Oklahoma’s front-loaded gauntlet has fueled its offseason

TAMPA — Most analysts had nice things to say about the Oklahoma Sooners during their appearance at SEC Media Days 2026 on Monday. Brent Venables has built a winner in the SEC with talent on both sides of the ball.

There’s just one problem — the schedule. Three games in the first six weeks, all away from the friendly confines of Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium: Michigan, Georgia, and Texas. The latter two could very well be top-five opponents in the country by the time they meet the Sooners.

OU may be good — even great — but that schedule could still produce three or more losses, leaving Oklahoma on the outside looking in at the College Football Playoff.

But don't tell Venables and his team. They're using that initial gauntlet as the rallying cry of their offseason.

"I think in the out-of-season program for us, it's worked to our benefit in regard to the motivation, the excitement, the enthusiasm, the quality of the work that our guys have put in," Venables said on Monday. "Couldn't be more excited about that."

We've seen Venables take what appears to be a disadvantage and use it to his advantage before.

Last season, he showed the team's ESPN College Football Playoff predictor following their home loss to Ole Miss. OU was all but eliminated with two losses, but stood a slight chance should they go through November unscathed. That's exactly what happened.

During 2023's summer conditioning program, the team would do 49 extra reps of certain workouts in reference to their 49-0 loss to Texas the year prior. Four months later, the Sooners would upset the Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl.

However Venables has chosen to employ this motivation, it has trickled down to the team leaders.

"It's been great because now we know that we have to be invested in our work," Eddy Pierre-Louis said. "We know we have the tough schedule coming up, but we got a lot of tough guys on our team that makes it a lot better."

Much was discussed concerning Pierre-Louis' growth as a leader on Monday. The redshirt sophomore guard showed that leadership by not getting too far ahead of himself.

"We start with UTEP. (That game is) going to set the foundation for the whole season," he said. "Fall camp starts in a few weeks. Having that first game under our belt and being dominant is going to put us where we want to be."

John Mateer shared the pragmatic side of the motivation. OU doesn't have the luxury of wiggle room. In order for them to achieve their goals, they have to be sound from day one.

"There's just not enough time," Mateer said. "We don't have a lot of time to just ease into the season. We've got to go from day one. From the beginning of winter to the beginning of fall camp, we've felt that, seen that the whole way.

"The guys are doing a great job, keeping it intense and being detailed."

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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/oklahoma as Oklahoma’s Front-Loaded Gauntlet has Fueled its Offseason.