Nik Bonitto spent four years making quarterbacks miserable in Norman, and now the former Oklahoma star is calling for a change in a program that is struggling to find answers. The Sooners fell 42-25 to South Carolina at home on Halloween, dropping to 4-4 overall and 2-3 in the SEC. Oklahoma still hasn’t won back-to-back games, while Venables remains publicly noncommittal about the changes ahead.

Ex-Sooners star Nik Bonitto, now a Denver Broncos edge rusher, posted his reaction on X during the Oklahoma loss to the Gamecocks. “I love my school, but this is crazy, gotta make a change!”

Bonitto isn’t some random alum venting online. Nik Bonitto was a four-star recruit out of St. Thomas Aquinas in Fort Lauderdale who played at Oklahoma from 2018 to 2021. He finished with 117 tackles, 32 tackles for loss, and 18.5 sacks. In 2020, Bonitto had eight sacks in 10 games and was a PFF first-team All-American.

In 2021, he led the Sooners with 15 tackles for loss and seven sacks, and PFF named him Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Denver took him 64th overall in 2022, and he has 3.5 sacks through seven games this season.

Oklahoma won the Big 12 in 2018, 2019, and 2020 with Bonitto on the roster, and made two playoff semifinals, losing to Alabama and LSU. Though there was no national title, Bonitto knows what Oklahoma football looks like when it’s working.

Right now, the offense isn’t in its best shape, as the Sooners came into Saturday as the 115th of 138 teams in total offense at 333.7 yards a game. Against South Carolina, they had 71 yards in the first half and trailed 28-10 at the break.

Oklahoma’s season bounced back and forth as Oklahoma beat UTEP, New Mexico, Texas, and Mississippi State and lost to Michigan, Georgia, Kentucky, and now South Carolina. Fans started a “Fire Arbuckle” chant at halftime, aimed at offensive coordinator Ebn Arbuckle.

John Mateer finished 60% for 244 yards, with both touchdowns coming late. The defense gave up 42 points, the most all year, and South Carolina became the first team since TCU in 2023 to put up 500 yards on Oklahoma.

Meanwhile, Brent Venables said very little regarding the staff change. According to Parker Thune on X, he “essentially declined to comment on any staff or quarterback changes” after the game. Per George Stoia III’s X post, Venables was asked directly regarding the offensive staff changes, to which the head coach replied: “Yeah, I’m not talking about anything like that.”

That leaves a lot of unanswered questions. Venables is now in his fifth season in Norman, yet his offense continues to stall when it matters most. While fans and former players demand accountability, the head coach is keeping his plans behind closed doors.

With the offense struggling to control matchups, the brutal schedule won’t wait for Oklahoma to find solid answers in its staff and starting lineup. Oklahoma plays at Florida next Saturday, then hosts Ole Miss and Texas A&M before finishing at Missouri. The Sooners need two more wins to reach six and become bowl-eligible.

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