Talking himself into a corner, Venables must produce

Offering the same old words, especially because he believes in them so much, won't do the Sooner coach any favors if his team's not performing

Sooner coach Brent Venables takes the field with his players prior to kicking off against Kent State the second week of the season. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

There are words and phrases that mean very much the same thing, but come in utterly different contexts.

Is a football coach narrow-minded or focused?

Strong-willed or stubborn?

Old fashioned or lost in time? 

Or, right now, for Brent Venables, following a pair of embarrassing defeats, one bad and the other far worse, is he committed or a one-trick pony?

In the end, it’s Sooner Nation that gets to decide and, good chance, its answer, in the short term at least, will be heavily influenced by what happens Saturday morning and afternoon inside the Cotton Bowl. 

Also, those who write about, report upon and cover his team may bring some influence to bear, too.

I can’t speak for everybody, but I’m pretty sure we’d all like to see the first-year Sooner coach succeed.

Sports media folks should not be cheerleaders. But if they like the coach, or if he treats them with respect, most would prefer that coach do well. 

We also like it when the job takes us to the sport’s biggest stage, like the College Football Playoff, or the men’s or women’s Final Four, or the men’s or women’s College World Series. Should a coach and team threaten to take us there, we tend to be all right with it.

Which brings us to Venables.