Tavorus Jones remembers the noise at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
His Missouri Tigers were at No. 8 Oklahoma in late November for a high-stakes game. The Sooners needed the win to stay in the playoff hunt and 83,541 fans were there to help.
"The biggest thing I remember, it's loud," said the tailback Jones, who transferred to UTEP a few months after that game, where he had one reception and one 13-yard punt return. "The fans are rowdy, it's really loud."
That is UTEP's challenge when it takes on the No. 10 Sooners Friday night in the sixth meeting between the programs. UTEP is looking to be competitive in Norman for the first time (UTEP did have a good Sun Bowl showing against
the Sooners in 2012, trailing No. 4 Oklahoma 10-7 late in the third quarter of an eventual 24-7 loss).
The other four games, all in Norman, were massive blowouts. (Oklahoma defeated UTEP 68-0 in 2002)
Tavorus Jones: UTEP needs to execute
Jones has a simple strategy for how UTEP can give a good account of itself.
"We have to be sound on the stuff we know we can accomplish," said Jones, an El Paso Burges High School alum. "Environment-wise, the fans are loud, it's a bigger stadium. It's nothing we're not prepared for.
"It's making sure we block out the noise, focus on everything we have to accomplish and we'll be all right."
Jones is the only player on the roster who has played at Oklahoma, but the vast majority of UTEP players have been on a big game stage before. Everyone on the roster a year ago who was healthy played at Texas. In 2024, the Miners were at Nebraska to open the season and at Tennessee late in the year.
In two weeks they'll be at Michigan. This is how mid-major programs pad the budget (UTEP is making $1.3 million for this game and $1.9 million to play at Michigan).
For all the massive disadvantages UTEP has as a 41 1/2-point underdog, unfamiliarity with a stage this big is not one of them.
Kam Thomas: 'Just a regular game'
Receiver Kam Thomas, who is ready to return after missing all but one game last year because of injury, can tell how his previous trips to big stages (Tennessee in 2023 when he was at Austin Peay and Nebraska and Tennessee with UTEP in 2024) have prepared him.
"When I was younger, the lights, the big stadiums, it got to me," admits Thomas, who scored a touchdown at Nebraska. "I'd run out the tunnel, 'Oh my God, this is a dream.' Now, where I am in my college career, it's just a regular game for me. Put it on tape. I'm looking at the bigger picture, I want to go to the NFL, and this is the type of team that NFL scouts are going to look at."
For safety Xavier Smith, this will be his fifth game on a huge stage (Tennessee in 2023 with Austin Peay, Tennessee and Nebraska with UTEP in 2024 and Texas last year when he intercepted Arch Manning in the end zone) and he knows how to deal with it.
Xavier Smith: 'I want them to know we're coming'
"I don't look at it as, ooh, they are the big guys, stuff like that," Smith said. "They're at a higher level than us, but we play football the same way and as a man, I don't back down from anyone. I'm going to strap up my pads the same way they do and be ready to hit.
"We're coming. It's going to be relentless, 11 hats to the ball, relentless effort. I want them to know, we're coming. Coach Walden has been preaching, 'Choose hard.' On the back of our shirts it says, 'Choose hard' and that's what we do every day. We wake up, we choose hard."
That attitude of seizing the moment is his message to the team.
"What I preach to the guys, this is the platform we always wanted when we were younger," Smith said. "We've always dreamed of playing on the biggest scale of college football. There's really no pressure on us to go out there and handle business because they're the bigger school.
"It's embracing the challenge and embracing the moment, living in the moment. These are the moments we've prayed for and wanted since we were kids.
"We've played some good teams, this is one of the best we'll play. Tennessee two years ago was good, too. I'm excited to be in Norman. It will be my first time in Oklahoma, my first time in this city. I'm excited for the platform."
For Cash Cheeks, this is his biggest game
One of the only key Miners who has never been on this kind of a platform is tight end Cash Cheeks, who missed last season to injury (he'll be making his UTEP debut Friday) and didn't play a power conference FBS school in 2024 as a freshman at FCS Northern Colorado.
"This is the biggest game I've ever played in my life," Cheeks said. "I'll admire it when I walk in, then when it's game time, it's game time. The crowd, you have to ignore them when you're on the field."
Ignoring 83,000 people sounds difficult, but this is something most Miners have experience with. The Miners hope that helps.
Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: No easy start as UTEP visit No. 10 Oklahoma as major underdogs
