The Oklahoma Sooners took a huge hit this past offseason when head coach Bob Stoops stepped down as the head coach and turned the OU program over to young phenom Lincoln Riley. However, OU never missed a beat when they took the field on Saturday for their first game of the 2017 college football season. By the time the game ended, OU had beaten the UTEP Miners, 56-7.
OU hangs half-a-hundred
One of the most popular sayings in Oklahoma Sooners history was something former head coach Barry Switzer used to brag about when it came to his team. He said that the goal was to "hang half-a-hundred" on an opponent, meaning to eclipse 50 points in the game.
That was no problem for new head coach Lincoln Riley this week.
OU's offense was unstoppable.
Starting quarterback Baker Mayfield said in the opening hype video before the game that he came back to "win it all" and he showed that he is ready to continue to play at the level that made him a Heisman Trophy candidate last season. Mayfield finished the game completing 19-of-20 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns. The most impressive thing was that he did that in the first half and then sat out the second half with OU up on UTEP, 35-7.
The Oklahoma Sooners defense was also very solid, which is good for the much maligned Mike Stoops, who remains the defensive coordinator. It took one drive for the UTEP Miners to put a touchdown on the board.
After that, they never scored another point. UTEP only managed 167 total yards in the game.
The new Oklahoma Sooners weapons
With Baker Mayfield back, it is clear who the focus of the offense belongs to. However, Lincoln Riley looks like he has a completely stocked cupboard for the 2017 college football season. Replacing Dede Westbrook as the main receiving target is big man Mark Andrews, who finished the game with seven receptions for 134 yards and one touchdown.
Last season, Samaje Peron and Joe Mixon worked a two-headed Oklahoma Sooners rushing attack but both men are in the NFL now. Replacing them is a lot of running backs that combined for 180 yards and four touchdowns. Marcelias Sutton led the way with nine carries for 52 yards and one score.
Abdul Adams had seven carries for 53 yards and Trey Sermon carried the ball seven times for 51 yards.
The other rushing touchdowns came thanks to Rodney Anderson, Dimitri Flowers and Jaxon Uhles.
One thing that Bob Stoops rarely did was rest his starters until late in the game. Lincoln Riley had a different approach. He had Baker Mayfield on the sidelines after halftime and let his second and third stringers play. Second-string Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Kyler Murray completed 10 of 11 passes for 149 yards and one touchdown while third stringer Tanner Schafer completed three of five passes for 18 yards.
Combined, the three Oklahoma Sooners quarterbacks completed an impressive 32-of-36 passes (88 percent) for 496 yards and four touchdowns
