Oklahoma fans will get their first look at Oklahoma in action at 2:30 p.m. Saturday as the Sooners under first-year head coach Brent Venables hosts UTEP in Norman.
Venables said OU is ready.
“This game will punish you for trying to cheat the game and cut corners,” said Venables. “Not being detailed and precise in everything you do. The practice field needs to become a competitive advantage for the Oklahoma Sooners. How we approach it, how we attack it and how we respond to heat, to soreness, to the mundane, we have to embrace it.
“That’s how we’re going to get ready for next week. We’ve been working on that for the last several months. Help our guys mature and grow up and understand champions behave like champions before they ever become champions. Your habits matter. How you think matters. How you respond matters.”
OU has a new head coach, a new offensive coordinator, a new defensive coordinator and a new starting quarterback.
The starting quarterback is Dillon Gabriel, a transfer from Central Florida. New offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby was Gabriel’s offensive coordinator at UCF.
His backups, Davis Beville, General Booty and Nick Evers, are new, too.
“They’ve had some great moments in camp and some not-so great moments,” Venables said. “We’re definitely in a better position now than when we finished spring ball. Excited about that group of guys and what they’ve brought to the table from a leadership standpoint and ability to execute and manage the offense in the right way.”
Lebby wants a fast pace but he also emphasizes the run game.
“As we sit here today, we’re always going to want to be faster,’ Lebby said. “I think that’s something that is absolutely critical as we move forward. Foot speed is going to be a huge deal with who we are and how we play. But definitely we’ve got enough in the room to go get done what we want to get down for sure.”
Venables, who spent 10 years as the defensive coordinator at Clemson, is famous for his defense. He likes OU’s defense, especially the defensive backfield.
“You are looking for guys who can cover, play in space, play some man-to-man, can blitz, they can do a variety of things,” Venables said. “Sometimes the skill set is outside where that’s located, it’s a different skill set when you are playing inside and behind the ball.
“What I love about the group of guys that we have here is I see guys who can play multiple positions, not just that position. It’s one of the easier positions to learn, but it’s hard to play because of the skill set required.”
UTEP is in the West Division of Conference USA. The head coach is Dana Dimel. UTEP opened the season against North Texas on August 27.
In 2021, UTEP went 7-6 (4-4 in C-USA). The only ranked team was a loss to UTSA, 23-44. They also fell to Boise State 13-54 . UTEP faced Fresno State in the New Mexico Bowl and lost, 24-31.
Change has been a big topic at Oklahoma. After an embarrassing loss to Oklahoma State last year, head coach Lincoln Riley quit abruptly and took the head job at USC. He also took OU’s starting quarterback after chasing off another starting quarterback and half of the assistant coaches. Fifteen OU players transferred, leaving OU wisth a smaller number of returning starters.
And the shadow of the eventual move to the Southeastern Conference by OU and Texas will be around perhaps until 2025. It could happen sooner.
In the past 85 seasons, OU finished in the AP top 10 45 times with shares of 47 conference titles and just six losing records. OU has had disappointing head coaches (Howard Schnellenberger and John Blake) since World War II.