Tag: UTEP Miners

Oklahoma Sooners among USA TODAY Sports’ ‘winners’ from week 1

The Oklahoma Sooners were among USA TODAY Sports’week one winners after a dominating performance against UTEP.

It’s hard to imagine a better outcome in week one for the Oklahoma Sooners than the 45-13 win against the UTEP Miners. After spending the last two decades as a coordinator, Brent Venables finally has his first win as a head coach.

Week one delivered some great football. Utah vs. Florida was a great matchup, as was Notre Dame vs. Ohio State. Clemson, Venables’ former team, handily defeated Georgia Tech 41-10.

“Utter domination” is the phrase that comes to mind when thinking about how the Sooners played against UTEP. The Miners were simply outmatched in every phase of the game, and rightfully so. That is how a Conference USA team is supposed to look against a top 10 team.

With their performance, the Oklahoma Sooners were included in USA TODAY Sports Paul Myerberg’s winners from week one.

The Brent Venables era kicked off with a 45-13 win against overmatched Texas-El Paso that doubled as the debut for former Central Florida quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who hit on 15 of 23 throws for 233 yards and three combined scores. Defensively, the No. 9 Sooners held the Miners to just 3.8 yards per play and 28 rushing yards, the fewest Oklahoma has allowed in a game since giving up 25 yards to Baylor in 2020. – Myerberg, USA TODAY Sports

The defense looked well prepared and cohesive in their first game in Venables’ defensive scheme. There wasn’t any miscommunication that stuck out, and they looked hungry for the football.

The offense has a bug or two to work out, but that’s what these tune-up games are for. Dillon Gabriel looked comfortable back in Jeff Lebby’s system and Eric Gray looked like an RB1.

Kent State isn’t much of a leap in quality from UTEP, but seeing how the team carries itself after a dominating performance is always interesting, especially under a new coach.

[listicle id=70653]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Ben on Twitter @bendackiw.

Best Photos of Brent Venables from his Oklahoma head coaching debut

After nine months in Norman, the long-awaited debut of Brent Venables lived up to expectations as the Oklahoma Sooners beat UTEP 45-13.

The long-awaited debut of the Brent Venables era at the University of Oklahoma came off without a hitch. Well, mostly.

It wasn’t a perfect day, but the Oklahoma Sooners came away with a 45-13 win over UTEP in a game that was close briefly in the second quarter until Oklahoma turned on the juice again.

Venables’ Sooners came out hungry and played with passion and energy from the get go. Offensively that had several big plays in the first quarter; a deep ball to Marvin Mims, a big run from Eric Gray, a big catch and run from Mims, and then the Gavin Freeman touchdown.

Defensively, they were flying to the football. They weren’t satisfied with one Oklahoma defender getting to the ball. It was as if they all wanted to be in on the tackle. Something that was noticeable in the spring game carried over to the 2022 season opener. Team tackling.

Again, not perfect as the Sooners missed 11 tackles against a tough quarterback and an elusive set of skill players. Still, it was better than the 15 missed tackles allowed against Tulane in week one of 2021.

And as our Ben Dackiw wrote, there was a noticeable difference in what played out on the field in the 2022 season opener compared to a year ago.

Unlike a year ago, the Sooners dominated their opponent on the scoreboard to a 32-point win, came away with 6 sacks, nine tackles for loss, and allowed less than one yard per carry against UTEP’s rushing attack.

Offensively, they were balanced, and Dillon Gabriel looked poised as the Sooners racked up 492 yards of total offense at 8.1 yards per play.

And as important as the scoreboard was how this team looked, winning by 32. They looked like their head coach. A fiery, energetic, passionate, and aggressive team.

After months of preparation, Brent Venables led his team onto the field for the first time and described it as “special.”

“Well, that was really fast. That went really fast. A special day for a lot of reasons,” Brent Venables said. “Most of all, we did a lot of things for the first time today. A lot of players experienced things for the first time. I’m super thankful for the fans today. They were outstanding. Our Walk of Champions and the energy in the stadium when we kicked off was really special. No surprise.”

