NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — The pressure on Oklahoma coach Brent Venables reached a critical level after the Sooners finished 6-7 last season.

He never wavered in his belief that he could turn things around and now, he likely has the Sooners headed to the College Football Playoff.

John Mateer threw a 58-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Sategna with 4:16 left to overcome three interceptions, and No. 8 Oklahoma beat LSU 17-13 on Saturday night.

The Sooners (10-2, 6-2 Southeastern Conference, No. 8 CFP) are in position to host a first-round game after winning four straight.

“The narrative wasn’t always on their side, and they had to kind of fight through that as well,” Venables said. “But to be able to share in this moment with them ... I just have so much appreciation, respect for our players and staff.”

Mateer was 23 of 38 for 318 yards and two touchdowns, and Sategna caught nine passes for 121 yards.

“There’s not a whole lot to really write about on the stat sheet, other than that score,” Venables said.

Oklahoma held the Tigers (7-5, 3-5) to 198 total yards and came up with a late stop to hold on. LSU converted on just two of 14 third downs.

“I thought in spots, we played outstanding and gave ourselves a chance,” LSU interim coach Frank Wilson III said. “Unfortunately, it was not enough and we fell short.

LSU played through rumors about its coaching situation. Brian Kelly was fired earlier and Ole Miss coach Lane Kiffin has been rumored to be his replacement. Kiffin was expected to make an announcement on Saturday regarding where he would coach next season, but he had not done so before LSU’s game ended.

Michael Van Buren Jr. started at quarterback for LSU with Garrett Nussmeier still recovering from an abdominal injury. Van Buren passed for 96 yards and ran for 33.

Oklahoma was on the move early in the third quarter when Mateer threw an interception to A.J. Haulcy, who returned it 42 yards to the Oklahoma 33. LSU scored in four plays. Van Buren connected with Zavion Thomas for a 1-yard touchdown pass to put the Tigers up 10-3.

Oklahoma tied it late in the third quarter when Deion Burks took a short pass 45 yards up the middle. LSU went up 13-10 before the long pass from Mateer to Sategna.

Wilson said the Tigers put forth a solid effort.

“I told our team I’m extremely proud of them, of the way that they competed, the way that they believed that they could win this game and came into it with that mindset and played accordingly,” Wilson said.

Numbers Game

Oklahoma has won four straight games, but this was the first time the Sooners outgained an opponent during the streak.

Tennessee outgained Oklahoma 456 yards to 351. Alabama had a 406212 edge and Missouri had a 301-276 advantage.

The Sooners outgained LSU 393-198.

Explosive Sategna

Sategna has often been the spark the Sooners have needed, and he was again on Saturday. He had a 35-yard punt return in the third quarter before Burks’ touchdown, then scored on the long catch. His team-leading season totals improved to 65 catches, 948 yards and seven touchdowns receiving and 1,276 all-purpose yards.

It’s been a remarkable turnaround for this program, but winning over the Tigers on Saturday makes it that much sweeter, because it should mean a CFP berth.

Much like most of this season, the Sooners won ugly and made a couple more plays at the end to get the victory. However, there’s a lot of things that once again reared their head on Saturday that make it look like it’ll be really difficult for OU to get a win in the playoff. There’s a lot to unpack after the Week 14 win, so here are three takeaways after Oklahoma took down LSU.

1. OU’s defense didn’t crumble, despite almost no help

The Oklahoma defense has been playing incredible football in the month of November, and they’ve been the strength of this football team all season long. In a game where the Sooners lost the turnover battle and threw two awful second half interceptions, the OU defense didn’t wilt or back down, they just kept fighting. Then, when they finally got support from that offense, they were able to finish things off and push this program into a likely CFP bid.

It’s a remarkable turn of events, as the defense used to cost the Sooners games before Venables showed up. In four years, he’s taken a very poor unit and turned them into an immovable object, all in the lion’s den of the SEC.

2. Sooners Have to Figure Out the Offense

Oklahoma’s offense didn’t play well at all against LSU. Quarterback John Mateer threw three interceptions and had an awful third quarter that nearly cost OU the game. Mateer and offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle are lucky that the defense bailed them out yet again, our Sooner Nation would be calling for their jobs. Oklahoma is likely in the CFP, but they won’t make noise there if they can’t give more support on offense. It simply isn’t good enough, despite making just enough plays to get these wins in November.

That goes for the future of the program as well. It feels like the defense in Norman will always been solid, as long as Venables is in town, but the offense has been holding the team back during his tenure as the head coach, especially these last couple of years. There’s been improvement this season over last year, but it’s still not close to where it needs to be. The defense and special teams have been championship-caliber in 2025, but the offense is making things much harder than they need to be.

3. Take a bow, Brent Venables

Venables’ back was against the wall heading into the 2025 season. After going 6-7 in two of his first three years at the helm, he was firmly on the hot seat heading into this year. He took a $1 million pay cut to help with the NIL and revenue- sharing budgets and decided to take over defensive play-calling himself, and it has paid off. Venables and his team kept punching and punching all season long, and he’s punched his way all the way to a likely CFP slot.

It’s far from perfect under Venables, but this team has taken on his intense, relentless identity, and they play as hard as any team in the country, at least on defense. No one was sure that he was the right guy for the job before this season began, but he’s done a remarkable job of finding ways to win each week against an extremely difficult schedule. Bravo, Brent Venables. Bravo.

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