Big 12 Football: OU’s downfall continues after WVU pulls shocking upset
One of the biggest Big 12 football brand names continues to struggle on the field this season. New head coach Brent Venables and the Oklahoma Sooners can’t seem to get it right in Big 12 play of late. Venables and the Sooners have now lost two games in a row and five of their last seven after falling short at the hands of head coach Neal Brown and the West Virginia Mountaineers in Morgantown on Nov. 12.
This was the second straight week that the Sooners lost by just three points, after falling short to West Virginia this weekend by the final score of 23-20. Last week, Oklahoma lost to the improving Baylor Bears and head coach Dave Aranda by the final score of 38-35 in Norman.
The loss to West Virginia means that Oklahoma now has multiple losing streaks of at least two games in Big 12 play this season. Oklahoma opened up the Big 12 slate this fall by losing three straight, including one at the hands of the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry game on Oct. 8.
Big 12 football fans continue to see Brent Venables and OU spiral out after falling short to WVU
According to Sports Reference, this is the first time since 1996 that Oklahoma had multiple losing streaks of at least two games in conference play in the same year.
This has only happened a handful of times throughout OU’s program history when there were multiple losing streaks in conference play in the same season. It signals the struggles that Venables and his staff are facing in the first year leading the Oklahoma program.
The loss to the Mountaineers this weekend is the latest proof of the continued spiraling of the Oklahoma program this fall. West Virginia got just its second win in Big 12 play by beating the Sooners in Morgantown this weekend.
Coming into this game, West Virginia had lost each of its prior three games by a combined margin of 65 points. That’s not a great look for an Oklahoma team that is struggling to close games out and can’t get much right on either side of the ball so far this season.
It’s worth noting that this was the first win for West Virginia ever against the Sooners in Morgantown. West Virginia was also able to snap a nine-game losing streak at the hands of the Sooners by pulling off the Week 11 upset as an eight-point underdog ahead of kickoff.
Next. 3 key injured Texas players vs. TCU. dark
The loss to the Mountaineers moves the record on the season for Venables and the Sooners to a mediocre 5-5 (2-5 Big 12). What really catches my eye here is the Big 12 record for the Sooners. Oklahoma is easily on pace to put up its worst winning percentage in conference play since joining the Big 12 in 1996.