Game Primer: OU vs. Illinois State

Saturday, August 30

Norman

5 p.m.

University of Oklahoma

Illinois State

Tickets

August 29, 2025 | Football

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#18 Oklahoma

Illinois State

Saturday, Aug. 30 / 5 p.m. CT / Owen Field

SECN+/ESPN+ / Radio / Live Stats / Game Notes

OPENING KICK

• No. 18/RV Oklahoma opens the 2025 season - its second as a member of the Southeastern Conference and fourth under head coach Brent Venables - when it hosts Illinois State on Saturday at 5 p.m. CT at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. The game will be televised by SEC Network+ and ESPN+ with Richard Cross, Tyoka Jackson and Madison Hock announcing.

• The 2025 season marks the 131st in OU football history. The Sooners lead the nation with their 50 all-time conference championships, 27 11-plus-win seasons (tied), 33 AP top-five finishes and five No. 1 overall NFL Draft picks (tied). They rank second with their seven Heisman Trophy winners (tied), third with seven AP national championships, their 101 weeks as the AP's No. 1 team and 431 total weeks in the AP Top 5, fourth with their 419 NFL Draft picks and fifth with their 58 bowl appearances.

• Saturday's contest will mark the 1,352nd in OU history. The Sooners rank fifth in college football annals with their .723 all-time winning percentage (950-348-53 record). They trail Ohio State (.735), Alabama (.733), Michigan (.733) and Notre Dame (.732). Since the end of World War II (1946 season to present), OU leads all programs with 706 wins (28 more than Alabama, the program with the next most) and owns a .762 winning percentage.

• OU is 101-23-6 all-time in season openers and has won its last eight such contests and 14 of its last 15. The Sooners are 84-12-4 in their first game of a season at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1925. OU has won 18 straight home openers (last such loss was 17-10 vs. TCU in 2005).

• This marks the 26th straight season the Sooners have been ranked in the preseason AP poll. In only three of the previous 25 years has OU been ranked lower in the preseason poll than its No. 18 ranking this year (No. 19 in 2000 [went 13-0; won national title], No. 19 in 2015 [made College Football Playoff; finished No. 5] and No. 20 in 2023 (went 10-3; finished No. 16]). The Sooners have been ranked 10th or better in 20 of the last 25 preseason polls. OU has also ended seven of the last 10 seasons ranked in the AP top 10.

• OU's all-time average preseason AP rank is a nation-best 7.07. Alabama is second at 7.10.

• The SEC leads the country with its 10 teams ranked in the preseason AP Top 25. The Big Ten ranks second with six preseason top-25 teams and is followed by the Big 12 with four and the ACC with three. The other two teams are Notre Dame (independent) and Boise State (Mountain West). The SEC also leads the nation with four preseason top-10 teams.

• Oklahoma is coming off a 6-7 season, went 2-6 in its first SEC campaign and came up on the short end of a 21-20 score in the Armed Forces Bowl vs. Navy. The Sooners went 5-2 at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in 2024 and posted a 24-3 win over No. 7 Alabama in their last home game. OU became the first program to hold the Crimson Tide without a touchdown since 2011 and the first to limit them to three or fewer points since 2004. UA's 234 offensive yards were its fewest since 2014.

• Illinois State, an NCAA Division I FCS program in its 17th year under head coach Brock Spack, is ranked No. 6 in the preseason FCS coaches and media polls. The Redbirds finished 10-4 in 2024 (6-2 in the Missouri Valley Conference) and beat Southeast Missouri State 35-27 in the first round of the FCS playoffs. Spack owns a 111-74 record as a head coach (all at ISU), good for the program's best winning percentage among coaches with more than one season at the helm. His 111 victories also pace the program and are 25 more than the coach with the second most. Spack's 2014 squad went 13-2 and lost 29-27 to North Dakota State in the FCS national championship game.

