The Oklahoma Sooners defeated the Illinois State Redbirds on Saturday evening by a final score of 35-3. OU improved to 1-0 on the 2025 season with the 32-point win, and they’ll be back at home for a second-straight week in Week 2 against the Michigan Wolverines.
Oklahoma eventually found its sweet spot after a slow start against an FCS opponent and rolled to the season-opening victory. Making observations after Week 1 is what we tend to do, especially after a long offseason without football, but drawing conclusions after one game would be foolish.
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Today, we’ll walk through the good, the bad, and the ugly from Oklahoma-Illinois State, focusing solely on what worked and what didn’t from Game 1. The Sooners did some nice things in this game against lesser competition, but Sooner Nation expected more of a blowout, which is fair. Oklahoma did a lot of things well against the Redbirds, but there is plenty to learn from as well.
Here are my day-after observations and takeaways from Saturday’s victory.
The Good: Pass Offense and Pass Defense
Aug 30, 2025; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners quarterback John Mateer (10) warms up before the game against the Illinois State Redbirds at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images
Quarterback John Mateer’s Oklahoma debut went about as well as you could have hoped. After a slow start on the first two offensive drives, Mateer and the offense found their rhythm and began putting together good drives. He finished 30-for-37 with 392 yards and three passing scores.
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Mateer’s weapons looked solid as well. Deion Burks, Keontez Lewis, Isaiah Sategna III, and Jaren Kanak all showed some nice things, especially Burks and Lewis. Oklahoma’s ability to complete passes down the field and move the ball through the air is a sight for sore eyes for Sooner Nation. Sure, the offense looked very bland and very vanilla, but we’ll find out in six days whether or not that was an intentional decision by OC Ben Arbuckle.
Oklahoma’s pass defense was a surprising plus, as the Sooners allowed just 34 total passing yards against the Redbirds. That’s partly due to an injury suffered by starting quarterback Tommy Rittenhouse that essentially ended Illinois State’s threat on offense, but there weren’t receivers open in the OU secondary, and there weren’t missed tackles that allowed yards after the catch.
OU’s defensive backfield was the weak spot of the defense last year. While the Sooners have things to clean up on other parts of the defense, it’s hard to get much better than 34 passing yards allowed in a game. With new starters in the secondary, Oklahoma played sound football in Week 1.
The Bad: Run Offense and Run Defense
Oklahoma’s Tory Blaylock (6) leaps as he rushes in the second half of the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Illinois State Redbirds at the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025.
Oklahoma was only able to muster 103 total rushing yards against an FCS foe, with 24 of those yards coming courtesy of Mateer. That won’t cuti against Michigan, and it won’t cut it against the likes of the SEC. True freshman running back Tory Blaylock was the bright spot in OU’s running game with 44 yards on eight carries, but Jovantae Barnes and Xavier Robinson didn’t offer much to complement him.
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There are a number of factors that could be the reason for the low rushing output. First, Oklahoma still has a lot to figure out on the offensive line. It sounds like a broken record, but the Sooners have to improve up front offensively if they want to run the ball effectively. Secondly, Jaydn Ott was given just one carry in this game, and it went for -3 yards. It seems like the coaching staff has been easing him back into the action, with Michigan on the horizon next week. If Ott isn’t fully healthy, that’s a problem for the Sooners, but they obviously didn’t need him to beat the Redbirds. Lastly, Arbuckle comes directly from the Air Raid tree. He’s going to throw the ball a lot, because it’s in his DNA. The Sooners didn’t run as effectively as they’d like because they threw the ball 37 times. They threw the ball 37 times because the pass was working and the run wasn’t. Arbuckle will need to find that balance in Norman between the run and the pass, preferably sometime in the next six days.
On the other side of the ball, OU’s run defense was surprisingly less stout than we’re used to. Illinois State ran for just 117 yards, but they were able to move the ball on the ground right up the middle of the Oklahoma defense. The interior of the defensive line is supposed to be the team’s biggest overall strength, but they didn’t have the impact they’d hoped for against Illinois State.
It’s not time to panic about those guys yet, as there are a few proven commodities up front that we expect to be disruptive and have seen be productive in the past. However, it was alarming to see the Redbirds slice through the middle of the Sooner defense as easily as they did, especially because OU was shutting down the pass so well. That’s what the Sooners have put on tape so far in 2025, and you know Michigan and teams from the SEC liked what they saw in that regard. The Wolverines will try to jam it down OU’s throat on Saturday, and that run defense needs a redemption performance in Week 2.
The Ugly: Turnovers and Penalties
Oklahoma’s John Mateer (10) celebrates his touchdown with Troy Everett (52) in the first half of the college football game between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Illinois State Redbirds at the Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Okla., Saturday, Aug. 30, 2025.
Head coach Brent Venables preaches winning the turnover battle to his team, and the Sooners lost that matchup 2-0 against Illinois State. Bad ball security from tight end Jaren Kanak led to a fumble on OU’s second drive and a bad throw by Mateer led to an interception that allowed the Redbirds to kick a field goal.
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While it’d be easy to jump on the defense for failing to cause a turnover against an FCS squad, you can’t turn the ball over on offense, especially against the schedule the Sooners have to play in 2025. Turnovers doomed the offense a year ago, and it wasn’t the best omen to see two giveaways in the first game of this season.
More concerning were the penalties and the lack of execution that led to them. Yes, it’s Week 1 for everybody, but Illinois State committed just two penalties for 10 yards all game. Meanwhile, the Sooners had six penalties for 35 yards. Sure, that’s not a lot of yardage, but there were drive-extending penalties and big play-removing penalties within that bunch.
It’s Year 4 under Venables, a head coach who preaches discipline and mental toughness to his program. Yet, the Sooners have had a penchant for making too many mental mistakes under his leadership. False starts, holdings and pass interference calls are part of the game, but the Sooners missed out on even more points because of drive-killing penalties, particularly by the offensive line. How Oklahoma executes, and if they’ve gotten better at avoiding the undisciplined mental errors under Venables’ watch, will be key to watch for the rest of the season.
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This article originally appeared on Sooners Wire: Day-after takeaways from Oklahoma’s 35-3 win over Illinois State
