Oklahoma
Oklahoma 2025 Football Opponent Preview: Illinois State Redbirds
Oklahoma opens the 2025 season against an NCAA Division I FCS opponent.
The Sooners host Illinois State of the Missouri Valley Conference on Saturday, Aug. 30. The Redbirds went 10-4 a year ago and went two rounds deep in the FCS playoffs.
Here’s what to know about the Redbirds:
Illinois State went 4-3 in its first seven games before ending the regular season on a five-game winning streak to reach the FCS playoffs. The Redbirds beat Southeastern Missouri State in the first round before falling to No. 5 UC Davis in the second round.
Their only game against an FBS opponent came in Week 1, when Illinois State fell 40-0.
QB Tommy Rittenhouse (Sr.), RB Wenkers Wright (Sr.), WR Daniel Sobkowicz (Sr.), LB Tye Niekamp (Jr.).
TE Caleb Schmitz (Cincinnati), S Christian LeBrun (UMass), WR Kaevion Mack (Western Michigan), DL Christian Lorenzo (Georgia State), DB Shadwel Nkuba II (Louisiana), OL Jack McGarry (Missouri), OL Logan Brasfield (Coastal Carolina).
Illinois State’s biggest strength is offensive experience: The Redbirds return their leading passer, rusher and receiver from the 2024 season this year.
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As a junior, Rittenhouse completed 66.4% of passes for 2,840 yards, 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions. He also ran for 480 yards and eight touchdowns.
Wright, Illinois State’s leading tailback, went for 1,120 yards and 11 touchdowns a year ago, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. And Sobkowicz caught 80 passes for 1,108 yards and nine touchdowns.
Illinois State was an FCS playoff team in 2024, and with so much returning offensive talent, it’s likely that the Redbirds return to the playoffs this year.
While Illinois State had the Missouri Valley’s fourth-best scoring defense (24.9 points allowed per game) in 2024, the Redbirds struggled mightily to defend pass plays.
The Redbirds finished 10th out of 11 teams in the conference, allowing 266.3 passing yards per contest. That mark was No. 115 of 123 teams that compete at the FCS level.
Illinois State also lost a handful of its most productive defensive players — linebacker LaVoise-Deontay McCoy (graduation), defensive back Keondre Jackson (graduation), defensive lineman Jalan Gaines (graduation) and defensive lineman Steven Curtis (transferred to Minnesota) — during the offseason.
Illinois State isn’t a bad team by any means. The Redbirds were among the FCS’ best a year ago, and with so much returning talent, they should maintain that status in 2025.
But the season opener shouldn’t be particularly difficult for the Sooners.
Illinois State’s pass defense struggled mightily in 2024. With new offensive coordinator Ben Arbuckle and quarterback John Mateer, the Sooners’ offense will likely be very pass-heavy. The season opener will be an opportunity for that duo to show what they bring to the program.
The Redbirds’ offense is proven at the FCS level, but Oklahoma’s defense should overpower them with sheer athleticism and size. Though it will be interesting to see the defense’s performance without Danny Stutsman, Ethan Downs, Billy Bowman Jr. and Woodi Washington.
It’s possible that the Redbirds can keep things close in the first half, but the Sooners’ advantages across the depth chart should allow them to win comfortably and start the season 1-0.
Oklahoma
Did Oklahoma Stay Atop the Polls After Tumultuous Week?
NORMAN — After an up-and down week that saw Oklahoma drop the lone Bedlam match of the season, and then split two tight games with Arkansas before blowing out the Razorbacks on Sunday, the Sooners remained No. 1 in the NFCA/Go Rout coaches’ poll released Tuesday.
But there’s far from a consensus.
Oklahoma received 12 first-place votes — the same total they had last week — but five other teams received first-place votes.
Texas Tech remained No. 2 with four four-place votes and Alabama No. 3 with seven. Nebraska moved up two spots to No. 4 with four first-place votes, followed by Florida with two and UCLA with two.
Texas is No. 7, followed by Tennessee, Arkansas and Florida State.
Texas A&M, the Sooners’ opponent for the final regular-season weekend in two weeks, comes in at No. 11.
Other SEC teams include Georgia at No. 15, Mississippi State at No. 17 and LSU at No. 20.
OU hosts the Georgia Bulldogs in a three-game series beginning Friday.
Other Sooners’ opponents this season in the polls include No. 14 Duke, No. 18 Oklahoma State, No. 19 Arizona, No. 24 Arizona State and No. 25 Washington.
