"He needs to gain a foothold" - Joel Klatt raises stakes for Brent Venables after Oklahoma's dismal 2024 season

College football analyst Joel Klatt believes Brent Venables needs to prove he can be a winning coach in 2025.

The Oklahoma Sooners had a terrible 2024, going 6-7. It was Venables' second losing season in the three years he's been the head coach. With that, he is on the hot seat entering 2025, and Klatt believes the game against Michigan in Week 2 will be a defining game for Venables and the Sooners' season.

"On the opposite side, let’s face it, Oklahoma needs this for a bounce-back,” Klatt said. “Granted, they played a horrifically difficult schedule last year, but Brent Venables also needs a bounce back. He needs to gain a foothold.

“As the head coach for OU, everybody was excited when he came in. They all felt the sting when Lincoln Riley rode off into the sunset, literally to the West Coast and USC, and they brought back Brent Venables, who won a national championship as a coordinator at OU, is an Oklahoma guy, and everyone felt good about it. But now they need something to feel good about on the field.”

Klatt believes this game will be pivotal for both programs, as whoever wins will have a ton of confidence in their team for the rest of the season.

The loser of the Week 2 matchup will have plenty of questions facing their program, so Klatt is intrigued to see how the game plays out.

“Both of these programs are in desperate need of a bounce game, and this could provide that for either program,” Klatt said. “Winner of that game gets a major bounce forward, and now all of a sudden establishes, really the depth of that conference.”

The Wolverines will go on the road to play the Sooners on Sept. 6 at 7:30 p.m. ET on ABC. Oklahoma is a 2.5-point favorite.

Oklahoma had to move forward under Brent Venables

Despite Oklahoma going 6-7 last season, the Sooners opted to keep Brent Venables as the head coach.

However, Venables will now call defensive plays as he made some changes to his staff, which was necessary, according to the athletic director, Joe Castiglione.

"We had to," Oklahoma athletics director Joe Castiglione told CBS Sports. "I mean, we would've been foolish not to be looking forward to what we need."

Oklahoma opens its 2025 college football season on Aug. 30 against Illinois State at home. The Sooners have notable games against Michigan, Texas, Auburn, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ole Miss, Alabama, and LSU.