Paul Finebaum names major college football head coach who earned some breathing room

Paul Finebaum thinks a major college coach worked his way off the college football scrap pile in Week 2. Finebaum discussed the weekend on The Matt Barrie show on Sunday, and pointed out a major developmen of Week 2. Off a 24-13 win over No. 15 Michigan, Finebaum singled out Oklahoma Sooner head coach Brent Venables as getting some measure of breathing room from a fairly unsafe space regarding future employment. OU jumped to No. 13 and Venables is a major beneficiary of the recent success.

Finebaum's thoughts

It was probably the most important game of the year only because if they had not won, Matt, that would have been the story of the day and Brent Venables would be on everybody's hot list. Instead, he's got some room to breathe... Everybody has that big game and for Venables, that was Game Day, prime time opponent, and they delivered, and I think it's going to give him some room. His schedule is still insane, but he's got some juice going. He's got some fuel.Paul Finebaum

Oklahoma's Big Week 2

Oklahoma played the lone battle of ranked teams in Week 2, facing No. 15 Michigan and freshman QB star Bryce Underwood. The Sooners picked up the 24-13 win, holding Underwood to a pedestrian 9 for 24 for 142 passing yards. Meanwhile, OU QB John Mateer is gaining momentum as a potential Heisman Trophy dark horse candidate.

Mateer passed for 270 yards and a touchdown and rushed for an additional 74 yards and two more scores. The victory for Oklahoma jumped the Sooners from No. 18 in the AP poll last week to No. 13 this week. With a 2-0 start, Oklahoma has built significant momentum heading into SEC play.

Venables' hot seat

Venables has struggled to replace Lincoln Riley, who won 11 or 12 games in each season at Oklahoma barring the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. Instead, Venables went 6-7 in 2022, and after improving to 10-3 in 2023, fell back to 6-7 in 2024. After that season, QB Jackson Arnold chose to transfer to Auburn, and Venables secured Washington State transfer Mateer to replace him. The impressive start to 2025 likely does, as Finebaum asserted, give a bit of breathing room for Venables in his job security.