NORMAN, OK - August 30, 2024 - Oklahoma Wide receiver Deion Burks (#6) during the game between the Temple Owls and the Oklahoma Sooners at Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, OK. Photo By Morgan Givens/University of Oklahoma

FOR THE FANS

• Approximately two hours and 15 minutes before each home game (2:45 p.m. this Saturday), OU players and coaches will arrive at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium via team buses and walk to their stadium entrance while being cheered by fans. This year's "Walk of Champions" path again originates from the Jenkins Ave./Brooks St. intersection just northeast of the stadium (view map here). The team will be led by the Sooner Schooner and OU Spirit.

• New this fall, free, public tailgating is open on the historic North Oval. For the first time in university history, fans have the opportunity to set up their tailgates on one of the most recognizable places on campus, creating an electric atmosphere just steps away from Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Fans can claim spaces on the North Oval beginning at 6 p.m. on the Friday before a home game. More tailgating information, policies and a map, click here.

• Once again, "Party at the Palace, Presented by Allstate" will be held on the lawn immediately north of Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium for fans of all ages, this week running from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Highlights include food trucks, giveaways, music, interactive games, inflatables and more. Additionally, 107.7 The Franchise, the flagship station of the Sooner Sports Radio Network, originates the start of its pregame show live from Party at the Palace beginning three hours prior to kickoff.

• OU Athletics and Sooner Sports Properties are producing limited-edition collectible game programs in high-quality print for home football contests against Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU – OU's four 2025 SEC home opponents – plus Big Ten foe Michigan. Souvenir 96-page game programs are available for preorder for $20 each, and the 220-page 2025 OU Football Media Guide can be purchased for $40 (limited stock). Click here for details.

• A reminder that umbrellas are not permitted inside Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. For a full list of OU game day policies, procedures and additional fan information, click here.

KEY STORYLINES

• Saturday's game will mark the first between Oklahoma and Illinois State. The Redbirds are one of five programs this season that will play at OU for the first time, joining Michigan, Auburn, Ole Miss and LSU.

• Illinois State returns 43 letterwinners and 12 starters from its 2024 team, including six 2025 preseason All-Americans. Junior linebacker Tye Niekamp and senior long snapper Dylan Calabrese were named first-team selections, senior wide receiver Daniel Sobkowicz and senior running back Wenkers Wright earned second-team accolades, and senior quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse and junior defensive lineman Jake Anderson garnered third-team recognition.

• Of Oklahoma's 111 players, 45 (or 41%) are newcomers. That group is comprised of 23 freshmen and 22 transfers (seven seniors, 10 juniors and five sophomores). The transfers have combined for 480 games played and 217 starts.

• Oklahoma's 2024 defense was its best under head coach Brent Venables, now in his fourth year, and the Sooners return six defenders who started at least eight games last season, including three on the line. OU returns 56% of its tackles and tackles for loss from last year, 74% of its sacks, 72% of its QB hurries, 56% of its interceptions, 67% of its forced fumbles and 50% of its fumble recoveries. The Sooners ranked sixth nationally in fumble recoveries (12), 10th in tackles for loss per game (7.4), 19th in total defense (318.2 ypg) and 25th in sacks per game (2.7).

• Perhaps OU's two biggest offseason player additions are on the offensive side of the ball in redshirt junior quarterback John Mateer and senior running back Jayden Ott. Mateer, who starred at Washington State, was ranked by ESPN in May as the country's No. 1 transfer, while Ott was No. 17. A Manning Award finalist last year after passing for 3,139 yards and rushing for 826 in his first season as a starter, Mateer was the nation's only player with at least 20 touchdown passes (29) and at least 10 rushing TDs (15). His 44 TDs responsible for led the country in the regular season. Ott, who came from Cal, rushed for 2,597 yards (24 TDs) and caught 95 passes for 712 yards (six TDs) over the last three seasons. He has started 32 of his 34 games.

• On Aug. 20, ESPN ranked Mateer as the nation's No. 16 overall player. The only two quarterbacks ranked ahead of him were Clemson's Cade Klubnik (No. 4) and LSU's Garrett Nussmeier (No. 8).

• OU's offense is under the direction of first-year coordinator and quarterbacks coach Ben Arbuckle, who spent the last two years in the same capacity at Washington State. His 2024 Cougars, behind Mateer, ranked 12th nationally in the regular season with their 36.8 points per game, sixth in passing TDs (30), eighth in yards per pass attempt (9.1), ninth in passing efficiency rating (165.2), 22nd in total offense (440.4 ypg) and 24th in passing offense (268.8 ypg) and rushing TDs (27).

