A 10-win season and bowl victory would be considered a great year for most programs.

Oklahoma is not "most programs."

With quarterback Landry Jones back for a final season and coach Bob Stoops bringing his brother, Mike, back to rejuvenate the defense, the fourth-ranked Sooners kick off their season Saturday night in El Paso against UTEP - the team they faced to open their last national title run in 2000.

The nation's top-ranked team heading into 2011, Oklahoma held serve through the first six games before Texas Tech posted a 41-38 victory that ended the Sooners' 39-game home winning streak.

That was just the beginning of a rough season for Oklahoma's defense, which gave up a program-record 616 yards to Robert Griffin III and Baylor in a 45-38 loss Nov. 19. The defense didn't show up again in a 44-10 loss at Oklahoma State in the regular-season finale as the Sooners' eight-game winning streak in the Bedlam rivalry ended.

A 31-14 victory over Iowa in the Insight Bowl was little consolation for the 10-3 Sooners.

"They don't feel good about what happened, they're tired about hearing about what happened a year ago," said Mike Stoops, who begins his second stint as Sooners defensive coordinator after his seven-plus seasons as Arizona coach ended with his firing last year. "We understand what happened and that's gone forever. I'll be surprised if they don't come back with vengeance in those games and take it personal. I hope they do."

While the Sooners have most likely circled Oct. 6 at Texas Tech, Nov. 10 against Baylor and Nov. 24 versus Oklahoma State on their calendars, Jones is not going to overlook UTEP or any other opponent on the schedule.

Already the Sooners' all-time leader in passing yards (12,379), completions (1,021), attempts (1,628) and touchdown passes (93) - and four wins shy of passing Steve Davis' program record of 32 - Jones didn't skip the NFL draft and potential riches to pad his stats.

"I prayed about it (after the Insight Bowl) and felt like what the Lord wanted me to do is come back and play my senior year and then just be a senior and just get to be with this team one more year and maybe go out and win a national championship," Jones said during training camp.

The Sooners haven't done that since 2000, when current co-offensive coordinator Josh Heupel helped Oklahoma open that 13-0 season with a 55-14 home win over UTEP. In the only other meeting between these teams, Oklahoma won 68-0 in Norman on Sept. 14, 2002.

Senior Nick Lamaison won't have any hand in slowing down Jones - or wide receiver Kenny Stills and running back Dominique Whaley - but UTEP's signal-caller will keep an eye on Oklahoma's starting quarterback.

"I've seen him (Jones) play and he's a great player and I have a lot of respect for him, but September 1, if he's the guy, or whatever quarterbacks come into a game, you always want to outperform the other guy," said Lamaison, Conference USA's preseason first-team quarterback.

Lamaison will have senior Mike Edwards and Jordan Leslie to throw to, but UTEP will need to replace its three leading rushers from 2011 - Joe Banyard, Vernon Frazier and Leilyon Myers. That group helped the Miners rank 61st in the FBS with 154.9 yards rushing per game during their 5-7 campaign, the sixth straight losing season for the program.

Coach Mike Price wants to see sophomore Nathan Jeffrey, who ran for 166 yards and one TD in 2011, get 20 carries per game this season.

The Sooners can also expect to see freshmen Autrey Golden, Laquintus Dowell and Xay Williams lined up behind Lamaison, and backup quarterback Carson Meger is also expected to see some action Saturday.

"They like to run the ball," Oklahoma senior defensive lineman David King told the school's official website. "(Lamaison) is pretty good and he can run it. I believe he came out and said he wants to outdo Landry, so we have to come out and make sure that doesn't happen on Saturday."

King shifts to the tackle spot in place of Stacy McGee, who was suspended indefinitely by Bob Stoops earlier this month for a violation of team rules. It was the fifth suspension of the offseason, following the dismissal of wide receiver Kameel Jackson and the reinstatements of Quentin Hayes, Jaz Reynolds and Trey Franks, who are practicing but won't be allowed to play.

Oklahoma has won its last eight regular-season non-conference games by an average of 18.0 points.

UTEP is 4-47 against ranked opponents, with its last win coming 58-41 over then-No. 12 Houston on Oct. 3, 2009.

© 2012 STATS LLC

No. 4 Sooners survive for 24-7 win over UTEP

EL PASO, Texas (AP) -- Landry Jones faced pressure on nearly every snap, had trouble finding his receivers.

The running game bogged down most of the night. The specials teams allowed two blocked kicks, one that led to a touchdown.

It wasn't pretty, nearly a disaster actually, but the Sooners found a win to grind out a win.

Riding its defense all night and scoring a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter, No. 4 Oklahoma survived a scare by slogging out a 24-7 win over Texas-El Paso on Saturday night.

