PAUL FINEBAUM DIDN'T HOLD BACK IN SCATHING CRITIQUE OF FORMER OKLAHOMA COACH

Over the last decade, the Oklahoma Sooners' criticism has focused on its defense. During that time, the team has had historic offenses, two Heisman Trophy-winning quarterbacks and countless first-round NFL Draft picks on offense.

The Sooners' defense has never been strong enough to win a national championship. Since 2015, the Sooners have finished in the top 10 in yards per game every year except for three (2020-2022). Defensively, the Sooners have only finished in the top 50 three times (2015, 2020-2021). Most of that was during the tenure of now USC Trojans head coach Lincoln Riley.

While at an event in Oklahoma welcoming the Sooners to the SEC, Paul Finebaum took the opportunity to criticize the former Sooners coach, who left Oklahoma three seasons ago. Finebaum emphasized Riley's struggles in building a strong defense and highlighted how the new coach, Brent Venables, is addressing this issue.

"As a pundit, I said this a couple of times years ago, 'If Oklahoma only had a defense, there's no telling how many national championships they would have won under someone else," Finebaum said. "They have a defense now."

In 2023, the Sooners finished 77th in the country, significantly improving from its 122nd-place finish the previous year. The team also achieved a top-10 ranking in tackles for loss and turnovers gained. Additionally, it secured the No. 2 rank in the country and was the top-ranked Power Five school in total interceptions.

However, it wasn't all good, as Oklahoma finished 46th in scoring defense and tied for 86th in sacks. So, while things improved in 2023, there is still much room for improvement.

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2024-07-02T00:28:46Z dg43tfdfdgfd