OU football: Sooners ride early momentum to 45-13 win over UTEP

Sep. 4—It didn't take long for Oklahoma to get comfortable in their first game under a new coaching staff.

The Sooners came out of the gates of their season opener against UTEP and scored three touchdowns in their first three possessions. The Sooners first three drives lasted 13 plays and encompassed 223 yards over 3:05 of game time.

Transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel completed six straight passes after an early incompletion. Gabriel would go on to finish with 233 yards through the air, while completing 15 of hist 23 attempts with three total touchdowns.

The Sooners picked up a 45-13 win in its first game under head coach Brent Venables.

The Sooners took a 21-3 lead into the second quarter, but the Miners' offense was able to get the chains moving through their passing game. UTEP ran eight pass plays during an 11-play touchdown drive early in the second quarter.

Meanwhile, Oklahoma's run defense never allowed a run longer than eight yards and only had nine runs go longer than five yards. UTEP finished with 28 rushing yards and picked up 0.9 yards per rush.

Reggie Grimes accounted for 2.5 of the Sooners' six sacks. Oklahoma also combined for nine tackles for loss and 10 quarterback hurries.

The Sooners had 261 yards on the ground for 7.1 yards per carry. Eric Gray led all backs with 16 carries for 102 yards.

Marcus Major ran for 54 yards on seven attempts and found the end zone twice.

The Miners drove down the field in the final moments of the game and had a pass picked off in the end zone by Gentry Williams.

Tarik Masri is a sports reporter for The Transcript covering OU athletics and area sports. You can reach him by emailing tarik@normantranscript.com