It took Brent Venables four years to build Oklahoma 's defense into something that lived up to his reputation as one of the top defensive minds in college football.

In 2025, he has put it all together. The Sooners are one win away from locking up a College Football Playoff bid thanks to a fearsome defense that currently ranks No. 6 nationally in both scoring and stop rate.

What is stop rate? It's a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense's drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. Defensive coordinators have the same goal regardless of their scheme, opponent or conference: prevent points and get off the field. Stop rate is a simple metric but can offer a good reflection of a defense's effectiveness on a per-drive basis in today's faster-tempo game.

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