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The Oklahoma Sooners will face the Ole Miss Rebels in SEC football action on Saturday. Lane Kiffin is weary of Brent Venables and his staff.
Kiffin suggested that the Sooners have been successfully stealing opposing signs through film study. He specifically referenced a 24-17 win over Auburn.
Sign stealing has been top of mind in college football dating back to Michigan’s elaborate scheme to videotape future opponents. The Wolverines were punished in that instance, though their actions crossed the line of gamesmanship and cheating.
Sign stealing in NOT illegal. If you can gain an advantage over your opponent during a game, why not use it?
It can be viewed as shady, though, depending on the avenue in which intel is gathered.
Lane Kiffin accused Oklahoma of espionage.
Again, sign stealing is fair game. In fact, it’s often viewed as an art for those able to decipher signals from the sidelines in-game.
Kiffin firmly believes the Sooners are securing sensitive information. He suggests they’re doing so through game film, though.
Lane Kiffin says one of the reasons the Oklahoma’s defense is so good is because the #Sooners film and study their opponents play signals… @NEWS9 @NewsOn6 #OUFootball pic.twitter.com/iKk6akAZ07
— Chris Williams (@CWillTV) October 20, 2025
“[They are good at] film study, and signals,” he said in his Monday press conference. “I just tell you how it is… If you study people really well, and then you have enough confidence to go after those, that seems like what [Brent Venables] does.
“They’ve got a really good beat on the plays that are coming when they’re called… You look at the Auburn game, I told Hugh [Freeze] after the game watching it, you might want to switch your signals. It looks like they have the plays.”
Auburn lost that game by a touchdown. It was the victim of a badly missed call by the officiating crew. Kiffin says the Tigers were also taken advantage of by their opposition.
Brent Venables has a history of sign stealing.
It dates back to his time at Clemson. As defensive coordinator, he was notorious for his ability to swipe signals.
[Venables] has long been the focal point of sign-stealing speculation, according to multiple sources, though no one has publicly accused him of anything illegal.
–ESPN
The coach was accused of sending in-person scouts to an SEC Championship Game to study LSU, who Clemson would later meet in the national title game.
After being shut down on their first three drives of the game, LSU switched up their signs. They went on to rip off 42 points in a championship win.
It could be coincidence. It could also, however, support Lane Kiffin’s insinuation.
Brent Venables denied the suggestion while speaking to the media.
“I guess coming from Lane, I take it as a compliment. Like, he must have watched our guys be really prepared…
“I think every single team we’ve played the last two years has huddled. And so, between that and the helmet communication, I don’t know how that works, but we got enough to worry about just getting our guys lined up with the right call and things of that nature.
“But I guess I’ll take that as kind of a weird kind of compliment. Our guys must’ve looked pretty good on film.”
-Brent Venables
As for Ole Miss, the Rebs won’t take any chances. Kiffin plans to switch his signals in order to keep the Sooners off the scent. The two teams will match up in Norman with major SEC implications.