I have elected to simply copy and paste the introductory section of last week’s column, because everything I wrote then is every bit as applicable now. So here is the exact same intro I wrote last week, followed by answers to all of your new questions this week.

The scene involves an exchange between Oakland Athletics general manager Billy Beane (portrayed by Brad Pitt) and one of his players, an outfielder named Jeremy Giambi. Billy walks into the locker room after a loss to see Jeremy dancing on a tabletop to loudly blaring disco music, at which point he — Billy, that is — takes a bat and smashes the stereo. The conversation that ensues is as follows:

Billy: Is losing fun?

Jeremy: *silence*

Billy: IS… LOSING… FUN?

Jeremy: No.

Billy: Then what are you having fun for?

I share this excerpt every so often in this postgame column when the requisite scenario arises. Losing is not fun, for you or for me. It’s not fun for you to root for a team that loses, and it’s not fun for me to cover a team that loses. Those of you that have been around the OUInsider community for longer than a few months know that I generally don’t make the same effort to fill this column with humor and wit after an Oklahoma loss, let alone a drubbing. And this was a drubbing.

A drubbing means that you’re not getting the same structure or the same prose that you usually get in my postgame column. After a loss like this one, the overwhelming majority of you simply want to know that you’re heard. You don’t have any particular desire to see me get cute with the column. So rest assured that I hear you, and I am going to make a good-faith effort to answer as many of your questions as possible.

This Drubbing Edition postgame column will simply consist of one giant mailbag. It’s almost midnight, and I’m not in the mood to try and be clever. So we’ll keep it real and we’ll keep it raw.

First, three observations:

1) This is the worst offensive team Oklahoma has fielded in my lifetime.

2) It’s probably not getting any better the rest of the way.

3) Bowl eligibility is officially a long shot after what occurred today.

Now, without further ado, to your questions we go. May the midnight oil burn bright.

SoonerNFortWorth: No questions. Just burn it down.

Yeah, look. Change of some kind needs to happen. There has to be a sacrificial lamb at this point, if for no other reason than to appease this rabid fanbase. Because if you lose the fanbase, you’re cooked. I don’t wish unemployment upon anyone, nor do I think you can solve any problems in an immediate sense by firing one or more staffers. But Oklahoma has scored a grand total of 12 points in two games — coming off a bye week, mind you. That fact speaks for itself. I have my opinions as to whose head should roll first, and all of you have your opinions as well. But there’s no excuse for sticking with the status quo. None whatsoever. This is as low as this football program has sunk in the 21st century.

Landthieves: BB still the best OL coach in the country?

My answer is still yes. And I think if you polled folks in the collegiate ranks and in NFL circles, the general consensus would be yes. That said, his reputation is taking a hit with every week that goes by. I can’t deny that, nor can anyone. The offensive line is horrific right now, and it’s the root of many — not all, but many — of Oklahoma’s offensive issues. Neither Jackson Arnold nor Michael Hawkins can reasonably be expected to succeed behind a line like this one. It’s effectively a row of turnstiles. The pick-six that got Hawkins benched wasn’t even his fault, although the first two turnovers certainly were. On the pick-six, the pocket collapsed almost immediately, Hawkins got hit as he threw and the ball ended up nowhere remotely close to the intended target. Then Arnold enters the game and winds up getting sacked eight times. Branson Hickman and Jake Taylor cannot stay healthy. Jacob Sexton is still playing out of position. Somehow, Spencer Brown saw the field today. If there is a worse offensive line in the Power 4, I haven’t seen it. It’s gone from mediocre to bad to flat-out awful.

crazysooner80: Tell me why Joe C shouldn’t fire BV tonight and put Bob as interim to start a true HC search.

Because this isn’t a Venables problem. Well, I guess it is true that a head coach is responsible for every one of a program’s issues, so I suppose it could be argued that it is indeed a Venables problem. But all of Oklahoma’s issues are concentrated on the offensive side of the ball, and as Venables said in his postgame press conference, he’s doing about all he can for the offense. At a certain point, the offensive coaches have to pull it together and the players have to execute. The Sooners would be better served to overhaul the offensive staff than fire Venables — which I am not suggesting, just to be clear. If you fire Venables, you wave goodbye to the mastermind behind a defense that’s played well enough for Oklahoma to be 6-1 right now. And at that point, you’re truly starting from square one. He is a defense-minded coach who should be able to rely upon his offensive staff to find a way to get more than 3 points against Texas and 9 points against South Carolina. It’s unacceptable and Venables said as much. But it’s not really within his power to fix things.