Venables, Sooners know they need to start forcing turnovers: 'The stove is hot'

NORMAN — Oklahoma began Monday’s practice with presentation on turnovers from cornerbacks coach Jay Valai. The presentation included video examples of plays from college and NFL defenses, and it also showed the offense how defenses are taught to force takeaways.

Why? Because turnover margin has been one of the few areas where OU’s defense has struggled.

The Sooners are the only FBS that has yet to force a takeaway this season. The Sooners are 130th nationally in turnover margin, with the offense coughing the ball up six times through four weeks.

It’s an unfamiliar place for a Brent Venables-led unit, and the head coach typically opens every practice by practicing turnovers. Last season, the Sooners had forced 13 turnovers by the end of September; in 2023, that number was 12.

Venables stopped short of calling the Sooners lucky to be 4-0 without forcing takeaways, but he knows that’s going to have to change.

“Luck’s not the right word, but the stove is hot,” Venables said. “We’re going to continue to emphasize turnovers.”

Fortunately for them, the Sooners have been able to offset the lack of takeaways in other areas. They’ve been the best third-down defense in the country, holding opponents to a 17.8% conversion rate. The Sooners are top 12 nationally in both sacks and tackles for loss. And, most importantly, the Sooners are third in scoring defense and second in total defense.

The turnover margin isn’t always the top indicator for team success, but the best teams typically force takeaways. Six of the 12 teams that made the College Football Playoff last season ranked inside the top 25 in total takeaways, and only one team (Boise State) ranked outside the top 60.

The turnover margin is one of three key areas that the coaching staff emphasizes every day with the team.

“We gotta do a better job of being more purposeful in practice,” Venables said. “All those good-on-good reps. And I don’t want to be that team that’s over there trying to rip at the ball and nobody’s tackling the ball carrier, either. That’s bad football. But at the same time, man, we need to create turnovers. Notre Dame was plus-18 (in turnover margin) last year, (and they) played in the national championship. Ohio State was plus three and (ranked 54th) in the country in turnover margin.

“We opened up the team meeting with the playoff teams and what the explosive play count was for them, where they ranked in college football. Because we talk a lot about turnovers, explosive plays and tackling. Nothing impacts the game like those three particular areas, and you can really quantify those things day to day and week to week and things of that nature.”

The Sooners have certainly had their opportunities. They had two in the first half against Auburn — Peyton Bowen narrowly missed an interception, and a tipped pass slipped right through the hands of Kendal Daniels. The turnover numbers could tip very quickly in the Sooners’ favor if they just capitalize on those type of opportunities.

There’s plenty of reasons for OU’s defense to be optimistic. The Sooners have forced at least 21 turnovers each of the last three seasons, and they ranked seventh nationally with 26 takeaways in 2023. Plus, the Sooners’ dominance in other areas has allowed them to be less reliant on takeaways.

However, the No. 5-ranked Sooners are 4-0 and the path to the College Football Playoff is right in front of them. For them to stay on that path, they know the turnover margin has to start working in their favor.

“(We) wanted the guys to know, man, we got some work to do,” Venables said. “You want to be one of those teams. You need to be. You can’t be last in the country… So we gotta quit giving the ball back. We’ve had six turnovers on offense.

“Gotta quit giving it back on offense, and we gotta go get it on defense. And so hopefully we can get that turned around sooner rather than later.”

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