From the pregame to the game, even as temperatures forced fans to leave their seats, the environment spoke to a new beginning. An excitement that had been building for months to witness what the next era of Oklahoma football would look like.

And when it was all said and done, the Sooners handed a game ball to each player and coach in the locker room. President Joseph Harroz and athletic director Joe Castiglione also received game balls from Brent Venables.

It was an act of appreciation from the Sooners’ new head coach to his staff, administration, and the players for buying into what Venables was preaching and putting in the work.

And in turn, Venables received a game ball from the administration that put their faith in the returning son.

“Yeah, I actually did. Everybody in there got one. We gave them to Joe [Castiglione] and Joe [Harroz]. I gave him to Joe and Joe for believing in me. And this is Oklahoma. They didn’t have to hire me. And I don’t take that for granted at all. So, we gave them a game ball after we gave one to every player and coach in there. So again, we’ve talked about, again, this being Team 128, and we want to celebrate success no matter how it looks. But it’s a special day, certainly, for our players in 2022 and where we want to go as a program. For me, this is gonna be a date that we all remember for a long, long time. So, everybody got one.”

It was an emotional moment that came from 36 years biding his time and waiting on the right place and the right time to take the leap into the head coaching ranks. It was a great debut for Brent Venables and the new-look Sooners. You can take a look back at some of the best photos of Oklahoma’s new head coach from the UTEP game.

Just one week into the season, there’s a noticeable difference in the Oklahoma Sooners

There’s a noticeable difference in Oklahoma Football just one week into the 2022 season.

What a difference a year can make. After week one of last season, the Oklahoma Sooners were left licking their wounds after nearly dropping the season opener to the Tulane Green Wave.

Spencer Rattler started that game as a Heisman favorite but was replaced midway through the Texas game. Before Oklahoma finished its season with an Alamo Bowl win over Oregon, Rattler was off to South Carolina.

This time around in week one, it’s safe to say that the Sooners had a better time, despite the blistering heat. Unlike week one against Tulane last season, the result vs. UTEP was never in doubt.

In the Tulane game, Caleb Williams scored on his first snap because, of course, he did. Rattler looked painfully average, the defense looked disorganized and confused, and the sideline looked… not alive.

Go back and watch the sideline during the Tulane game, then watch the sideline in the UTEP game. The difference in energy is night and day.

In retrospect, Sooners fans should’ve known that something was wrong after the Tulane game, but we all wrote it off as week one bugs. Oh, how wrong we were.

Why did we write this off? There were some weird circumstances.

This game was originally scheduled to be played in New Orleans before a hurricane pushed it to Oklahoma. The Sooners were the road team in this game. In their own stadium.

They began last year, that incredibly frustrating and disappointing year, as the No. 2 team in the country. Alabama was the only team ahead of them in the rankings at that time.

The Sooners were supposed to be contenders to open the season last September. This season, they’re still viewed as one of the ten best teams in the country to open the season, but there are far more questions, even after their week one domination of UTEP.

The USA TODAY Sports AFCA Coaches Poll or the AP Top 25 for week two won’t be out until Tuesday. Since No. 7 Utah lost to Florida, the No. 9 Sooners will move up at least one spot. If Brent Venables can get the Sooners to No. 2 in the nation this year or at any point in his tenure, watch how the players conduct themselves on the field and on the sideline.

There’s new life in the program. The energy was palpable.

If there were a way to harness a person’s energy, Brent Venables could solve the world’s energy crisis. His attitude and intensity are infectious and appear to have already had a positive impact on the on-field results.

When things started to slow down in the second quarter, with the offense going three-and-out on back-to-back possessions, and the defense showing its first chinks in their armor, there appeared to be a bit of a lull. But it didn’t linger. The offense put together a long touchdown drive toward the end of the half led by the running game, and the defense responded with a stop to force UTEP out of field goal range to carry a 28-10 lead into halftime.

