Yes, even in an absolute blowout, not everyone on the winning team is really a winner.
The Oklahoma Sooners prompted their 2026 season with a 51-0 shutout over UTEP on Friday night at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. There's no need to overreact to the performance (Brent Venables definitely isn't), but the season opener did reveal some pecking order on the depth chart and who could break out as stars for the rest of the season.
Winner: DE Adepoju "P.J." Adebawore
Adepoju "P.J." Adebawore finally got his first career start at defensive end opposite Taylor Wein and made sure it wouldn't be his last. Adebawore posted three total tackles, a tackle for loss, and notched the Sooners' first sack of 2026 after they led college football in the state a year ago.
Fans have been waiting for four years now for Adebawore to break out as a former consensus five-star recruit from the 2023 class. Now a senior, it looks like all that potential might finally be getting tapped, as Adebawore likely secured his starting role Friday night.
Loser: DE Danny Okoye
It was Adepoju "P.J." Adebawore and Danny Okoye battling it out over fall camp to start on that edge spot on the other side of Taylor Wein. Adebawore got the nod on Friday night and shined as a winner, but Okoye was surprisingly MIA. He wasn't out there for warm-ups, then wasn't suited up on the sidelines during the game.
Brent Venables was tight-lipped about why during his postgame press conference and said, "He'll be fine. We just decided to hold him."
No matter the reason or for how long, while Okoye was on the sideline Friday night, Adebawore asserted himself as the guy at that other defensive end spot moving forward. Okoye, once back, will still get plenty of action while rotating in, but he lost his opportunity to start for now.
Winner: Jason Witten
I almost put Colorado State transfer tight end Rocky Beers here after he hurdled a defender on his way to a 40-yard touchdown and would have had another TD if not for an offensive pass interference call on a teammate. But then I spent the entire game mesmerized by all the 12- and even 13-personnel that were made possible thanks to a stacked tight end group.
Stock all the way UP 📈📈 pic.twitter.com/i5Ivgm5JFj
— Stormin In Norman (@StorminInNorman) September 5, 2026
The man leading all that change is new tight ends coach Jason Witten, who made his collegiate coaching debut Friday night. Witten was certainly a splash hire as a future Pro Football Hall of Famer, but after an offseason of praise from within the program, he proved to everyone Friday night that he's not just a big name.
The Sooners had just one tight end catch a TD all of 2025. Thanks to Beers, they already matched that total in Week 1 and nearly doubled it. Beers caught two passes for 43 yards, and Florida transfer Hayden Hansen caught a 15-yard pass.
But most importantly, after being unable to run the ball outside because of poor blocking from tight ends and others, OU could run the dang ball behind the Sooners' monster tight ends. Venables is so impressed by the group that OU started the game with two tight ends out there and one fewer wide receiver. At one point, tight end Trynae Washington even lined up as a fullback.
The Sooners were able to transform not just their tight end room, but their entire offense, because of Witten.
Winner: RB Lloyd Avant
New running backs coach Deland McCullough made it clear in Week 1 that he trusts Lloyd Avant to lead the Sooners' backfield, no matter where he came from. The Colorado State transfer led the way with 15 carries for 79 yards, while averaging 5.3 yards per attempt, in his OU debut. He was also responsible for the Sooners' first points of 2026 with a one-yard TD run.
Four other running backs also got a carry Friday night, but the next most was Xavier Robinson, with seven. It's obvious Avant is RB1, and it doesn't seem that will change anytime soon after he asserted himself on opening night.
Loser: RB Tory Blaylock
After dealing with a hamstring injury throughout fall camp, running back Tory Blaylock, after leading OU in rushing yards in 2025, was nowhere to be found against UTEP. It's not that Blaylock's stock has gone down, but while it's remained stagnant, everyone else's has rocketed past him.
I just mentioned Lloyd Avant is clearly RB1; then Xavier Robinson is next in line after taking seven carries for 30 yards. Freshman Jonathan Hatton Jr. also flashed his potential and need for more touches, averaging seven yards on three attempts thanks to a breakaway 21-yard run. Even Ben McCreary, the quiet transfer addition from Incarnate Word who hasn't played in two years, looked impressive with six carries for 40 yards in garbage time.
There are just too many mouths to feed in the Sooners' backfield, so some will have to starve, and Blaylock can't even get a seat at the table right now.
Winner: OU fans since the Barry Switzer era
We anxiously anticipated more 12-personnel from OU, but there were even some 13-personnel. Quarterback John Mateer spent snap after snap under center. There was even a fullback at times!
Barry Switzer had to be smiling all night, because I know longtime OU fans were. Not that life has been hard for Sooner Nation, but the heyday in Oklahoma was when Switzer's wishbone offense and elite defense had the Sooners winning three national titles in the 70s and 80s. OU offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle even joked after the game that the Sooners might break out the wishbone next week against Michigan (or was he joking?).
The Sooners are back to the smashmouth football that made OU a college football blue blood. Now, hopefully that also means going back to regularly winning championships.
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