loss at Georgia.
What it means for Florida
Things don't get easier. Oklahoma plays at No. 17 Florida on Saturday, November 7, on SEC Network. The Sooners are 1-2 away from Norman this year: they won 23-15 at Mississippi State and lost at Michigan and Georgia, scoring 10 and 13 points in those two losses. Florida lost 38-19 at home to South Carolina earlier this season, so both teams have now been beaten by the same quarterback.
The Gators are favored. Novig is the only venue on this site's board for the game, so its price is also the best one available, and there is no gap between venues to compare. Novig has Florida at -174, or $57.47 profit per $100, and Oklahoma at +127, or $127.00 per $100. Those numbers put the Gators' chances at a little better than 60 percent.
A win in Gainesville would get Oklahoma back above .500 and give Venables his best answer to the noise in the stands. Another game like Saturday's would put the Sooners' bowl hopes at risk and raise the questions he declined to answer.
