The 2024 college football season is finally a wrap. For Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, it’s been over for quite some time.
We’re a month removed from OU’s loss to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl. It’s been two months since OSU was blasted by Colorado in its season finale.
Here’s a brief recap of what’s happened since then in Norman and Stillwater.
Mike Gundy was almost fired. Then he fired his whole staff. OSU has two new coordinators and a wide-open quarterback race. Gunnar Gundy is back — as a coach!
Meanwhile, at OU, Brent Venables poached the shiny offensive coordinator/quarterback tandem in Ben Arbuckle and John Mateer from Washington State. The Sooners lost their defensive coordinator and have yet to name a new one. Their general manager is leaving for the ministry!
More: Former OU guards Otega Oweh, Milos Uzan thriving elsewhere bad look for Porter Moser
OSU coach Mike Gundy, right, and OU coach Brent Venables talk before the 2023 Bedlam football game at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater.
And that’s just a sampling, which sets the stage for a pivotal 2025 for both programs.
The instability in Norman and Stillwater has reached Richter-scale levels. When was the last time we entered a college football season with this much uncertainty for both OU and OSU? You’d have to go back to the ‘90s.
OU and OSU have been bastions of stability for most of this century.
Since 2000, only Ohio State and Boise State have more wins than OU. Only Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State and Georgia have more College Football Playoff appearances. Bob Stoops led OU to four national championship games, including a win in 2000. Stoops handed off to Lincoln Riley, who had an .846 winning percentage in his five seasons — the best mark in program history. The Sooners have slid under Brent Venables, whose .564 winning percentage at OU…
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