Steve Curtis- Oklahoma Storms Into 2026 With a 51-0 Beatdown Over UTEP

Steve Curtis | September 7th, 2026

 Oklahoma opened the 2026 season with a 51-0 victory over UTEP, providing the first look at a roster the Sooners spent eight months building.

Oklahoma was always expected to win comfortably.

But Friday was never simply about beating the Miners.

It was about whether Oklahoma had begun fixing the issues that held it back last season. On offense, many of those questions were answered.

First up was John Mateer.

Before injuring his thumb against Auburn last season, Mateer looked like one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in college football. After surgery, his ability to push the ball downfield largely disappeared.

Against UTEP, it returned.

Mateer completed 11 of 17 passes for 225 yards and three touchdowns. Two of those touchdowns were caught more than 25 yards downfield, including a 34-yard strike to IsaiahSategna and a 48-yard score to TrellHarris.

His third went to RockyBeers, who caught the ball 19 yards downfield before carrying it the rest of the way for a 40-yard touchdown.

Needless to say, a quarterback still protecting a repaired thumb does not make those throws.

Mateer’s feet were generally settled inside the pocket, although his footwork slipped on a few plays and contributed to missed opportunities.

After throwing 11 interceptions last season, Mateer also protected the football, finishing the night without a turnover.

His running ability went largely untested, as he carried the ball just three times before leaving late in the third quarter.

That was the right outcome in a game Oklahoma controlled from beginning to end.

Protecting Mateer was an offensive line missing two expected starters.

JakeMaikkula and RyanFodje were both held out, leaving true freshman NoahBest at center and HeathOzaeta at right guard.

Despite the changes, Mateer was not sacked. That was an improvement from Oklahoma’s season opener against Illinois State a year ago, when he was brought down once.

Whether Maikkula and Fodje return against Michigan remains uncertain.

Still, Friday showed Oklahoma has serviceable depth behind them, although UTEP’s defensive front provided a much different test than what awaits in Ann Arbor.

The new pass catchers were even more encouraging.

Oklahoma’s three touchdown passes went to three different players, and two went to transfers making their Sooner debuts.

Trell Harris provided the big, physical target Oklahoma brought him in to be, hauling in the longest pass of the night for his first touchdown as a Sooner.

Rocky Beers gave Oklahoma something it rarely had last season: production at tight end.

Oklahoma’s tight ends caught just one touchdown throughout the entire 2025 season. Beers matched that total in the first quarter Friday night.

Isaiah Sategna remained Oklahoma’s most dangerous weapon. Along with his touchdown reception, the fifth-year receiver returned a punt 88 yards for a score, electrifying the crowd and giving Oklahoma its first signature moment of the season.

ParkerLivingstone also returned from concussion protocol and caught one pass, but Oklahoma did not need to test the downfield ability that made him one of the Sooners’ biggest transfer additions.

Second-year receiver ElijahThomas also provided one of the most encouraging plays of the opening drive.

After Mateer missed him on an earlier deep ball, Thomas made a difficult 24-yard catch along the sideline to move Oklahoma into the red zone.

It was his only reception of the night, but it provided an early glimpse of the player Oklahoma saw throughout fall camp.

The running game also showed improvement.

LloydAvant received the first carry, led the backfield in attempts and scored Oklahoma’s first touchdown. More importantly, he was stopped behind the line of scrimmage just once.

Taken together, Oklahoma’s running backs produced 162 yards on 33 carries, averaging 4.9 yards per attempt.

The quarterbacks added eight yards, bringing Oklahoma’s team total to 170. That left the Sooners just five yards short of the roughly 175 per game Brent Venables established as the target entering the season.

True freshman JonathanHatton Jr. provided another brief glimpse of Oklahoma’s improved depth. Hatton received just three carries, but broke free for 21 yards on his second attempt, flashing the combination of size and speed that made him one of the most intriguing additions to the room.

Together, Avant, Hatton and XavierRobinson produced 130 yards on 25 carries, averaging 5.2 yards per attempt.

The production was far better than what Oklahoma received from its running backs in last season’s opener.

Whether that improvement holds up against Michigan and the defensive fronts Oklahoma will face in the SEC remains the bigger question.

The defense kept UTEP off the scoreboard and created two turnovers, but revealed much less about how it will replace last season’s departures.

Oklahoma allowed 198 total yards, including 112 on the ground, while UTEP missed all three of its field goal attempts.

The biggest concern was tackling.

Oklahoma defenders missed 13 tackles, with several coming from key pieces of the defense. Those mistakes allowed UTEP to extend plays and reflected the sloppiness Venables saw throughout the night.

“Thought we were sloppy tackling on defense,” Venables said. “Didn’t like that at all.”

The shutout did little to change his assessment.

“I felt like this was a 41-40 game just because, again, I know what we’re capable of doing.”

Still, there were several encouraging signs.

At defensive end, Adepoju “PJ” Adebawore recorded one of the Sooners’ four sacks. TaylorWein generated two pressures and recovered one of UTEP’s two fumbles after leading Oklahoma in pressures last season.

KipLewis and BishopThomas combined for another sack.

The other two came from true freshmen.

DaneBathurst recorded the first sack of his Oklahoma career, while James “Tank”Carrington and JakeKreul shared the final one.

The defensive-line rotation also included Arkansas transfer Danny Saili, who made his Oklahoma debut one day after receiving the temporary restraining order that allowed him to take the field.

At cheetah, ReggiePowersIII tied for the team lead in tackles after replacing KendalDaniels.

But UTEP attempted only 18 passes, leaving Powers’ ability in coverage largely untested. The limited passing volume also made it difficult to determine whether Oklahoma has recreated the interior pass rush it lost with GracenHalton.

Taken together, Friday provided nearly everything Oklahoma hoped to see from its rebuilt offense.

Mateer looked healthy, the transfers produced and the offensive line protected him without two starters.

The defense kept UTEP off the scoreboard and created two turnovers, but the missed tackles reinforced Venables’ belief that the performance was not as dominant as the final score suggested.

Now comes the real test.

UTEP showed that Oklahoma’s new pieces can work.

The trip to Ann Arbor will show whether Oklahoma can carry Friday’s progress onto the road.