OU's football bowl game against Navy is a big deal for Brent Venables and Sooners

FORT WORTH, Texas – Brent Venables doesn’t put much stock in it.

Before the Armed Forces Bowl against Navy on Friday, the OU football coach was asked how important it was to finish the game with a winning record versus a losing record.

“I don’t really see it that way,” Venables said Thursday morning at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel. “It’s the next game. It’s the biggest game of the year. It is what is right in front of us right now. We gave everything to win this game. We have confidence in the work we have done and it creates momentum, you might say.”

The Sooners didn’t have a losing season from 1999 – the first season under Bob Stoops – until Lincoln Riley’s final season in 2021.

During that period, OU averaged more than 10 wins per season.

More:OU Football vs. Navy Armed Forces Bowl Score Predictions: Can the Sooners pull out the win?

But a loss in the bowl game would give the Sooners (6-6) their second losing record in three seasons under Venables.

“I think it’s always good to win. It heals a lot,” linebacker Kobie McKinzie said. “This season hasn’t necessarily been what we wanted, but I think finishing this season with a win will benefit us. I would also like to say that it doesn’t necessarily determine how the season goes if we record more defeats than wins.

“At the end of the day, a record is set and people live and die by it, but I don’t, because I know we were so close and so far from being 10-1 or 11-1 or however I can see it. It would definitely be good to have it, but I wouldn’t necessarily say it will put us on a bad path for next season.”

The only Sooners football coach in the last century to have multiple losing seasons was John Blake, whose firing after the 1998 season opened the door for the hiring of Stoops — and Venables as co-defensive coordinator.

Venables is also seeking his first bowl win as a head coach.

But the college football landscape has already changed significantly in the last few seasons.

Bowl games used to be the team’s final representation of the season.

But with the transfer portal and the flood of players opting out of bowling to prepare for the NFL Draft, non-playoff bowls are much more about beginning the transition to next season.

More:How OU football player Luke Elzinga is thriving in a role he never imagined possible

Venables said Thursday that his team would have 56 scholarship players available for the game.

Linebacker Danny Stutsman and safety Billy Bowman were on the team but will not play against Navy heading into the draft.

Quarterback Jackson Arnold is among the players who have transferred and been away from the team since bowl preparation began earlier this month.

“The calendar is not designed to keep your team together from start to finish,” Venables said. “I don’t blame any player for guys deciding to seek another opportunity for whatever reason, whether it’s a processing mechanism or just ‘I need to find a new home and I still want to play,'” or “I want to go somewhere go, maybe I have more options, maybe there is more value.”

“Whatever the reason, our system is set up to force them to do this. I don’t have any problems with that. You just do the best with what you have. My focus is on the guys that are here.”

Because of the roster changes, there will be many young players whose roles have been expanded for the bowl.

“I’m not complaining, but it’s harder than ever to build a team,” Venables said. “But we are more focused than ever on building a team and a winner.”

Freshman Michael Hawkins Jr. will start at quarterback in place of Arnold.

More:Navy coach Brian Newberry will come full circle when he takes on OU football in the bowl game

McKinzie is expected to start at midfielder in Stutsman’s absence and has taken on a greater leadership role in recent weeks.

Several other players, particularly receivers and tight ends, expect to get more playing time in the bowl than at any point this season.

McKinzie used the Cheez-It Bowl against Florida State two seasons ago to make the jump to a much larger role last season.

He hopes that other players will now also take advantage of their opportunities.

But he also wants to win.

“Why not win when it’s there?” McKinzie told his teammates the day after the match was announced. “If it was Alabama, everyone would be excited. I don’t care who it is, I just care that we can go out and compete. The tradition that Coach Venables has built here is just to go out and compete.

“It doesn’t matter who you play, every game is the biggest game and if not, lose and find out how big it really was.”

Ryan Aber covers OU athletics for The Oklahoman. Do you have a story idea for Ryan? He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at @RyAber. Sign up for the OU Sooners newsletter to learn more about OU. Support Ryan’s work and that of other Oklahoma journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.

More:OU Football vs. Navy: Inside the Sooners-Midshipmen matchups in the Armed Forces Bowl

Armed Forces Bowl: OU vs. Navy

START: 11 a.m. Friday at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas (ESPN)

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