No. 10 Oklahoma kicks off its 2026 football season Sept. 4 at 7 p.m. against UTEP at Gaylord Family — Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.

The game marks just the second Friday night regular-season home game in OU history. The first was a 51-3 win over Temple in the 2024 opener. Both Norman Public Schools and OU's Norman campus canceled classes for Friday, citing traffic congestion and road closures tied to game-day operations, according to the OU Daily.

Head coach Brent Venables said in early August, when the Friday kickoff was announced, that the setting energized his team. "Friday night games are rare for us, especially at home … so the opportunity to open our season under the lights on a Friday evening on Owen Field is exciting for our team," Venables said.

The sold-out crowd will extend OU's sellout streak of originally scheduled home games to 169, dating to 1999. Only Nebraska's streak is longer, according to OU's game primer.

Injury updates

The Sooners' offensive line is banged up. Team captain Jake Maikkula will miss the opener and is targeting a return against New Mexico, 247Sports reported. Ryan Fodje is expected to miss Friday's game after suffering an injury during Monday's practice. Wide receiver Parker Livingstone is listed as questionable.

Transfer center Caleb Nitta, who came from Western Kentucky, is expected to start at center. Noah Best is expected to fill in at right guard.

What to watch

Fifth-year quarterback John Mateer set the tone at an Aug. 31 media availability. "It's a nameless, faceless opponent when we play to the standard that we play at," Mateer told SI. He said the team's message has been to play clean, mistake-free football.

Oklahoma returns a defense that led the nation in sacks per game (3.5) and tackles for loss per game (9.4) in 2025. The unit also paced the SEC in scoring defense at 15.5 points per game.

UTEP enters its first Mountain West season after going 2-10 overall last year. Head coach Scotty Walden is entering his third year with a 5-19 record. Transfer quarterback EJ Colson, who threw for 2,142 yards and 15 touchdowns at Incarnate Word last season, leads the Miners' offense, according to Sooners Wire.

OU is 5-0 all-time against UTEP and has outscored the Miners 248-51 in those meetings. The last matchup was Venables' first game as head coach, a 45-13 win on Sept. 3, 2022.

Game-day logistics

The Allstate Party at the Palace runs from 3 to 6:30 p.m. on the lawn north of the stadium, with food trucks, family activities and a pregame radio show. The defending national champion OU baseball team will sign autographs from 5 to 5:45 p.m. at the event.

The Walk of Champions begins at approximately 4:45 p.m. near the Jenkins Avenue and Brooks Street intersection northeast of the stadium.

New this season, fans can reserve turnkey tailgating packages at Boyd Lawn, at the corner of Boyd Street and Asp Avenue, through REVELXP. The North Oval remains free and open for public tailgating on a first-come, first-served basis.

Broadcast and what's next

Friday's game airs on SEC Network+ and ESPN+, with Ted Emrich, Fozzy Whittaker and Maria Martin on the call. OU heads to Michigan next.