"We just weren't in synch," Sooners quarterback Landry Jones said. "It was one of those things where we would have flashes of greatness, but it wouldn't be all as a team. But we came out with a W and that's what we're shooting for."

Oklahoma labored from the start of its opener, unable to generate much of a running game or get anything going downfield.

Tied at halftime and up just 10-7 after three quarters, the Sooners finally created a gap from the gritty Miners by stuffing UTEP on a fake punt to set up an 18-yard touchdown pass to Brannon Green midway through the fourth quarter.

They finally sealed it in the closing minutes, when Damien Williams burst through the right side and ran to the left pylon for a 65-yard touchdown run.

Jones threw for 222 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 21 of 36 passing, his timing with a new set of receivers not quite there yet.

Williams had 104 yards on nine carries, giving the Sooners a respectable 205 yards on the ground with his big run late.

The defense was good most of the night, though did give up a few big runs.

The Sooners managed to get past all the mistakes, though, and move on with a win.

"Obviously, we had some inconsistencies, but still I feel positive with my team when we get a win, any time," Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said.

The 30-point underdog Miners weren't intimidated by the mighty Sooners, the highest-ranked team they had faced at home.

Nathan Jeffrey ran for 177 yards and returned a blocked punt 24 yards for a touchdown for UTEP, which also blocked a field goal to remain tied with Oklahoma at the half.

The Miners just couldn't finish off what would have been the biggest upset in school history.

Two kickers missed three field goals that would have given UTEP the lead and a fake punt that failed in their own end gave Oklahoma a short field to set up the Jones-to-Green TD that made it 17-7.

Close, but just short.

"We had a great opportunity and we played our hearts out," UTEP coach Mike Price said.

The Sooners open this season, as they always seem to, with big expectations.

Last season, Oklahoma opened as the preseason No. 1, but never lived up to the billing, run over by Baylor, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State to see its national championship hopes end.

A big problem for the Sooners was their defense, which allowed Baylor's Robert Griffin III to throw for 479 yards and Texas Tech's Seth Doege to go for 441.

Hoping to shore up what had once been a strength at OU, Stoops brought back his little brother, Mike, to run the defense again. He helped lead the Sooners to the 2000 national title and, despite overseeing a defense that lost four players to the NFL, has helped created a buzz that the Sooners would be strong on both sides of the ball this year.

Jones added to Oklahoma's preseason hype after spurning the NFL for a shot at a national title. The most prolific passer in school history, he's a steady hand and a Heisman Trophy hopeful again expected to put up big numbers.

No one looked particularly good on either side of the ball against UTEP.

Unimpressed by the Sooners, the Miners broke off some good-sized plays on their first drive, prompting Mike Stoops to charge onto the field to scream at his players during a timeout.

Dakota Warren missed a 45-yard field goal at the end of that drive, but Oklahoma's first offensive possession resulted in a touchdown for the Miners when Richard Spencer blocked Tress Way's punt and Jeffrey ran it in 24 yards to give UTEP a surprising 7-0 lead after Oklahoma had scored 89 straight points in the series.

Oklahoma gathered itself briefly late in the first quarter, when Jones rolled left and threw to the right sideline, where Kenny Stills streaked in for a 68-yard touchdown.

"I just saw Kenny running down the sideline over and kind of just put it out there and let his speed go get the ball," Jones said.

That was it for Oklahoma in the first half.

UTEP continued to harass the Sooners, holding them to seven first downs and 75 yards outside of the big play to Stills. The Miners also blocked a 44-yard field goal attempt by Michael Hunnicutt - it may have hit a Sooners lineman in the backside - and would have had the halftime lead had Warren not pushed a 31-yard field goal wide right.

Still, 7-7 at halftime against the fourth-ranked team in the country? The Miners would take that any day.

Jeffrey kept them in it in the third quarter by bursting through some big holes, including a 71-yard yard run that put the Miners in scoring position. That chance came up empty when Steven Valadez, kicking in place of Warren, hooked a 37-yard field goal to the right in the third quarter.

"The missed field goals were tough for the momentum and hard for the adversity," Price said. "You go all the way down there and stumble, then come back without anything."

UTEP continued to stymie Oklahoma's offense, but came up short on a fake punt in the fourth quarter and the Sooners took advantage with Jones hitting Green on an 18-yard touchdown pass that gave Oklahoma a 17-7 lead and, finally, a little breathing room.

Williams gave the Sooners a sigh of relief with his run, OU's longest in three years, to finish off the difficult win.

"I'm not disappointed, I'm just not satisfied that we didn't play the way we're capable of," Stoops said.

© 2012 STATS LLC