Kip Lewis has seen enough of Brent Venables’ Oklahoma to know that a rough start does not have to turn into a full-blown collapse.
That perspective matters right now. The Sooners are 2-2 after four weeks of 2026, and Saturday’s 41-13 loss to No.
2 Georgia in the SEC opener only sharpened the concern around a team that has already flashed both sides of Venables’ run in Norman. Lewis arrived in 2022, right after Venables took over for Lincoln Riley, and he’s lived through two 10-3 finishes and two 6-7 seasons.
So while the first month has looked a lot more like the losing years than the winning ones, Lewis isn’t ready to hit the alarm.
“We've been through it before, so we kind of know how to nurture the situation that everybody just kind of grows together all at once as a team,” Lewis said.
The veteran linebacker has the kind of voice Oklahoma leans on when the season starts wobbling. He’s played in 47 games, started 33 times and is one of nine captains on the 2026 roster. That makes him more than just a productive defender; he’s part of the glue holding the group together.
And by his account, that job hasn’t been especially difficult.
“Everybody wants the one common goal, so it's not as hard to break the band apart as people may think,” Lewis said. “It's easy, just coming together, trying to contribute to one goal.”
Lewis also backed that leadership up on the field against Georgia, where Oklahoma’s defense looked far cleaner than it had in the previous two games. After the Sooners combined for 30 missed tackles in the Michigan and New Mexico games, they missed only four against the Bulldogs.
Lewis was right in the middle of that turnaround. He was Oklahoma’s highest-graded defender in the game, earning an 81.1 Pro Football Focus defensive grade while posting five tackles, 0.5 sacks and a pass breakup.
“It felt great,” Lewis said. “Just wanting to contribute in any type of way for the team, so it felt amazing.”
That showing came after a difficult stretch for Lewis physically. He suffered a knee injury early in the Sooners’ 17-10 loss to Michigan on Sept. 12, played only 10 snaps in that game, then missed the next week against New Mexico before returning versus Georgia.
Lewis said the defensive reset came down to mindset as much as anything else.
“Tackling is all just about attitude, so kind of just changing our attitudes, saying that we're not gonna miss anymore,” Lewis said. “I think that was just kind of the key part.
Oklahoma still has a steep climb ahead. The Sooners have eight SEC games left, and the path back to the College Football Playoff looks slim with that schedule and multiple ranked opponents still on deck.
Next up is No. 1 Texas in the Red River Rivalry after the bye week. Oklahoma has lost three of the last four meetings with the Longhorns.
The offense will have to do more for the Sooners to have a shot there and in the weeks beyond. Lewis knows that. He also knows the defense has to keep raising its level if Oklahoma is going to steady itself.
For him, the bye week is less about resetting the season than squeezing every bit of value out of the pause.
“Just another week to prepare,” Lewis said. “Use it to its advantage and just handle it as best as we can, just recovery-wise, game planning and just anything that we can do to get it managed.”
In Other News...
Peyton Bowen Sees One Big Issue Holding Back Oklahomas Quarterback
Peyton Bowen has seen enough around Oklahomas quarterback room to know how quickly things can change when turnovers start piling up. The Sooners safety pointed to the pressure John Mateer has been dealing with after recent miscues, and he drew a clear parallel to what former teammate Jackson Arnold went through in a similar stretch. Bowen still believes Mateer has the talent and leadership to steer things in the right direction, but he also made it clear that the mental side of the position can get heavy fast.
For Oklahoma, the concern is not whether Mateer can make plays in practice, where Bowen says he has shown plenty, but whether that confidence carries over once the games begin to tighten up. Bowen has been supporting him personally through the rough patch, knowing how important it is for a quarterback to trust his own game again after criticism starts to build. The Sooners have a long season ahead, and how quickly Mateer can turn practice production into game-day results may end up shaping a lot more than one stat line. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas Offensive Line Battle Just Took A Meaningful Turn
Oklahomas offensive line has been under the microscope for weeks, and Brent Venables said the group showed a little more steadiness in pass protection during the recent game against Georgia. The Sooners also cleaned up one of the issues that had been adding to the pressure, finishing with only one false start, while the staff continues sorting out who can hold up best up front as the season moves along.
One part of that evaluation is giving Peyton Joseph more snaps and seeing whether the depth can keep improving beyond the first group. Venables also said injured tackle Michael Fasusi is making progress, but Oklahoma still does not have a timetable for his return, leaving the lines next step tied to both development and health. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahomas QB Situation Just Put Brent Venables In A Tough Spot
Brent Venables spent part of the week trying to steady Oklahomas quarterback picture, and for now it still points back to John Mateer. The Sooners coach said he has confidence in backups Whitt Newbauer and Bowe Bentley, but he also made clear that Mateer remains the starter despite recent struggles and turnovers, a reminder of how thin the margin has become at the games most important position.
Venables even acknowledged there were conversations about benching Mateer after the poor performance, yet Oklahoma is sticking with the current plan heading into Texas. Newbauer brings some FCS starting experience, while Bentley has not made his college debut, which leaves the Sooners in a familiar bind: leaning on the quarterback who has already been under fire, while waiting to see whether the depth chart can really offer a safer alternative. [Read more 🡒]