• For the first time in Venables' head coaching tenure, the Sooners will have season-long team captains this year. Each of the previous three seasons, OU named weekly captains. This season's seven captains are Mateer, redshirt senior offensive lineman Troy Everett, senior defensive linemen Gracen Halton, R Mason Thomas and Damonic Williams, redshirt junior linebacker Kip Lewis and senior defensive back Robert Spears-Jennings.

• Of the 74 players on OU's week 1 depth chart, 18 (or 24%) are freshmen. That includes 11 true freshmen (five offense, five defense, one special teams) and seven redshirt freshmen (one offense, five defense, one special teams).

HOME IS WHERE THE "W" IS

• The Sooners are 145-15 (.906) at Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium since the start of the 1999 season (Bob Stoops' first year as head coach), giving them just one more home loss than conference titles during the period. It is the second-best home winning percentage in the country over the last 26 seasons (Boise State [.909] is first and Ohio State [.895] third). OU has outscored its foes by an average of 43-18 in those games.

• Including this week's game, OU has sold out 160 straight originally scheduled home contests dating back to the start of the 1999 season (Bob Stoops' first as head coach). Only Nebraska has a longer current streak.

• Gaylord Family – Oklahoma Memorial Stadium celebrated its 100th season in 2024. The 100th anniversary of the first game played in the stadium will be on Oct. 17. On that day in 1925, the first contest was played in front of the new 16,000-seat west stands, a 7-0 victory over Drake in which Roy "Goat" Lamb scored the game's only touchdown on a 2-yard run in muddy conditions.

• The first game played at the current stadium site, called Owen Field and named after former head coach and athletics director Bennie Owen (a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame), took place in 1923, before stadium construction got underway.

• OU owns a sparkling 423-88-15 (.818) all-time record at the "Palace on the Prairie" and has faced 96 opponents there (Illinois State, Michigan, Auburn, Ole Miss and LSU this season will take that number to 101).

OU VS. FCS COMPETITION

• The Sooners are 12-3 against programs currently in the Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) but have played only eight such games since the start of the 1952 season. In those eight contests, Oklahoma is 8-0 and has outscored its opponents 492-43 (average of 62-5). OU beat Indiana State 49-0 in 1999 (Bob Stoops' first game as OU head coach), Chattanooga 57-2 in 2008, Idaho State 64-0 in 2009, Florida A&M 69-13 in 2012, South Dakota 70-14 in 2019, Missouri State 48-0 in 2020, Western Carolina 76-0 in 2021 and Maine 59-14 last season.

• In the other seven games against current FCS programs, OU went 3-2 against Drake (games played between 1920 and '26 when both teams were members of the Missouri Valley Conference) and 1-1 versus William & Mary (games played in 1942 and '51).

NEW ASSISTANT COACHES

• The 2025 OU coaching staff will feature a new play-caller on offense and two new coaches on the defensive side of the ball. In December, Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables hired Ben Arbuckle as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Arbuckle, who served the 2023 and 2024 seasons in the same capacity at Washington State, presided over a 2024 Cougars offense that ranked sixth nationally in scoring (36.6 points per game) and among the top 20 in total offense, passing offense, passing efficiency and completion percentage. WSU rushed for over 100 yards in 11 games (its most since 2005) and 89 yards in the other regular season contest.

• Venables also brought in Nate Dreiling as inside linebackers coach and Wes Goodwin as assistant linebackers and outside linebackers coach. Dreiling served the 2024 season at Utah State as interim head coach and defensive coordinator. He has spent five years as a defensive coordinator at Utah State (2024), New Mexico State (2022-23) and Pittsburg State (2018-19). His Utah State defense last year ranked among the top 50 in interceptions (13; 36th) and sacks per game (2.3; 44th).

