College football head coaches don’t often fare well as play callers. There’s often way too much on their plate to worry about the play-to-play minutiae in the middle of a game and, a lot of times, it’s a decision made in desperation to save a floundering tenure.
That was the vibe in the offseason when Oklahoma coach Brent Venables announced he would effectively be adding defensive coordinator to his responsibilities, making the decision on the heels of a second 6-7 season, capped by a loss to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl.
It may have saved his tenure.
Venables is proving to be a high-level exception when it comes to play-calling head coaches. The 11th-ranked Sooners’ 24-17 win against No. 22 Auburn Saturday served as an irrefutable proof of concept.
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Oklahoma’s defensive line put Auburn’s offensive line in a blender and kept former Sooners quarterback Jackson Arnold in a vice grip all night long. Oklahoma logged a program record 10 sacks, including a safety that iced the game in its favor.
Eight different Sooners had at least half of a sack. Edge rusher R Mason Thomas and defensive lineman Jayden Jackson combined for 4.5.
On top of its inability to pass block, Auburn’s offensive front was also hopelessly overmatched whenever the Tigers tried to run the ball. Hugh Freeze’s team managed 1.9 yards per carry as it rushed for 67 yards total.
Oklahoma has now allowed just 36 points through its first four games. The Sooners currently lead the SEC in total defense, scoring defense and passing defense.
Venables is back in his bag and Oklahoma looks like one of the SEC’s best because of it.
Indiana stays on track
Indiana won 11 games last season — coach Curt Cignetti’s debut year — for the first time in program history. It started 10-0 for the first time in program history. The Hoosiers made the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history.
And, despite losing starting quarterback Kurtis Rourke and a handful of other key contributors, the Hoosiers are even better this year. Cignetti’s squad stamped its status as a legitimate national title contender by whooping No. 9 Illinois 63-10 in Week 4.
Indiana punted on two of its first three drives and then closed the night with seven straight touchdowns. The Hoosiers torched an Illinois defense that many regarded as a top unit entering the 2025 season given the production the Fighting Illini brought back.
New quarterback Fernando Mendoza has taken the mantle from Rourke and emerged as a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender. He was surgical by completing 21 of his 23 pass attempts for 267 yards and five touchdowns.
Defensively, Indiana forced star quarterback Luke Altmyer into one of his worst games in an Illinois uniform. He failed to reach at least 150 yards passing for just the second time since transferring to Champaign.
Illinois rushed for 0.1 yards per carry.
Zero. Point. One.
Indiana dog-walked a legitimate top-10 team. The Hoosiers will have further chances to prove themselves against a schedule that features road trips to No. 6 Oregon and No. 2 Penn State, but there’s no reason to doubt their legitimacy.
Nebraska’s woes continue
At this point, Nebraska could probably lure Nick Saban out of retirement and it would still be stuck as that same ole Nebraska team. You know the one.
The same one that lost 30-27 against No. 21 Michigan. Another one-possession loss. Another failure to match up against a ranked opponent. Nebraska has now lost 28 consecutive games against AP Top 25 teams. It’s tied with 1993-2000 Indiana for the third-worst streak in Big Ten history.
Nebraska won’t see a better opportunity to break that skid all season. Michigan was without coach Sherrone Moore as he served the second leg of a two-game suspension. Freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood made his first road Big Ten start.
The stars aligned for the Huskers to prove they’re ready to return to the limelight, or at least show signs that they’re ready to separate themselves from the middle of the Big Ten pack. There they shall remain, mired in mediocrity forevermore.
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Big 12 loaded with CFP contenders
The Big 12 often cannibalizes itself too much to have multiple teams go deep in the College Football Playoff race. While that may be the case this year, the scheduling lines up well for the league.
Its top two contenders through the first third of the year — No. 12 Iowa State and No. 17 Texas Tech — don’t meet in the regular season. Neither plays another currently ranked team all year, either.
If they’re both 12-0 entering the Big 12 Championship Game (which is, admittedly, a big if) there’s no doubt that the loser would still deserve a spot in the 12-team field. They aren’t the only Big 12 teams that look good, either.
TCU picked up its second non-conference Power Four win and beat a preseason top-25 team in SMU. BYU remains undefeated and shows no signs of slowing down after losing quarterback Jake Retzlaff in the offseason. Even Houston has made some early noise.
There’s plenty of reason for optimism among the Big 12’s front office.
Washington unleashes Williams
As is customary under Jedd Fisch-coached teams, it appears as if Washington is taking a huge leap under its second-year boss. The Huskies improved to 3-0 with a 59-24 win against in-state Apple Cup foe Washington State.
They have new starting quarterback Demond Williams Jr. to thank for their early triumphs. Washington’s coaching staff unleashed Williams, who appeared in all 13 games as a freshman last season, against the Cougars.
He responded with 16 completions on 19 attempts for 298 yards and four touchdowns. He also scrambled for 88 yards and a rushing touchdown, marking his second week in a row with a score on the ground.
The 5-foot-11 Williams is a magician navigating the pocket and he’s got the wheels to keep a defense honest, but he also has the arm to make throws to every level of the field. He’ll have to really test his mettle as Washington hosts No. 1 Ohio State in Week 5.
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