Oklahoma football won their first game under new coach Lincoln Riley. Here are three things we learned from Sooners’ victory over UTEP on Saturday.
On Saturday afternoon in Norman, Oklahoma won its home opener over UTEP in a 56-7 rout. The Sooners quarterbacks combined for 496 passing yards against the Miners, and a rebuilt running attack racked up another 180 yards on the ground. All around, it was a convincing first effort after Lincoln Riley surprisingly took over for suddenly-retired Bob Stoops in the offseason.
Sure, it was just a win over UTEP. But it was a home opener, and we would be foolish to read too much into the 49-point victory. But a seven-touchdown margin is notable against any FBS opponent, and so it cannot merely be written off.
There are some things we can certainly take away from the dominant performance by the Sooners. They will be right in the thick of the Big 12 race this year. Oklahoma should also factor in the College Football Playoff hunt. Now that the No. 7 Sooners are 1-0 on the season, they can look ahead to the big test coming up next weekend against No. 2 Ohio State.
Before we look forward to that looming contest in Columbus, though, let’s take one final look at the Week 1 game that just concluded in Norman. Here are three things we learned from the dominant all-around effort by Oklahoma against UTEP.