The Oklahoma Sooners were one of the best defenses in college football this past season. Since taking over in 2022, head coach Brent Venables has completely transformed the unit into one of the most respected defenses in college football.
The Sooners’ defense finished among the nation’s top 10 in several major categories last season, playing a crucial role in Oklahoma’s return to the College Football Playoff. However, even an elite defense has areas to improve, and Oklahoma knows it must address those weaknesses heading into the 2026 season.
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Oklahoma’s star EDGE Taylor Wein highlighted a few areas where the defense must improve during SEC media days on Monday.
“We didn’t have our first turnover, I think, until Week 5,” Wein said. “That’s not the standard that we have at Oklahoma. And we had a really elite defense last year. That’s something we struggled with.”
The Sooners forced just 13 turnovers last season, while the offense committed 16 turnovers, resulting in a negative-three turnover differential. Creating more takeaways is not the only area Wein believes Oklahoma must improve.
“In the fourth quarter, our three losses, we struggled to finish games,” Wein said. “We’ve got to do a better job. We can’t allow points in the fourth quarter.”
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The Sooners allowed 46 fourth-quarter points throughout the entire season, but the distribution of those points tells the bigger story. Oklahoma allowed 20 of these points in its 10 wins, but 26 came during its three losses, highlighting how late-game execution impacted the team’s toughest matchups.
Oklahoma’s defense was already one of the best in college football last season, but the standard inside the program is much higher. Creating more turnovers and becoming more dominant in the fourth quarter are the next steps for Venables’ unit.
If the Sooners can fix those issues while returning several key contributors, they could have one of the most complete defenses in the country in 2026.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Oklahoma’s Taylor Wein identifies two key defensive problems
