Oklahoma’s Friday-night opener against UTEP has created a familiar kind of headache for Brent Venables: a big-time college game landing right on top of the first week of Oklahoma high school football.
That overlap means plenty of players, coaches, parents and fans around the state will have to choose between the Sooners and opening night for their local programs. Venables understands why that stings, even if he’s not treating it like a program-defining issue.
“We certainly value high school football, and the purity of it and what it means to so many people,” Venables said. “This is just a unique moment is how I look at it. Not ideal, certainly understand the dilemma, maybe it’s work, maybe it’s the family you have playing high school football and whatnot.”
Oklahoma’s game with UTEP was originally set for Saturday night before the school moved it to Friday. The change gives the Sooners eight days between that opener and their next game against Michigan on Sept. 12, adding an extra day of rest before a cross-country trip to face the Wolverines.
Venables said the staff had to do “what’s best” for the team, and the schedule change fits that approach. Still, he doesn’t want Friday games to become part of Oklahoma’s identity.
“Hopefully, that is not going to be something about who we are from one year to the next,” Venables said. “I don’t think it will be a part of who we are moving forward.”
Friday has been an uncommon stage for Oklahoma in the regular season. The Sooners have played seven regular-season games on Fridays in their history, and five of those were afternoon games against Nebraska. They also finished the 2023 regular season against TCU on a Friday at 11 a.m.
This week’s matchup with UTEP will be just the second regular-season Friday night game for Oklahoma. The first came in 2024, when OU opened against Temple on a Friday evening.
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Braxton Felys situation also adds another layer to a defensive front that already looks like one of the more promising parts of Oklahomas roster outlook. The Sooners were already expecting a strong 2026 line, and Felys availability now comes alongside the possibility of fifth-year lineman Danny Saili, who is dealing with eligibility issues, giving Oklahoma a chance to deepen a unit that could shape the defense for next season. [Read more 🡒]