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Oklahoma also remained in the top spot in the D1Softball poll, with Alabama No. 2 there followed by Texas Tech, Nebraska at Texas.
The Sooners dropped a spot in the Softball America poll, with Nebraska elevating to No. 1 behind the two-way stardom of former OU standout Jordy Frahm (formerly Jordy Bahl).
Frahm is 13-4 with a 1.36 ERA and 157 strikeouts in 118 2/3 innings in the circle and hitting .440 with 16 home runs and 42 RBIs. Another former Sooners player, Hannah Coor, is among the Cornhuskers’ regulars as well.
The Sooners have 158 home runs, just three away from tying their own season record in the category, but UCLA has closed the gap in a major way, sitting just four behind Oklahoma.
OU freshman sensation Kendall Wells leads the nation with 34 home runs, three ahead of UCLA’s Megan Grant. Wells tied Jocelyn Alo‘s program record for home runs in a season with her home run in Sunday’s win.
The Sooners host Arkansas-Pine Bluff at 6 p.m. Tuesday in their final non-conference game of the season before opening the series against Georgia at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Love’s FIeld.
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Oklahoma
Putnam City West moves to virtual learning after student incident
Putnam City West High School will shift to virtual learning on Tuesday after an incident involving two students prompted an investigation by the district and Oklahoma City police, according to Putnam City Schools.
District officials said administrators were alerted near the end of the school day Monday to an altercation involving two students in the school’s arena area.
Officials said the students left campus, and the case was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for investigation.
District officials said no students or staff were harmed and there is no ongoing safety threat related to the incident.
What we know
Putnam City West sent the following email to all families and staff at the school:
All PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st.
Today, an isolated serious incident involving two students occurred on school grounds. Near the end of the school day, administrators were alerted to an altercation between two students in the arena area. The individuals involved quickly left campus, prompting an initial fact-finding response by school administrators before the matter was turned over to Putnam City Campus Police and the Oklahoma City Police Department for further investigation. Because this is an active investigation involving students, no further information will be released at this time.
We understand this information may be concerning to students, staff, and families. Please know we are committed to maintaining a safe, secure, and positive learning environment for all students. At Putnam City Schools, student and staff safety remains our highest priority. Therefore, out of an abundance of caution and to allow for a thorough investigation, all PCW students and staff will transition to virtual learning for Tuesday, April 21st. Students will need to check Google Classroom for updates from teachers.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support of PC West.
Putnam City Schools
All students and staff at Putnam City West will transition to virtual learning on Tuesday, April 21, while investigators continue their work, according to the district.
Students were told to check Google Classroom for instructions from teachers.
The district said it is withholding additional details because the case involves students and remains under investigation.
School officials have not said what triggered the incident or whether any arrests have been made.
This is a developing story. Updates will be added as more information becomes available.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma launches program letting adults use past credits, test scores to earn diplomas
TULSA, OKLA (KTUL) — A new program in Oklahoma is giving adults another way to finish high school by allowing them to use past credits and test scores to earn a diploma, an option officials say could help thousands of people and strengthen the state’s workforce.
For years, adults in Oklahoma who did not finish high school largely had one main option: earning a GED. Now, Oklahoma CareerTech is rolling out the Career Readiness Diploma, a pathway designed to build on what students have already completed rather than requiring them to start over.
“So in Oklahoma right now, if you look at the demographics, we have about 279,000 people in our state without a high school diploma. So it’s almost 10% of our population doesn’t have a high school diploma,” said Lance Allee, an adult education and family literacy specialist with Oklahoma CareerTech.
Allee said the program allows adults to apply previously earned high school credit and combine different assessment scores into a single record to qualify for a diploma.
“It allows the student to use previously earned high school credit. So, it’s kind of like a portfolio where you can take multiple assessment scores and put them into one portfolio to get your high school diploma,” Allee said.
The program is open to adults 21 and older. In some cases, officials said, participants can finish in just weeks, depending on how many credits they already have.
CareerTech officials say the program is also aimed at improving job prospects for individuals while helping Oklahoma remain competitive when attracting employers.
“When you’re a company and you’re looking at moving into Oklahoma, you look at the demographics and say, is there a workforce there that we can employ? And you say, well, about 10% of the population doesn’t have a diploma, they may start looking at states that surround us. So, we definitely want to get as many diplomas out there as we can,” Allee said.
The program started issuing diplomas in recent weeks, and officials said dozens more people are already in the process. For more information or to sign up click here.
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