College Football

Oklahoma-Nebraska matchup filled with 'underlying stories'

Updated Dec. 13, 2022 3:29 p.m. ET

It doesn’t take a college football aficionado to know that Saturday’s Oklahoma-Nebraska game will have an entirely different feel to it than last year’s matchup … or any previous matchup between these two storied rivals.

The Sooners and Cornhuskers have played each other 87 times, dating back to 1912. But as many on-field battles as these two programs have had, this year’s version seems to be overshadowed by the stories taking place off the field.

FOX Sports college football analyst Joel Klatt – who will call this weekend’s Oklahoma-Nebraska game alongside Gus Johnson and Jenny Taft (Saturday, 12 p.m. ET on FOX) – went as far as saying that he can’t remember calling a game with this many storylines off the field.

Klatt explained his stance during the latest episode of his new podcast, "The Joel Klatt Show."

"This game is so different because of the underlying stories," Klatt said. "The (storylines) on the field almost pale in comparison."

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For Oklahoma, this will serve as the program’s first test against a Power 5 opponent with Brent Venables at the helm. The former Broyles Award winner spent the past 10 seasons as Clemson’s defensive coordinator before being named the Sooners’ head coach back in December. Before arriving at Clemson, Venables was a part of Oklahoma’s staff from 1999 to 2011, serving as co-defensive coordinator from 1999-03 and defensive coordinator from 2004-11.

He brings a defense-first mentality to the program, which is something Oklahoma fans have not been accustomed to as of late.

"From the OU perspective, you’ve got this new coach and this new style of football that you’re going to have to be OK with being in tight ball games in the first half," Klatt said of the Sooners, who held a slim 7-3 lead over unranked Kent State at halftime last weekend. "This is a different style that they’re having to get used to under Brent Venables."

The Sooners’ offense came to life after halftime, scoring 26 unanswered points and holding Kent State scoreless in the second half en route to a 33-3 victory. Klatt was impressed with the second-half surge from Venables’ team, but even more impressed with the team’s chemistry and how quickly the program has bought into Venables and his new coaching style.

This led to Klatt laying out three reasons Oklahoma has developed such great chemistry under Venables.

"First off, this guy was an immensely popular hire within the fan base, within the alums and within the locker room," Klatt said. "You win the modern athlete in the locker room because of his success at Clemson. And he also has the fan base and alumni because he coached at Oklahoma.

"He has a unique blend of new and old, which allows him to come in with positive momentum right from the start."

One of the many challenges Venables faced upon his arrival at Oklahoma was filling out a roster that was ravished by the transfer portal. The Sooners saw several key starters from last year’s team, including Heisman hopeful QB Caleb Williams, leave for other opportunities. Generally, it takes head coaches at least a year or two to build a roster to their liking through recruiting and the transfer portal, but this year’s Oklahoma team appears to be an exception.

"The transfer portal now allows you to bring in the guys that you know are going to be committed to you," Klatt said. "But it also does something under the surface, which is the guys that aren’t sure about you and aren’t bought in can show themselves the door and leave the program.

"You’ve got this underlying issue with the structure of college football, which allows Brent Venables to get his team in that locker room much quicker than in the past."

The third reason why Oklahoma has developed outstanding chemistry is quite simple, according to Klatt.

"They are seeing success on the field," Klatt said. "This is a coach that comes in as a defensive-oriented coach and the defense, right away, is showing signs of improvement. These guys feel like this is trending in the right direction."

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On the other side of the matchup, things have not been trending in a positive direction for the Cornhuskers. After firing head coach Scott Frost on Sunday following the team’s 1-2 start, former Nebraska quarterback Mickey Joseph will take over on an interim level.

Joseph – who served as a receivers coach and assistant head coach at LSU before joining the Cornhuskers’ staff this year – is tasked with trying to retain some level of buy-in and discipline from both the current players on the Nebraska roster and the coaching staff.

"The distractions for this coaching staff alone are immense," Klatt said. "They are immeasurable of what’s going on at Nebraska."

The pressure and distractions surrounding the football program have certainly reached the Nebraska athletics administration level as well, including vice chancellor for athletics Trev Alberts. The Nebraska football program has sold out every home game dating back to 1962, but according to Klatt, there are several conference games this season that have yet to sell out, meaning the program’s 60-year sellout streak could very well be in jeopardy.

"I know Nebraska fans don’t want that to end," Klatt said of the sellout streak. "So, Trev Alberts is trying to retain some positivity by saying, ‘there’s a new direction coming.’

"All this is going on, and guess what? We still have to play a game."