Oklahoma's ever-lengthy SEC availability report may point to larger issue for Texas's rival

From Michael Fasusi to Taylor Heim to Eddy Pierre-Louis to Xavier Robinson, the Oklahoma Sooners are already riddled with a dozen or so injuries, and we are not even halfway through the season.

Somehow, while the Texas Longhorns healed up during their bye week, the time off seemed to only make matters worse for OU. With the Red River Rivalry just over the horizon, people are really starting to question what exactly head coach Brent Venables is doing in Norman.

Just two weeks ago, before Oklahoma played Georgia, the Sooners only had eight players on their final availability report. In the initial list for the Red River Rivalry released on Wednesday, there were 13 Oklahoma players listed somewhere between "probable" and "out."

This is not a one-time problem for Venables and the Sooners either, never having an SEC-mandated availability report shorter than that of their opponent since joining the conference in 2024.

Even those who support Oklahoma have started to complain about the nagging and growing injury issue in Norman, saying that Venables and his staff have to make a change in how they run the program if they ever want the problem to go away.

Sooners clearly have a player-care issue as Texas's injuries diminish

Whether there is a lapse in the strength and conditioning of players in Norman, taken over by strength and conditioning coach James Dobson this year, or if they simply are not allowing the players the necessary breaks to heal, something is not operating as it is supposed to at Oklahoma.

And you can see that much is true when you look at how the Horns' availability report shrank after the bye week.

In Texas's reports ahead of its Week 4 kickoff against Tennessee, six players were listed, including four players as "out," and a couple falling between the categories of "questionable" or "probable" throughout the days leading up to the game.

Now, after having Week 5 and putting an emphasis on player health, only four players were on the Longhorns' first availability report ahead of the Red River Rivalry in Week 6, and that included tight end Nick Townsend upgrading from "out" to "probable" in that two-week stretch.

Even earlier in the week, before the availability reports were released, Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian let everyone know that he believed Texas was "healthier than we were a week ago at this time."

Meanwhile, Venables has had a different approach to explaining his team's injuries so far this season:

"That's part of it too. Football's a violent, physical game. That's gonna be part of it. But we gotta continue to push our guys to be great practice players. Good football teams practice really good. There's, 'OK, take care of each other,' but, man, you gotta strike blocks and get off. How are you gonna practice striking blocks and getting off in a violent way and just rely on game day to do that? You have to practice that," Venables said ahead of the Georgia game.

The two availability reports literally headed in opposite directions, despite both teams having the bye in Week 5.

It is becoming more and more clear that Venables has an undeniable problem on his hands, and it is something that is far from sustainable for any team, much less one that expects to compete at the highest level while playing in the SEC.

Yes, the report gave the Horns an even bigger edge in the rivalry matchup this weekend, but if you are an Oklahoma fan, you have a whole lot more to worry about than how your team performs against Texas.

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