There is drama every single day in the SEC. There is even more drama the week your team plays the Ole Miss Rebels and their head coach, Lane Kiffin. This time, it’s Oklahoma Sooners HC Brent Venables being accused of sign stealing. Yes, you read that right.”Film study of signals. I’ll just tell you how it is,” Kiffin told reporters on Monday. “I think they do a great job of that, and if you study people really well, and then you have the confidence to go after those, that seems like that’s what he does. They’ve got a really good beat on the plays that are coming when they’re called, and they do a great job of taking those away. You look at the Auburn game, I told Hugh [Freeze, Auburn Tigers HC] after the game, you might want to switch signals. It looks like they have the plays. The safeties are running down to steal slants, which is very abnormal.”
Lane Kiffin says one of the reasons the Oklahoma’s defense is so good is because the #Sooners film and study their opponents play signals… @NEWS9@NewsOn6#OUFootballpic.twitter.com/iKk6akAZ07
— Chris Williams (@CWillTV) October 20, 2025
Kiffin is in for a rude awakening from the Sooners’ defense
Near the beginning of the season, the Rebels had one of the best offenses in football. And, it’s still pretty good. However, when you see them nearly lose to schools like Washington State, the Arkansas Razorbacks, and a few others, you start to notice that maybe Oklahoma has a better shot at beating them than everyone thinks.The reason OU should and I believe will win this game this weekend is because of its defense. It’s one of the best in football, if not the best, as they just held the South Carolina Gamecocks to seven points in South Carolina. The reason the defense is so good is not because of sign stealing, it’s because Venables is one of the greatest defensive minds college football has ever seen.
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Now, in 2025, he has the personnel he has needed. Last year, he didn’t call plays; Zac Alley did. This year, he’s calling up some pretty insane schemes against great teams. The second biggest reason the defense is so good is because of the defensive line they have, which is undoubtedly the best in the country. They have a top-three edge rusher in the country in R Mason Thomas, and two amazing DTs in Jayden Jackson and David Stone, not to mention some insane depth at every position there.They have depth on he most important part of a defense in the SEC, and the secondary has been great, followed by the second level flying to the ball. That’s why they are as good as they are, and Kiffin should see that soon enough in Norman, Oklahoma.
Sooners’ defensive stats vs. South Carolina
- 54 rushing yards allowed, one rush was a busted play for 36 yards
- Six sacks
- 13 tackles for loss
- 3/15 on third downs
- 4/7 on fourth downs
- 224 total yards allowed
- Two turnovers forced
And sign-stealing from film isn’t really illegal. If he’s worried about that, then change your signs. You can watch a film and watch what the coaches are signaling, and then see what the defense does on the play. That’s very legal. However, that’s not why they’re as good as they are…