2022 recruiting they are tanked 11th now…Sooners Slide in Latest 2022 Team Recruiting RankingsI completely agree that OU did not play like a top 5 team Saturday. They will fall in the polls, and should. They might very well climb back up that ladder, what I have been saying all along is that one game does not define you as a team. Whether you look really good or really bad, there are a lot of variables, and next week you may look opposite.
OU's defense was in the upper 120 range out of what, like 136 teams before Grinch got there? I think last season they finished in the mid-20's range in most categories (that's from memory, I could be a little off). That is remarkable progress in three years. Now, whether that makes him the greatest defensive genius in the universe, I don't know but he may have been the best available at the time, and I don't see how you can argue that he hasn't made OU's defense better. Good enough to win a NC? I don't know, we have to wait and see. You're absolutely right, you cannot win a championship with the caliber of defenses OU had pre-Grinch, or OU would have probably won a couple in the playoff era. I don't think OU necessarily needs an elite defense to win, but they do need a competent defense... they did not have that before Grinch.
As far as the SEC is concerned, I will concede that OU is not going to win 6-7 conference championships in a row, but I think they will be competitive. I think there's a good chance being in the SEC will make them better, some of these top recruits that pass over OU because they want to play in the SEC may end up there. And better competition will force them to get better, although it's possible they'll be a better team but have worse records from year to year. I agree that Big XII competition isn't as big of a challenge. Then again, they tend to lose their minds and drop 1-2 games a year that they shouldn't, so overall records may not get much worse.
I disagree that they are middle of the road in recruiting, they have been ranked in or near the top 5 in recruiting classes I think the last 2-3 years. They have done extremely well at QB, WR, and RB to a slightly lesser degree, but have struggled with DL. Defensive secondary is starting to turn around, they are looking for bigger DB's and just starting to get some. As I noted, there is great potential for improved recruiting in the SEC. In any case, I don't think Grinch needs to be worried about being fired, I think OU is more worried about him being hired away. A lot of OU fans were happy to see Venables go, sooooo.....
2023 is looking good if they dont get any major recommits (which they have had). Middles of the road in recruiting was a poor choice of words, i meant relative to the other elite programs the perennial top 10 teams maybe 15 teams. And even then it has usually leans heavy on offense. And you are right about Venables a lot of people wanted to see him go, his strength was recruiting which is why I think he and Mike Stoops were successful as co DC’s but that‘s conjecture on my part. What I saw in the Tulane game was frankly scary there were a lot of overthrown balls and dropped balls that would have likely handed OU a loss…… that’s what I paid attention to was how open they were in the backfield and didn’t convert because of their own unforced errors.