The talking season is now at an end, and it's time for the actual games to begin. For Oklahoma, that means a season-opening matchup with the Illinois State Redbirds on Saturday night at a sold-out Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium.
Sooner fans will get their first look at the retooled Oklahoma offense and a cast of new faces in full game mode in the first-ever meeting between the Sooners and Illinois State, one of five teams that will visit Oklahoma this season for the first time.
Oklahoma made a number of offseason changes, mostly on the offensive end, after coming off a disappointing 6-7 season in the Sooners' first go-round in the power-laden SEC. Most notably among them were the additions of new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer, both coming to Norman by way of Washington State.
Illinois State, which plays in the Football Championship Subdivision level, is in its 17th season with Brock Spack as the head coach. The Redbirds finished with a 10-4 record a year ago and an FCS playoff appearance and have several key players, including 12 starters, from that team returning in 2025.
The Sooners are 101-23-6 in season-opening games and have won seven of the last eight and 14 of the last 15. Oklahoma has won its last 18 home openers and is 84-12-4 all-time in its first home game of the season.
The 2025 season marks the 131st in Oklahoma football history, and the Sooners' .723 all-time win percentage ranks fifth-best in college football annals.
Previewing Oklahoma's season opener vs. Illinois State
How to watch Oklahoma vs. Illinois State
Saturday night's game with Illinois State is slated for a 5 p.m. CT kickoff and will be available on ESPN+ and SEC Network+.
What to watch for from Illinois State
- Illinois State may be an FCS opponent, but it is arguably the second-best nonconference team the Sooners will face this season next to Michigan, which will be Oklahoma's Week 2 opponent. The Redbirds return eight starters on offense, including three core playmakers in quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse, Wenkers Wright, their leading running back from last season, and leading receiver, Daniel Sobkowicz.
- The Redbirds averaged 402 yards of offense a year ago behind nearly 3,000 yards passing and 25 total touchdowns by Rittenhouse, 1,123 rushing yards and 5.3 yards per carry by Wright, and over 1,100 yards receiving by Sobkowicz. All three players are preseason All-America selections, along with linebacker Tye Niekamp and defensive lineman Jake Anderson.
- Illinois State opened the 2024 season against Power Four opponent Iowa and was shut out 40-0. Oklahoma is the first team out of the current SEC that the Redbirds have played since losing 38-17 at Missouri when the Tigers were then still members of the Big 12.
- Illinois State is ranked No. 6 in the preseason AFCA FCS Coaches Poll and is picked to finish fourth in the Missouri Valley Conference preseason poll.
What to watch for from Oklahoma
- All eyes will be on quarterback John Mateer and the new-look Oklahoma offense, which has received plenty of preseason media hype and is expected to be much improved over last season. Offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle will probably keep the play-calling fairly vanilla, not wanting to show the full tool bag ahead of the Michigan game next weekend.
- Sooner fans will be looking to see how the running game unfolds with senior Jovantae Barnes back and healthy, and true freshmen Tory Blaylock expected to be the one-two duo in the season opener. Jaydn Ott, the transfer from California, will not start the game, but is also expected to see some action. Ott was a huge transfer acquisition in the offseason and is expected to be the prime running back in the weeks to come, but right now, with a brutal schedule straight ahead, the Sooner coaches are being cautious about his use coming out of an injury-riddled 2024 season.
- Deion Burks was the Sooners' leading receiver a year ago before he suffered a season-ending injury after just five games. But the former Purdue transfer is back and healthy and expected to be Mateer's primary receiving target. What Sooner fans are anxious to see is who among the rest of the receiving corps will step up beyond Burks. OU has four returning wide receivers in Ivan Carreon, Jacob Jordan, Zion Kearney and Zion Ragins, but the real attention will be on transfers Isaiah Sategna III, Keontez Lewis and Jer' Michael Carter, all of whom have been impressive in fall training camp, as well as true freshman Elijah Thomas.
- Oklahoma is 12-3 all-time against opponents currently in the FCS, but has played only eight such games since the 1952 season. The Sooners are 8-0 in those games and have outscored their opponents 492-43.
Numbers to know
On defense entering the 2025 season, Oklahoma returns 74% of its sacks, 72% of its quarterback hurries and 56% of its tackles for loss. The Sooners also return defensive players who accounted for 56% of the team's interceptions, 67% of its forced fumbles and 50% of its fumble recoveries. OU ranked fourth nationally in fumble recoveries last season with 12 and 10th in tackles for loss.
Prediction
This is a good Illinois State team with some very good players, but it is no where near as deep and talented as Oklahoma. The Redbird offense will be able to make some plays, but they probably won't face a defense as good as OU's the rest of the season, The Sooners are a 36.5-point favorite, and I wouldn't be surprised if they had at least that many points by halftime. OU has a deep enough roster that it should be able to rest many of the starters in the second half and keep them rested and healthy for a much bigger challenge the following Saturday.
Oklahoma 51, Illinois State 10
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