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Sooner Football is Back

Oklahoma opens its 118th season of intercollegiate football on the road Saturday night in El Paso. The Sooners travel southwest to face the UTEP Miners at the Sun Bowl with a late kickoff slated for 9:30 p.m. Central (8:30 p.m. in El Paso). The game starts late to allow the players and fans a chance to avoid the heat. FSN will televise the game.

For the Sooners, opening the season in El Paso was a direct result of conference realignment. Oklahoma had originally scheduled a non-conference game with TCU but the Horned Frogs joined the Big 12 and the matchup was moved to December 1 as the conference finale for both schools. OU suddenly needed another game and scrambled to work out a deal.

For UTEP, the Miners have the rare opportunity to host the preseason No. 4 team in the country on their home field.

"We're coming into the game confident," said UTEP quarterback Nick Lamaison during Conference USA Media Day in Dallas last month. "It's not really who you are playing, but what you are doing as a team and how you perform. The only thing we can focus on is handling our part of the deal."

UTEP Players to Watch
	#7 Nick Lamaison \| Sr. QB \| 6-1, 210 Passing: 130-of-224, 1,718 yards, 12 TDs, 10 INTs Preseason All-C-USA ... out 3 games in '11 (injury)
	#7 Ian Campbell \| Sr. Punter \| 5-11, 170 Punting: 48 punts, 46.1 avg., 18 of 50+, 16 inside 20 4th nationally in punt avg ... Ray Guy semifinalist
	#25 Nathan Jeffery \| Soph. RB \| 5-11, 205 Rushing: 26-166, 6.4 avg., 1 TD, 317 KR yards Doak Walker Watch List ... 122 yards in spring game
	#2 DeShawn Grayson \| Senior DB \| 6-0, 205 Defense: 67 tackles (38 solo), 2 INTs, 3 PBUs, 1 FF Miners' leading returning tackler ... 26 career starts
	#4 Jamie Irving \| Senior LB \| 6-0, 225 Defense: 79 tackles, 4.5 TFLs, 1 INT, 5 QB hurries 2010 stats above ... missed '11 with shoulder injury
	#6 Mike Edwards \| Senior WR \| 5-11, 190 Receiving: 50-657, 13.1 YPC, 54.8 YPG, 3 TDs UTEP leader in catches and receiving yards in 2011

Saturday night marks the first opportunity for Sooner fans to see OU in action since a 31-14 bowl win against Iowa back on December 30. Plenty has changed. Familiar names such as Alexander, Broyles, Fleming, Hanna, Lewis and Stephenson no longer dot the roster. But in Norman, competition on the depth chart breeds development as players continually push each other for playing time. New stars will emerge.

Changes for Oklahoma weren't limited to the roster and conference schedule as Mike Stoops returned to Norman for a second stint as the Sooners' defensive coordinator. Stoops brought along a familiar face in linebackers coach Tim Kish, who was on Stoops' staff at Arizona.

After an offseason of change, Saturday night marks the first time this team, with this set of players and coaches, hits the field wearing the Crimson and Cream. But change does not extend to the expectations of Sooner fans or the championship goal for the Sooners. Saturday night is the first step. After a long, hot summer, it's finally football time in Oklahoma!

Team Comparison*	Oklahoma	UTEP
Rushing Offense	162.9 (50)	154.9 (61)
Passing Offense	349.4 (5)	225.6 (67)
Total Offense	512.3 (5)	380.5 (64)
Scoring Offense	39.5 (10)	26.6 (62)
Passing Efficiency	138.96 (41)	116.5 (97)
Rushing Defense	134.7 (43)	189.8 (95)
Passing Defense	241.5 (79)	251.7 (92)
Total Defense	376.2 (55)	441.5 (104)
Scoring Defense	22.1 (31)	30.3 (86)
Pass Eff. Defense	116.1 (23)	129.8 (60)
Net Punting	37.9 (32)	40.5 (6)
Punt Returns	8.7 (57)	10.0 (41)
Kickoff Returns	21.6 (64)	26.4 (4)
Turnover Margin	-0.15 (74)	-0.67 (100)
Sacks	3.1 (8)	1.9 (59)
Tackles for Loss	7.5 (12)	5.0 (87)
Sacks Allowed	0.9 (7)	2.9 (106)

* 2011 Season Statistics (rank in NCAA)

UTEP's Mike Price
"We've got some weapons on offense. We've got some speed. [Autrey] Golden and Xay Williams are going to play, L.A. [Dowell] is going to play and [Josh] Bell is going to play."

Senior OL Gabe Ikard
"It's a really interesting atmosphere. The stadium has a unique look to it. I'm excited to go back. El Paso was really good to us (2009 Sun Bowl). It's a good city. It's probably going to be a little hot. Elevation is a couple thousand feet up there.”

UTEP QB Nick Lamaison
"I've seen him [Jones] play and he's a great player and I have a lot of respect for him, but September 1, if he's the guy, or whatever quarterbacks come into a game, you always want to outperform the other guy."

Senior DL David King
"They like to run the ball. Their quarterback is pretty good and he can run it. I believe he came out and said he wants to outdo Landry, so we have to come out and make sure that doesn't happen on Saturday."

UTEP's Andre Patterson
"[Landry Jones] can make all the throws that an NFL quarterback can make. He's poised in the pocket and you can tell he's been coached well. I think he has a chance to be a special, special elite NFL quarterback and he poses a serious challenge for me and my players."

OKLAHOMA OPENERS
Oklahoma is 89-22-6 in season openers, including an 11-2 mark under head coach Bob Stoops.

Sooner History & Tradition

SERIES HISTORY
OU has faced UTEP twice with both wins coming in Norman. The series lid-lifter was in 2000, a 55-14 victory, followed by a 68-0 win in 2002:

2000 Recap | 2002 Recap

#BeatUTEP
Support the Sooners by using the #BeatUTEP hashtag in your tweets and Instagram posts all week. One of your posts might appear on SoonerSports.com:

#BeatUTEP on Twitter

AROUND THE BIG 12
Saturday, September 1

WVU vs. Marshall, 11 a.m.

Iowa St. vs. Tulsa, 2:30 p.m.

K-State vs. Missouri St., 6 p.m.

Tech vs. Northwestern St., 6 p.m.

OSU vs. Savannah St., 6 p.m.

Kansas vs. S. Dakota St., 6 p.m.

Texas vs. Wyoming, 7 p.m.

Sunday, September 2
Baylor vs. SMU, 5:30 p.m.

TV Schedule (all times Central)