OU football overwhelm UTEP immediately, run away in season opener

The first goal for a 41 1/2-point road underdog is to survive the initial roundhouse and get out of the first quarter alive. The UTEP football team didn’t survive the coin flip against No. 10 Oklahoma in what turned into a blowout, with the Miners failing to score a touchdown in the game. The Miners

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What is the story about?

The first goal for a 41 1/2-point road underdog is to survive the initial roundhouse and get out of the first quarter alive.

The UTEP football team didn’t survive the coin flip against No. 10 Oklahoma in what turned into a blowout, with the Miners failing to score a touchdown in the game. The Miners were down 44-0 with two minutes left in the game.

Oklahoma's Isaiah Sategna III returns a punt in the first half of the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the UTEP Miners at the Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Sept. 4, 2026.

UTEP out of it early against No. 10 OU

By the end of the first quarter, the Sooners were halfway to covering the spread (21-0), and the Miners were buried. While the offense and defense were outmatched, the disappointment was the special teams, which in the first half alone gave up an 88-yard punt return for a touchdown, missed two field goals (33 and 50 yards) and had an 8-yard punt.

Oklahoma's Rocky Beers (81) leaps over UTEP's Justin Content (0) as he runs in for a touchdown after a catch in the first half of the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the UTEP Miners at the Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Sept. 4, 2026.

The offense had two long drives that led to those missed field goals and the defense held Oklahoma to field goals the last two times it had the football in the first half so there are some moments the Miners can point to, but how much of that was a nationally ranked team relaxing with an early three-score lead and how much was UTEP turning a corner may take a while to answer.

The opening salvo was definitive. After UTEP deferred and kicked, Oklahoma went 76 yards in 13 plays, converting two third and shorts but mostly not facing any resistance. The Miners went three-and-out and, from their 29-yard line, got a 59-yard punt from Brady Braun. Alas, OU's Isaiah Sategna returned it 29 yards further than it was kicked, which, doing the math, means he was stopped by the end zone for a 14-0 Sooner lead.

Oklahoma's Isaiah Sategna III get by UTEP's Carver Cheeks as he returns a punt for a touchdown n the first half of the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the UTEP Miners at the Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Sept. 4, 2026.

UTEP then managed a sustained drive that ended in a missed field goal; OU went 80 yards in five plays, and so it went.

Quarterback EJ Colson had a busy debut, carrying the ball 12 times in the first half alone and completing 5-of-11 passes, but UTEP didn't turn the ball over, which is progress after giving it away 24 times.

Bret Bloomquist can be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; @Bretbloomquist on X.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: OU football overwhelm UTEP immediately, run away in season opener