FORT WORTH, TEXAS — The Sooners’ postgame contingency found itself in a familiar spot on Friday.

Brent Venables — joined by Michael Hawkins, Jake Roberts and Kobie McKinzie — sat in front of the media following the Sooners’ disappointing 21-20 loss to Navy in the Armed Forces Bowl. The loss brought the Sooners’ season to an unceremonious end, with the 2024 campaign finishing as the program’s second losing season in three years.

It was yet another winnable game where the Sooners simply came up short.

“Just disappointed,” Venables said. “Obviously, everything falls on me. If we’re dropping it or not converting fourth down, we’re missing field goals or we’re giving up explosive runs, everything falls at my feet.

“So, really disappointed in myself. I need to be a lot better. I think that goes without saying. You don’t go 6-7 and you did all these things right.”

Things couldn’t have started better for the Sooners, who opened the game with 14 unanswered points. Gavin Sawchuk capped off the opening drive with a 21-yard touchdown run. Michael Hawkins delivered the highlight of the game for the Sooners, finding Zion Kearney for a 57-yard touchdown late in the first quarter.

That’s where the highlights ended for the Sooners, as the issues that have plagued them all season returned. The Sooners didn’t score for nearly 50 minutes of game time, a stretch that spanned from late in the first quarter through the final seconds of the game.

That stretch included seven drops by receivers — including two that would’ve went for huge gains — a missed field goal from 52 yards out by Zach Schmit, two drives that ended on failed fourth-down attempts and a Michael Hawkins fumble. The offense was whistled for four penalties, including a holding call that took away a 56-yard rushing touchdown by Hawkins late in the second half.

After the first quarter, the Sooners accounted for 280 yards and just six points. The rushing attack largely stalled, as they averaged just 2.8 yards per carry after halftime.

And it all culminated in the Sooners’ failed two-point conversion with six seconds remaining, which effectively ended the game.

“I thought we had a lot of easy-access throws, and who knows what the numbers would’ve been had we caught the ones that hit us in the breastplate, “Venables said. “That’s the game of football. At the end of the day, had a chance to win the game there at the end.”

The defense was stout to start the game, holding Navy scoreless on the first three drives. But the Midshipmen kept chugging along and eventually broke through late in the second quarter to cut the lead to 14-7 going into halftime.

But the Sooners’ defense — as it has all season — struggled to contain explosive plays, as Navy finished with four plays of 20 yards or more. Blake Horvath scored on a 95-yard run late in the third quarter that tied the game.

But the biggest kicker was Navy’s fourth-quarter drive that took up nearly eight minutes of game time. The Midshipman marched on a 12-play, 66-yard scoring drive that saw Navy convert on a fourth-and-3 deep in OU territory. Navy recorded 197 total yards in the second half and averaged 6.8 yards per play.

“I thought the rhythm of the game early, we had an opportunity there if we can put together a drive to go down and score and potentially put it up 21-nothing,” Venables said. “And so when we converted a fake punt on one of the drives and then got down to a fourth and one. And again, they knocked us backwards, we weren’t able to get it came up short. We had a couple of fourth and shorts on their end of the field — one out of our end of the field, one on their end of the field — that we weren’t able to convert.

“But we had an opportunity there to really seize the momentum early in the game. Even going into halftime, the stats were close to two to one, whether it’s first downs or time of possession or total yards, things of that nature. But you get these small windows in the course of a game to be able to capitalize and we just didn’t do some of the basic things that you gotta do in order to win and put somebody in a really tough position.”

It was a game that was there for the Sooners to win. Instead, their season-long issues appeared once again, as the team struggle to execute in critical moments.

Now, the Sooners head into one of the most pivotal offseasons in program history. The Sooners have done well to add former Washington State quarterback John Mateer via the portal, who will work with new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle on reshaping an offense that was one of the worst in football. Venables said the Sooners expect to add a few more players via the portal in the coming days.

But the Sooners have also lost their fair share of players to the portal or to the NFL Draft, including defensive leaders Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman, and the sense of urgency during the offseason will be incredibly high. With the loss to Navy, the Sooners have posted two 6-7 campaigns in three seasons, and things aren’t going to get any easier in the SEC next year.

But the ultimate theme of the offseason? Improving the issues that plagued the Sooners both against Navy and for the entire season.

“I think we gained valuable experience that will pay off,” Venables said. “My expectation is that it’ll pay off. But we’ve got a lot of work to do… With the guys coming back and the guys that we’ve recruited, I’m really excited about the foundation. But take no solace in that. I just hurt for the players because I know they’ve worked hard. I know it’s easy to take shots, certainly at us as coaches. We’re the (coaches), that’s why we’ve got the whistle and all that.

“Everybody’s disappointed and embarrassed and all of that. I’m not embarrassed by the fight, the commitment, the work, the belief, the strain, the sacrifice, all the things these guys have represented. I’m not, in any way shape or form, embarrassed by that. This is a game of performance. This is a game of doing. And we fell well short of that this year.”