Whatever was said on the sideline in the second quarter and in the locker room at halftime made all the difference. The Sooners outscored the Miners 17-3 in the second half to cruise to the week one win.

Just when it seemed there would be another letdown after a big lead, something that became characteristic during the Lincoln Riley era, the Sooners rallied and reestablished their dominance on both sides of the football.

It’s a new day in Norman. It’s clear this team is different.

The season is just getting started, and week one doesn’t write the whole story, but there’s a noticeable difference in the football program just one game into the season.

[listicle id=70737]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Ben on Twitter @bendackiw.

Oklahoma Sooners inside Joel Klatt’s top 10 after week 1

The Oklahoma Sooners moved into Joel Klatt’s top 10 after their 45-13 win over UTEP on Saturday.

The Oklahoma Sooners opened the 2022 season with a 45-13win over the UTEP Miners. OU jumped out to a 21-0 lead early in the first quarter and that was pretty much all she wrote.

[autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag], so far, has proven to be as advertised. His poise in the pocket and accuracy with the football helped Oklahoma work quickly on offense. He spread the ball around, finding seven different receivers.

The running game started off strong with 259 yards on the ground, averaging 6.8 yards per carry. [autotag]Eric Gray[/autotag] ran for 102 yards, and [autotag]Marcus Major[/autotag] chipped in 57 yards and two touchdowns.

Let by [autotag]Reggie Grimes[/autotag] and [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag], the Oklahoma Sooners came to play, holding the Miners to negative rushing yards in the first half. They recorded six sacks on the day and allowed just 13 points.

The Sooners began answering some of the questions that left people doubting just how good they could be in 2022. Fox Sports’ Joel Klatt left the Sooners outside his top 10 teams heading into 2022, but after the Sooners’ 45-13 win in week one, they’re inside Klatt’s top 10.

Let’s take a look.

3 stars from Oklahoma’s 45-13 win vs. UTEP

Dillon Gabriel, Reggie Grimes, and Eric Gray separated themselves as stars on Saturday in OU’s 45-13 win against UTEP.

It feels good to be able to spend time analyzing actual game action against other opponents. It felt as if we’d never make it, but we did, and it’s glorious.

Oklahoma laced up the cleats and strapped on the pads on Saturday to take on the UTEP Miners. The Miners, led by Dana Dimel, came into the game 0-1 after losing in week zero to North Texas.

On the other side, a historic day unfolded for Brent Venables.

He returned to Oklahoma and coached in his first game since leaving Norman to be Clemson’s defensive coordinator over a decade ago. This time was different. He became the 18th Oklahoma head coach to win his head coaching debut as the Sooners took down UTEP 45-13.

Offensively, Oklahoma entered the season replacing their starting quarterbacks, running back, starting left guard, a Swiss army knife in Jeremiah Hall, and a couple of notable pass catchers who transferred or went to the NFL. Defensively, they lost six starters. Five went to the NFL, and the other, safety Pat Fields, transferred to Stanford.

Saturday was step one in establishing new stars for the Oklahoma program and seeing guys in new positions taking steps forward in the right direction. Some names stood out in particular as we select our three stars for the first time this season.

From the Student Section: It’s clear Brent Venables’ Oklahoma is different

From the Student Section: OU runs all over UTEP for first win of the Brent Venables era

Welcome home, Brent Venables. More than a decade after leaving Oklahoma for Clemson, Venables finally had his first game as a head coach. It was worth the wait. Over 80,000 fans packed the Palace on the Prairie for his long-awaited debut.

I was among the first people in line. We got into the stadium just after they opened the gates. After buying a bag of kettle corn, my roommate and I made our way to the very top of the student section. We had made it.

Yes it was hot. We didn’t care. We were just happy that Sooners football was finally back.

The pessimist in me was worried we would be subjected to a repeat of the Tulane game. I just couldn’t shake this feeling that something was going to go wrong.

Clearly I didn’t drink enough crimson Kool-Aid in the offseason.

The Sooners looked unstoppable their first three offensive possessions. I knew that Jeff Lebby liked his tempo offense, but three touchdowns on 13 plays and 3:32 of possession is just insane.