• Goodwin was promoted to defensive coordinator at Clemson prior to the 2022 season after Venables was named head coach at Oklahoma. He spent a total of 13 seasons across two stints at Clemson and helped guide the Tigers to the 2024 ACC Championship and an appearance in the College Football Playoff. Clemson ranked in the top 20 nationally in takeaways, interceptions and fumbles recovered during the 2024 season, ranked eighth nationally in total defense and pass defense in 2023 and ranked among the top 25 nationally in scoring defense, rushing defense, yards allowed per rush, sacks and tackles for loss in his first season as defensive coordinator in 2022.

BREAKING DOWN THE TRANSFERS

• The Sooners signed 22 transfers in the offseason, with the vast majority of those on offense. The breakdown is 14 offensive, four defensive and four special teams players.

• OU's transfer portal class was ranked No. 12 nationally by 247Sports.

• The offensive transfers consist of five wide receivers (redshirt senior Keontez Lewis [Southern Illinois], redshirt juniors Javonnie Gibson [Arkansas-Pine Bluff] and Isaiah Sategna III [Arkansas], junior Jer'Michael Carter [McNeese State] and sophomore Josiah Martin [Cal]), three offensive linemen (redshirt senior Derek Simmons [Western Carolina], redshirt junior Jake Maikkula [Stanford] and junior Luke Baklenko [Stanford]), three tight ends (redshirt senior Will Huggins [Pittsburg State] and redshirt juniors Carson Kent [Kennesaw State] and John Locke Jr. [Louisiana Tech]), two quarterbacks (redshirt junior John Mateer [Washington State] and sophomore Whitt Newbauer [Mercer]) and a running back (senior Jaydn Ott [Cal]).

• On defense, two transfers are linemen (senior Marvin Jones Jr. [Florida State] and redshirt sophomore Siolaa Lolohea [Utah State]) and two are linebackers (redshirt senior Kendal Daniels [Oklahoma State] and redshirt sophomore Reed DeQuasie [Oklahoma State]).

• The special teams transfers feature two placekickers (redshirt senior Austin Welch [Kennesaw State] and redshirt junior Tate Sandell [UTSA], one punter (redshirt sophomore Jacob Ulrich [Kennesaw State]) and one punter/placekicker (redshirt junior Grayson Miller [Central Oklahoma]).

FIVE SOONERS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS

• Five Sooners - two each on offense and defense and one on special teams - earned 2025 preseason All-America recognition.

• Senior defensive lineman R Mason Thomas is a third-team preseason All-American by Athlon and Phil Steele after ranking fourth in the SEC and 17th nationally with his 9.0 sacks (0.8 per game) last year. He also led the Sooners with his 12.5 tackles for loss and 11 QB hurries.

• Senior running back Jaydn Ott is a third-team preseason All-American by Phil Steele and a fourth-teamer by Athon. The Cal transfer arrived at OU in June after posting 2,597 rushing yards (25 TDs) and 712 receiving yards (six TDs) over the last three seasons.

• Redshirt junior Ben Anderson is a third-team preseason All-American by Phil Steele. OU's long snapper each of the last two seasons, he was a third-team All-SEC pick last year.

• Redshirt senior wide receiver Deion Burks picked up fourth-team preseason All-America honors from Athlon. Burks, who battled injuries in his first season at OU last year after transferring from Purdue, has 94 career catches for 1,049 yards and 10 touchdowns.

• Redshirt junior linebacker Kip Lewis also picked up fourth-team honors from Phil Steele. In 2024, Lewis started 12 of 13 games and logged 65 tackles and 4.0 tackles for loss, and returned interceptions for touchdowns in wins at Auburn and against No. 7 Alabama.

THREE PRESEASON ALL-SEC HONOREES

• Three Sooners were named to the coaches' and media preseason all-SEC teams. On both lists, senior running back Jaydn Ott and senior defensive lineman R Mason Thomas were second-team selections, while redshirt junior long snapper Ben Anderson was a third-team pick.

• Thomas was a second-team All-SEC honoree last year after ranking fourth in the league and 17th nationally with his 9.0 sacks (0.8 per game). He also led the Sooners with his 12.5 tackles for loss and 11 QB hurries.

• Anderson was a third-team All-SEC selection last season.

