The Oklahoma Sooners are heavy favorites over the UTEP Miners in their Week 1 Friday night matchup. But that doesn't mean that it'll be easy. UTEP played the Texas Longhorns to a 7-3 halftime score before ultimately losing 27-10 last year in Austin.
The Miners have a talented quarterback in E.J. Colson. Colson spent time at UCF in 2024 before starting eight games for Incarnate Word in 2025. The challenge for Colson and the Miners' offensive line is dealing with one of the best defensive lines in college football.
"If they aren't the best d-line in the country, I'd like to see who is," UTEP coach Scotty Walden said at his weekly news conference to kick off Oklahoma week. "If they aren't No. 1, they are top three. They are an unbelievable defensive
line so it's going to be a great challenge."
Facing a defensive line with future NFL Draft picks David Stone, Jayden Jackson, and Taylor Wein is a tough task for any school, let alone a program that was one of the worst offenses in college football last year. But it's a veteran group along the offensive line with four of their five starters in their third year or beyond.
"How awesome is it for our offensive line to have that type of competition out of the gate, to be able to gauge where we're at? The continuity, the trust and the belief has to be there because they are so intricate up front. You're going to have to believe in your buddy to come help you in the A gap or B gap and work together to negate those elite pass rushers."
Oklahoma's defense is expected to be one of the best in college football, but they have to take care of business every week for the Sooners to be contenders in 2026.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: UTEP head coach has high praise for Oklahoma Sooners defensive line