I’m going to say this now, so I don’t have to say it again: Yes, I know it was UTEP. Can we move on?

While the offense was putting the Sooners up 21-0, the defense showed the early fruits of the Brent Venables era.

Reggie Grimes and Ethan Downs are going to be a very good pass-rushing duo this season. Grimes had 2.5 sacks to Downs’ one against the Miners. The front seven as a whole played very well. The tackling looks much better, and everyone seems a step or two faster.

The one group on defense that left a bit to be desired was the secondary.

That group didn’t have a bad game, it just underwhelmed a little bit. It gave UTEP’s receivers a bit too much space for UTEP quarterback Gavin Hardison.

Hardison stood tall when OU’s pass rush did get to him and did a good job of getting the ball out quickly. A lot of QBs would’ve gotten sacked more than he did on Saturday. Hardison made several good throws on the run and didn’t make it easy for OU’s defense.

Something that does need to be cleaned up on defense is the penalties, and that goes for the offense as well.

On UTEP’s first two scoring drives, both drives were extended by defensive pass interference calls on the Sooners. That’s something to keep an eye on as the season progresses.

Now for the offense.

Dillon Gabriel came in as advertised. He looked good in the quick passing game, he can tuck it and run when he needs to and he has the arm talent to win football games. I was much more impressed with his running back.

Eric Gray looked like an RB1 yesterday. His speed and ability to make defenders miss are going to be very valuable to the OU offense this year. While Gray didn’t make it into the end zone, Marcus Major did, twice.

I was impressed with how Gabriel came out in the second half after it looked like UTEP had figured out how to slow the Sooners’ offense. They hadn’t. OU returned to its no-huddle style and got Gabriel back in a groove with a few easy completions.

Don’t let any talking heads fool you this week. This game was never close. The Miners didn’t have the talent to hang with OU and were gifted a score or two from some, in my opinion, soft DPI calls. The Sooners weren’t perfect, but no one was expecting perfection.

The D-line looked like a Brent Venables D-line. The defense had a new fire we haven’t seen in Norman in years. The players are benefiting from this coaching change and can only get better from here.

The Sooners not playing down to a Group of Five opponent feels good. It should be expected, make no mistake, but it does feel good to cover in a game that OU was favored to win by more than 30 points.

The Sooners get one more tuneup game at home against the Kent State Golden Flashes before heading to Lincoln to take on Nebraska. After that, Big 12 play begins for what could be the final time.

As for the student section’s lack of electricity, that’s a story for another article

[listicle id=70556]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, and comment on this story below. Join the conversation today. You can also follow Ben on Twitter @BenDackiw.

Eric Gray proves up to the challenge of leading Oklahoma Sooners backfield

Eric Gray led the Oklahoma Sooners with 135 total yards, showing the skills that made him one of the more highly-anticipated transfers of the last two years.

One of the bigger questions facing the Oklahoma Sooners heading into 2022 was how the running back position would look with Kennedy Brooks off to the NFL. Eric Gray was expected to lead the way, but after a limited role in 2021, there was some uncertainty as to how he’d respond to being the feature back.

In his first start with the Oklahoma Sooners, Gray responded with 102 yards on 16 carries and 33 yards on two receptions for a fantastic day for the Oklahoma Sooners.

Gray displayed the elusiveness, agility, and big-play ability that had many excited about his potential in the Sooners’ offense when he transferred from Tennessee spring of 2021.

After five yards on the first scoring drive of the game, Gray then got the ball on the first two plays of the second drive with the Sooners backed up against their own end zone. He took Oklahoma to the seven with a three-yard carry and then exploded for 35 yards to get the Sooners’ offense on the move. A couple of plays later, Gray displayed his receiving prowess with a 24-yard reception.

Gray didn’t cross the goalline for a touchdown, but he put on display everything you needed to see. He even showed the ability to make plays after contact, averaging 3.31 yards per carry after contact per Pro Football Focus. He was counted upon to pick up a fourth down to help Oklahoma keep its momentum on the way to their fourth touchdown of the game.

