Lincoln Riley leaving was "best thing ever" for Oklahoma: analyst
Oklahoma is making a big move today as the school officially joins the SEC in college football's historic conference realignment shift, but not having Lincoln Riley lead the football program at this crucial moment might be a net positive, according to one analyst.
"I think it might be the best thing that ever happened to Oklahoma football," analyst Eddie Radosevich told On3 Sports of Riley's departure. "Revisionist history, obviously."
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Riley left Oklahoma after the 2021 season to lead USC, and the changes made in the Sooners program by incoming coach Brent Venables have been perfect for the move, he says.
Venables returned to OU with a reputation as arguably the best defensive strategist in college football, having helped lead Clemson to a pair of national championships as coordinator behind intense, physical play on that side of the ball.
Riley, on the other hand, is regarded as more an offensive innovator and quarterback guru.
And between those two approaches, playing better defense is a more beneficial position in the SEC, a conference known for strong defensive play.
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"In terms of where this was heading under Lincoln Riley, there [were] a lot of holes that I think were covered up in terms of roster management, or, obviously, the defensive side of the football, by great quarterback play, because they had all these great quarterbacks," Radosevich said.
"... They lost games that they shouldn't and really the only reason they won as many games as they did is because Caleb Williams was so special and that offense was so special," he added.
That trend appeared to follow Riley to USC, a team that played superb offense under Williams after his transfer, but sloppy, porous defense directly cost the team when it appeared a College Football Playoff appearance was all but inevitable.
The defense struggled again last season despite Williams' return, ranking 116th in total production, and the Trojans stumbled to an 8-5 mark.
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Venables is just 16-10 after two seasons at Oklahoma, going 6-7 overall and 3-6 in conference play in his debut season, but improving to a 10-3 (7-2) mark a year ago.
That better record came as the Sooners' defense placed 77th nationally, a marked improvement from the No. 99 overall ranking it had in Venables' first season.
"We'll see with Brent, because I think there's still some skepticism there," Radosevich said. "... The leaps they've made on defense and everybody expects them to have a very good defense this year."
He added: "I think as a program and as a team, you're seeing top to bottom it's just a better culture, one, and also, two, roster in terms of how many elite guys they have on both sides of the football... The verdict is still out on Brent, but I do think they're in a better spot than they were under Lincoln."
(On3)
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JAMES PARKS
James Parks is the founder and publisher of College Football HQ. He previously covered football for 247Sports and CBS Interactive. College Football HQ joined the Sports Illustrated Fannation Network in 2022.