J. Brady McCollough: Grading new coaches Lincoln Riley, Brent Venables and more
Just how bad was the Oklahoma Sooners’ defense Saturday during their 55-24 humiliation at the hands of Texas Christian? The numbers spell it out clearly:
27 first quarter points.
668 total yards, including 361 on the ground.
8.8 yards per carry.
When I visited Norman, Okla., early last December after USC hired Lincoln Riley away from the Sooners to succeed Clay Helton, the state was downright aghast at the hot-shot coach’s treachery. Someone hung a sign that read “TRAITOR” on the university’s red brick gates. One of the only things that seemed to be soothing the faithful, as I listened to way too many hours of sports talk radio, was the idea of former defensive coordinator Brent Venables returning to Oklahoma from Clemson to restore the defensive standard he’d set in the early years of the Bob Stoops era.
OU fans, who had cheered Riley’s teams during three disappointing College Football Playoff semifinal appearances, were right to question the competency of his defenses. In 2018, Riley made one of the boldest moves of his young career when he fired Mike Stoops, Bob’s brother, who had been running the defense. Fans lamented his replacement, Alex Grinch,