Eric Gray, combined with Marcus Major, provides the Sooners with a dynamic duo. After being underutilized in 2021, Gray showed the game-breaking ability that will help the Sooners win a lot of games in 2022.

[listicle id=70544]

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. Let us know your thoughts, comment on this story below. Join the conversation today.

Social media reacts to the Sooners 45-13 win over the UTEP Miners

Sooner Nation enjoyed a great day as the Oklahoma Sooners started the season with a 45-13 win over UTEP.

The Oklahoma Sooners got off to a fast start in week one of the 2022 college football season. Literally.

Taking the ball to open the game, the Sooners took just five plays and 1:17 to score the first touchdown of the Brent Venables era. After an incomplete pass to Marvin Mims on a deep shot down the field, the Gabriel came back with a 16-yard completion to Drake Stoops on an RPO.

Eric Gray followed that up with five yards on the ground for his first carry of the season before Gabriel hit Mims for a 42-yard bomb to get Oklahoma in the red zone.

Gabriel then kept the ball on a read-option and went 12 yards for the touchdown.

It was a great opening drive, encapsulating everything Oklahoma wants to be offensively; fast-paced, run game involved, and the ability to hit big plays down the field.

Defensively, the Sooners were relentless. They regularly had multiple players to the ball carrier. Though there were 11 missed tackles per Pro Football Focus, that’s an improvement to what happened a year ago vs. Tulane when they had 15 missed tackles in the season opener. Oklahoma also had more sacks and tackles for loss this year against the Miners than they did a year ago against the Green Wave.

Aside from a lull early in the second quarter, the Oklahoma Sooners had their way with the UTEP Miners on Saturday. Though UTEP started to make something interesting with 10 straight points in the second frame, Oklahoma found a second gear on a hot day and were able to limit the damage.

Overall, it was a great start to the season for the Oklahoma Sooners and Sooner Nation enjoyed every bit of it. Here are some of the best reactions from Twitter.

5 Takeaways from the Oklahoma Sooners 45-13 win over UTEP

There was a lot to like in the Sooners’ 45-13 win over the UTEP Miners in the season opener.

The Oklahoma Sooners (1-0) kicked off the Brent Venables era with a dominating 45-13 win over the UTEP Miners on Saturday. It was a win that received contributions up and down the lineup. From seniors to true freshmen, Oklahoma saw a host of players make an impact on Saturday.

They couldn’t have gotten off to a better start in week one as the offense scored touchdowns on their first three drives, each drive consisting of six plays or less.

On the first two defensive possessions, Oklahoma forced punts to help the Sooners jump out to a 21-0 lead in the first quarter.

From there, the Sooners were able to cruise to victory in Venables’ first game as a head coach. As we continue to break down the season-opening win, here are five takeaways from Saturday’s performance.

Best photos from the Oklahoma Sooners’ 45-13 win over the UTEP Miners

Relive the magic from Brent Venables’ Oklahoma debut with some of the best photos of the Sooners’ 45-13 win over the UTEP Miners.

The Oklahoma Sooners enjoyed a great start to the Brent Venables era with a 45-13 win over the UTEP Miners.

It wasn’t always pretty, but Dillon Gabriel was an efficient 15 of 23 for 233 yards and two touchdowns. He added a touchdown on the ground to help Oklahoma jump to a 21-0 first-quarter lead. Brayden Willis caught both of Gabriel’s touchdown passes, and Marvin Mims led Oklahoma in receiving with three receptions for 81 yards.

Oklahoma ran for 259 yards as a team, averaging 6.8 yards per carry, led by Eric Gray’s 102 yards. Marcus Major added 57 yards and two touchdowns.

The Sooners defense made plays in the backfield, recording six sacks and nine tackles for loss. Reggie Grimes led the way with 2.5 sacks. Danny Stutsman and Billy Bowman each had nine tackles for a Sooners defense that held the UTEP Miners to 28 yards rushing.