Oklahoma Sooners Football vs. UTEP Game Preview, Notes and Broadcast Info

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Game Information

– No. 9/10 Oklahoma (10-3 in 2025) vs. UTEP (2-10 in 2025)

– Start Time: 7 p.m. CT

– Location: Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK

Broadcast Details

– TV: SEC Network+/ESPN Unlimited (Ted Emrich, Fozzy Whittaker, and Maria Martin)

– Radio: Sooner Sports Network via 107.7 The Franchise/KOKC 95.3 and 1520 in Oklahoma City, 1430 The Buzz and KMOD 97.5 in Tulsa, and on The Varsity Network app (Toby Rowland, Teddy Lehman, Chris Plank, and Gabe Ikard)

What You Need To Know

NORMAN, Okla. – No. 9/10 Oklahoma opens the 2026 season Friday night in Norman with a familiar kind of test and a much clearer sense of what this program wants to be.

The Sooners host UTEP at 7 p.m. CT at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in the first game of Brent Venables’ fifth season and Oklahoma’s third year in the SEC. The game will air on SEC Network+ and ESPN Unlimited.

This is the 132nd season of Oklahoma football, and the program still carries the weight of that history. The Sooners lead the country in conference championships and remain near the top of almost every meaningful all-time list that matters in this sport. They also enter the year ranked in the preseason AP poll for the 27th straight season.

Friday is also a bit unusual. It is only the second Friday night regular-season home game in program history. Oklahoma has thrived in Friday games overall, but home openers under the lights on a weeknight are still rare.

Oklahoma is coming off a 10-3 season, a 6-2 mark in SEC play, and a College Football Playoff appearance. The defense was the identity. The Sooners led the nation in sacks and tackles for loss, ranked among the best in the country against the run, and gave themselves a chance every week because of how physical and disruptive they were up front. That side of the ball is the foundation again this year.

UTEP is not going to scare anybody on paper. The Miners went 2-10 last season and are in their first year in the Mountain West under third-year coach Scotty Walden. Oklahoma has beaten them in all five previous meetings, including Venables’ first game as head coach in 2022.

That does not make Friday irrelevant. Openers are about establishing habits, finding out what is real, and avoiding the sloppy stuff that turns easy nights into frustrating ones.

The bigger picture around this roster is stability. After several years of heavy roster turnover, Oklahoma still has a lot of new faces, but the percentage of first-year players has settled. There are 45 newcomers on the roster, including 19 transfers and 26 freshmen. A big share of the transfer help landed on offense, especially at receiver, tight end, and on the offensive line.

That is no accident. The defense already had a base. The offense needed more tools around John Mateer.

Mateer is the centerpiece. He returns for a second season as the starter after producing more than 3,300 total yards and 22 touchdowns a year ago despite the thumb injury that knocked him off course. If he stays healthy and plays with the consistency Venables has been asking for, Oklahoma has a chance to be more than just competitive in a loaded league.

The supporting cast around him looks better on paper. Isaiah Sategna is back after an All-SEC year. Trell Harris and Parker Livingstone add size and production on the outside. The tight end room was completely rebuilt with Hayden Hansen, Rocky Beers, and Jack Van Dorselaer. That group should help both the pass game and the run game if the line holds up.

The offensive line remains the main question.

There is talent there, especially with Michael Fasusi at left tackle and Eddy Pierre-Louis on the interior. There has also been enough injury noise and movement to keep people from getting too comfortable. Oklahoma does not need the line to be perfect in Week 1. It needs the line to be functional enough to protect Mateer, create some push, and let the backs settle in.

Lloyd Avant has earned early praise and the first shot at running back while Xavier Robinson and Tory Blaylock work fully back into form. That room should become more of a committee as the season goes along.

The defense is where Oklahoma should feel the most confident. Taylor Wein, David Stone, Jayden Jackson, and Adepoju Adebawore give the front real disruption. Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke anchor the linebacker group. Peyton Bowen, Eli Bowen, and Courtland Guillory give the secondary experience and playmaking ability. This unit does not need a reinvention. It needs to stay aggressive, disciplined, and healthy.

Special teams should be a strength again too. Tate Sandell is one of the best kickers in the country after winning the Lou Groza Award. Grayson Miller and Ben Anderson give Oklahoma continuity in the rest of the kicking game. That matters in tight SEC weeks more than people like to admit in September.

The schedule after this is the real measuring stick. Oklahoma again sits near the top of the national strength-of-schedule rankings and will see Michigan, Georgia, Texas, Ole Miss, Texas A&M, and others before it is over.

That is why Friday still matters.

The Sooners need a clean night, some answers on offense, and another reminder that the defense can set the tone immediately.

There is also a quieter theme around this team. Venables has more experience in the job now. The staff has new pieces, including Jason Witten at tight ends and Deland McCullough with the running backs. The roster has enough returning production to expect progress.

The standard in Norman has never been just making the playoff. It is competing for championships. Last year got Oklahoma back into the conversation. This year will show whether the program is ready to stay there.

UTEP is the first step, not the destination. Oklahoma should be too talented, too physical, and too settled at the top of the roster to let an opener get sideways.

The interesting part is not whether the Sooners win Friday. It is how they look doing it.

If Mateer is sharp, the line is steady, and the defense comes out flying, the rest of the season starts to feel a lot heavier in the best way.

The Palace on the Prairie is ready. The season is here.

Now Oklahoma has to go play like the team it has been building toward.

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