OU vs. UTEP football: Brayden Willis forms connection with Dillon Gabriel & more key stats
NORMAN — The Brent Venables era began with a successful outing.
Led by its first-year head coach, the OU football team kicked off its season with a 45-13 win over UTEP on Saturday. The Sooners scored a touchdown just 77 seconds into the contest and never looked back as they earned a wire-to-wire victory.
Here's a look at the win through the numbers.
More:What to know about the Oklahoma Sooners' 2022 schedule, roster and more
OU's offense comes out blazing in first quarter
71.7: OU averaged a touchdown every 71.7 seconds that it had the ball in the first quarter. The Sooners had possession for 3 minutes and 35 seconds and scored three touchdowns to take a 21-0 lead into the second quarter.
2: Fifth-year tight end Brayden Willis hauled in two touchdowns, both of which came in the first half. This eclipsed his total last season and is one touchdown shy of a matching a career-high total he set in 2019.
More:How tall is OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel? Who cares, considering how accurate he is.
UTEP fights back in the second quarter
10: UTEP scored 10 unanswered points in the second quarter. The run got capped off by Ronald Awatt, who scored a 2-yard touchdown run to make it a 21-10 contest.
6: OU committed six penalties in the first half for 54 yards. The Sooners only committed one penalty for 10 yards in the second half.
OU's defensive line wins in the trenches
-9: UTEP ran the ball 16 times in the first half for -9 yards (-0.6 yards per carry). Meanwhile, OU ran the ball 17 times for 137 yards (8.1 yards per carry).
10: OU's defense recorded 10 quarterback hurries. It's the highest total in a game since the team began keeping track of the stat in 2019.
2.5: Junior defensive end Reggie Grimes led OU with 2.5 sacks. He entered the game with three career sacks in two seasons.
Tramel:Bob Stoops & Barry Switzer know Brent Venables is all set for OU football debut
OU's offense runs fast, wild
3: Only two of OU's seven scoring drives took more than three minutes. The Sooners' longest scoring drive lasted 5 minutes and 17 seconds. It resulted in a 22-yard field goal by Zach Schmit.
27: Dillon Gabriel has thrown at least one touchdown in all 27 of his college game appearances. The redshirt junior quarterback recorded two passing touchdowns and one rushing touchdown against UTEP.
OU football begins a new era
1: Venables earned his first head coaching win on Saturday. He spent the past 25 years either a position coach or a defensive coordinator for Kansas State, OU and Clemson.
Justin Martinez, Staff writer
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU vs. UTEP football: Stats, highlights include Brayden Willis two TDs