REVAMPED QB ROOM

• OU's quarterbacks room looks quite a bit different than it did last year, with only one returning signal-caller on this year's roster and first-year offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle serving as quarterbacks coach. The lone returning QB is sophomore Michael Hawkins Jr., who played in seven games and made four starts as a true freshman last year. He completed 63.3% of his passes for 783 yards and three TDs against two interceptions, and rushed for 204 yards and a TD. Hawkins Jr. became the first OU true freshman quarterback to win on the road in his first career start when the Sooners rallied in the fourth quarter to beat Auburn 27-21 on Sept. 28. It was Oklahoma's first road game as a member of the SEC.

• Washington State transfer John Mateer was one of the country's top quarterbacks last year, when he completed 64.6% of his throws for 3,139 yards and 29 TDs against just seven interceptions, and rushed 178 times for 826 yards (4.6 per carry) and 15 scores. The rushes, rushing yards and rushing TDs all set WSU single-season records. A 2025 captain, Mateer will start for the Sooners.

• Whitt Newbauer is a sophomore who started in seven of his nine games at Mercer last year and earned All-Southern Conference Freshman Team honors. He completed 56.4% of his passes for 1,398 yards and 12 TDs vs. four interceptions. He also rushed for two TDs.

• Freshman Jett Niu was a consensus three-star prospect out of Lindon, Utah, and enrolled in January. He completed 195 of 341 passes for 2,857 yards and 29 TDs as a high school senior, and was ranked by On3 as the No. 6 recruit in Utah.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL'S BEST

• During the modern era of college football (since the end of World War II), the Sooners are the nation's No. 1 team with more wins (706) than any other program (next most is 678 by Alabama).

• Oklahoma has finished in the top 5 of the AP poll a nation-leading 33 times (Ohio State is second with 31).

• OU leads all FBS programs with 50 all-time conference championships. The rest of the top five includes Nebraska (46), Michigan (44), Ohio State (39) and USC (37). The Sooners' 14 league titles since 2000 are the most among Power Five programs (Ohio State ranks second with 11).

• No program has more all-time 11-win seasons than Oklahoma's 27 (Alabama also has 27).

• Since the start of the 2000 season, OU ranks second with 18 seasons of at least 10 wins and is tied for second with 261 victories.

• Since former head coach Bob Stoops arrived in Norman in 1999, OU leads the country with its 13,090 points scored. Boise State (12,689) is second and Oregon (12,378) third.

• OU's 81 consensus All-Americans since 1950 lead the nation (Alabama and Ohio State rank second with 77 each). Since 2000, OU has produced 31 consensus All-Americans, tied for second with Ohio State behind Alabama.

EXTRA POINTS

• The Sooners are 11-4 all-time as the No. 18-ranked team in the AP poll (7-1 at home). Oklahoma was ranked 18th when it played Texas last season and was No. 18 in 2023 for a 28-11 home win over SMU. OU's lone home loss as the AP's 18th-ranked team was in 2014 (38-35 [OT] to Oklahoma State).

• In their 16 wins over the last two seasons, the Sooners have outscored opponents 175-26 off turnovers. In their 11 losses during the same span, they have been outscored 105-27 off turnovers.

• Over the last 11 seasons (since the start of 2014), OU ranks fourth nationally (second in Power Four) with its 5.3 yards per rush and sixth (fourth in Power Four) with its 308 rushing TDs.

• Since offensive line coach Bill Bedenbaugh joined the OU staff in 2013, the Sooners rank first nationally in total offense (494.5 ypg), second in yards per pass attempt (9.1), third in pass efficiency rating (164.7), yards per rush (5.3; tied) and scoring offense (39.5 ppg), fifth in completion percentage (65.9) and sixth in yards per completion (13.8). It is the only program in the country to rank in the top 15 in passing offense (ninth at 279.2 ypg) and rushing offense (12th at 215.3 ypg) during that span.

• The Sooners have won their last 81 games when holding opponents to under 21 points. Their last loss under the circumstance came at Nebraska in 2009 (10-3).

• Since the start of the 2012 season, OU is 92-7 when scoring at least 35 points and 80-4 when scoring at least 40.