NORMAN — OU coach Brent Venables clearly had a lot to say on Monday.

His weekly press conference wrapped up after 46 minutes, one of his longest of the season. He covered a variety of topics as the Sooners head into their regular-season finale against TCU (11 a.m. Friday, Fox Sports).

Here's a look at some of the notable things Venables said during his time at the lectern:

Zach Schmit's struggles popped up again last Saturday against BYU. He missed a chip shot from 28 yards out early in the fourth quarter, a kick that would've given the Sooners a three-point lead.

It's been that type of season for Schmit. He's made 12 of 18 attempts this season, and he's made just eight in his 14 attempts during conference play. He's 4 of 6 from field goals between 30-39 yards — only one of his 12 makes this season have come from beyond 36 yards — and 1 of 3 on kicks between 40-49 yards.

Schmit, notably, also converted on just 12 of 18 attempts last season. But Venables didn't sound like he's ready to make any changes.

“We got to get a little better with our confidence and our fundamentals at kicking," Venables said. "We’ve been too inconsistent there... We kick multiple guys in practice, and Zach’s been our most consistent. So just like at quarterback, if the quarterback’s lacking accuracy, it’s got to get better. You got to throw it on time. Sometimes it’s an instinctual thing for quarterbacks, sometimes it’s a mechanics thing. We just got to get better.”

Venables noted that Gavin Marshall has been injured most of the season. The only other kicker that's traveled with the Sooners in recent weeks is Redi Mustafaraj.

The sophomore cornerback has been in and out of the lineup this season. He's started eight games but hasn't logged a snap in three of the past four games. He's been struggling with injuries this season, most recently a shoulder issue that's kept him out the last two weeks.

In his absence, the Sooners have given the bulk of the work to Kani Walker. Makari Vickers has also seen some playing time, although he missed the BYU game with an injury. True freshman Jasiah Wagoner has seen limited snaps. But it's clear the Sooners have missed Williams, who's second on the team in interceptions (3) despite missing time.

Venables, though, did say he expects Williams to return against TCU.

"Gentry’s back. He practiced yesterday," Venables said. "That hasn't been ideal. Going into the year I talked about that position group not having much experience and then we've been snakebit there with just some — no real long term injuries other than Jayden Rowe. But man that group has been — other than Woodi (Washington), and Woodi’s been fantastic. Man he's been great in every way you would want an older guy to be.

"But the rest of the group is, when they've been available, pretty good. But continuity and getting the chemistry and getting into a good rhythm and then getting better because you're available and you're practicing all those things and the things that it takes to get better, has been obviously lacking top to bottom."

It's been an up-and-down season for TCU. The Horned Frogs are 5-6 on the season and 3-5 in conference play.

They're essentially a middle-of-the-road team in the Big 12. During conference play, they rank ninth in scoring offense (26.8 points per game) and sixth in scoring defense (24.6) points per game).

But they've shown some positive signs recently. They nearly defeated Texas two weeks before losing 29-26, and they're coming off a 42-17 victory over Texas Tech. Notably, both the Sooners and the Horned Frogs are playing on a short week.

"Both of us have a short week, quick turnaround," Venables said. "We got back here at a really good time on Saturday evening so that our guys could get a good night of rest and turn right around and have a good start to our week. As I said last night and last week, we had to modify our schedule this week to get these guys refocused and make sure we’re recovered and healthy and ready to play fast.

"We have a fast, athletic TCU team that’s has played well the last several games. They’ve had a couple of tough losses, both to Tech and Texas where it comes down to the last drive of both of those games. They lost 29-26 to Texas and lost a tough one to Texas Tech the week prior to that.They’re a team with tremendous, tremendous skill, a lot of confidence and a team that played in the national championship last year and got after us pretty good."

Just like last season, the Sooners have alternated the team captains for each game this season. But on Monday, the team announced permanent captains as voted on by the players: Billy Bowman, Ethan Downs, Dillon Gabriel, McKade Mettauer, Drake Stoops, Danny Stutsman and Woodi Washington.

"They're just the model of consistency," Venables said. "Highly-invested guys, and sometimes people say, 'Whoa, how come not these other guys?' It's not a reflection on anybody else. These were just the guys that they got the most votes. Consistency. Buy-in. Passion. Love for the game. Love for their university. Love for their teammates. They've been amazing. They make everybody around them better. They've got the kind of toughness that you want your program to be all about. They value their opportunity every single day.

"They know that their time is limited and their role's important and their platform is important and their influence is important. So again, all the selfless traits that you've gotta have and the work ethic, the toughness, the ability to persevere and endure is something I never take lightly."