Of the four teams hosting games in the first round of this College Football Playoff, only one opened as a betting underdog: the Oklahoma Sooners, who on Friday night host an Alabama team they already defeated this season. The Sooners are well aware of that.

And Venables went back to doing what he does best — hiring himself as defensive coordinator after his protege, Zac Alley, left for West Virginia. The 2025 Sooner defense rivals the best defenses Venables coordinated at Clemson in the 2010s and at OU in the early 2000s.

Sure, beating Alabama a third time in 13 months won't be easy, but OU has one huge advantage — Brent Venables has Kalen DeBoer's number.

Brent Venables has transformed the Oklahoma Sooners into a defensive powerhouse. The eighth-ranked Sooners lead the nation in tackles for loss and are tied for the lead in sacks.

Venables has Stoops, Bill Snyder, Dabo Swinney and others in his DNA, but he'll be himself when the Sooners take on Alabama in the College Football Playoff.

Head coach Brent Venables entered the year on the hot seat, but has seemed to quiet that noise with the strong year. The team has been led by one of the best defenses in the country. The Sooners rank No.

Oklahoma's Brent Venables and Alabama's Kalen DeBoer have experienced the ups and downs of leading major college football programs.