UTEP Miners vs Oklahoma Sooners Prediction, Picks and Game Preview - 09/04/2026

Game Time: 8:00 pm ET, Friday, September 4, 2026

Venue:  Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, Norman, OK

Where to Watch:  SECN+

DraftKings:  Point Spread:  UTEP +41.5, Oklahoma -41.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

Bet365:  Point Spread:  UTEP +41.5, Oklahoma -41.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

BetMGM:  Point Spread:  UTEP +41.5, Oklahoma -41.5; Over/Under:  50.5 points

UTEP Miners:  0-0 (0-0) (MWC)

Oklahoma Sooners:  0-0 (0-0) (SEC)

Do not miss out on our expert handicapper analysis! Brian Bitler is coming off a HOT YEAR in CFB, going 85-56-4 for +$23,820 PROFIT! Make sure you check out his picks and many more from the expert handicappers featured in the Shop Picks section.

UTEP Miners:  N/A

Oklahoma Sooners:  N/A

UTEP finished last season with a 2-10 record overall and they had a 1-7 record in their conference games too.  They were 1-5 in their home games, 1-5 in their road games, and they were also 0-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be on the road for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 23.3 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 30.4 points per game. Their offense also averaged 331.8 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 391.3 yards per game. Skyler Locklear led the team in passing yards with 1,418, Ashten Emory led the team in rushing yards with 569, and Wondame Davis Jr. led the team in receiving yards with 610.

 

 

 

Oklahoma finished last season with a 10-3 record overall and they had a 6-2 record in their conference games too.  They were 6-2 in their home games, 4-0 in their road games, and they were also 0-0 in their neutral site games last season, but they will be at home for this season opener. Last season, their offense was averaging 26.2 points scored per game while their defense was allowing an average of 15.5 points per game. Their offense also averaged 354.3 yards per game while their defense was allowing an average of 272.5 yards per game. John Mateer led the team in passing yards with 2,885, Tory Blaylock led the team in rushing yards with 480, and Isaiah Sategna led the team in receiving yards with 965.

The current betting odds have UTEP listed as a 41.5 point underdog in this game according to Draftkings Sportsbook. UTEP is coming off a terrible season in Conference USA, but now they have moved to the Mountain West Conference and will be looking to turn things around. They are entering their 3rd season with Walden as head coach and the team did get worse last season, going 3-9 in his 1st year and 2-10 last year. Meanwhile, Oklahoma is coming off a great season going 10-3 and ended up making the college football playoff. They didn't get a chance to compete in the SEC Championship and ended up blowing a lead in their 1st playoff game, losing 34-24 to Alabama, but the team did take a big step just by making the CFP and they have been building a good program under Venables the last few years. They had one of the best defenses in the nation and that defense is going to be their strength this season once again, but their offense was a big issue for them. They are returning Mateer as their starting QB, but even with him taking a step this season, offense isn't going to be their strength. They won a lot of games last year with great defense while their offense had trouble even putting up over 30 points per game. They are going to lean on that defense again this season too and they are not the kind of team to blow out opponents either. UTEP will definitely have trouble putting up points in this game, but Oklahoma isn't going to run up the score either. Oklahoma also has National Championship aspirations this season, so they won't risk any injuries by keeping their starters in longer than they need to. Oklahoma will crush UTEP in this one, but that is still a really big number for them to clear. The best way to place a bet here is on UTEP to cover the spread in this game. 

UTEP Oklahoma Prediction:  Our NCAAF Pick for Friday, September 4, 2026 (8:00 pm ET start time) is Oklahoma 38 UTEP 3.

Don't miss our champion handicappers free picks and expert football picks today. And if you enjoyed this UTEP Miners Oklahoma Sooners prediction, be sure to drop by every day for our weekly NCAAF predictions and previews.

UTEP Miners: 2-8 ATS against SEC opponents. 17-29 ATS in a road game where the total is between 49.5 and 56. 6-3 UNDER as an underdog of 31 or more points.

Oklahoma Sooners: 9-3 ATS as a home favorite of 35.5 to 42 points. 49-34 ATS when the total is between 49.5 and 56. 5-0 UNDER against Mountain West conference opponents.

UTEP Miners:  None.

Oklahoma Sooners:  None.

"We were out there (Sunday night) a little longer than we anticipated. It's a just a lack of effort, lack of detail, not ready to practice. The captains handled it. Today, I knew it was going to be a little sluggish because the of the quick turnaround. It's not what we had planned, but we got to show we're a mature football team and we can handle when we do a spider practice. That's not a walkthrough. And I thought they shook back great, today. We talk about E plus R, equals O all the time. The Event plus the Response equals the Outcome. And today, the response was exactly what I was looking." - Scotty Walden on his team coming into this new college football season. 

"Yeah, absolutely. Without question. There's probably, whatever it is, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15 teams, give or take, that can win it all from a roster standpoint, a coaching standpoint. Now, you've got to put it all together. We've got a great schedule that's set up. That will be a worthy schedule when it's all said and done. But you don't play them all at once. You play them one at a time." - Brent Venables on his team winning a National Championship this CFB season.

WR Cheeks, Carver

WR Brown, Jaylan

WR Smith, Jaden

TE Ezinwa, Judah

QB Colson, EJ

RB Jones, Tavorus

WR Harris, Trell

WR Livingstone, Parker

WR Sategna III, Isaiah

TE Hansen, Hayden

QB Mateer, John

RB Robinson, Xavier

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Passing: N/A

Rushing: N/A

Receiving: N/A

Touchdowns: N/A

Coaches:

UTEP Miners: Scotty Walden (3rd season)

Oklahoma Sooners: Brent Venables (5th season)