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.

The Oklahoma Sooners are one of the more popular teams in the nation to see an improvement from their 6-7 record in 2024. Though the opponents are the same, and Oklahoma has one of the five toughest schedules in college football, experts are high on what Brent Venables has done this offseason.

Though there’s optimism the Sooners will rebound from their disappointing season in 2024, the Sooners still have a lot to prove. USA TODAY Sports Blake Toppemeyer believes Oklahoma could be one of the sleeper teams to contend for the national title. The odds are long at +6600, according to BetMGM, but the changes they’ve made could reap huge rewards.

More: SEC teams ranked from worst to first in odds of winning the national title

Oklahoma’s roster looks substantially better on the heels of a losing season that sparked Brent Venables to bring in quarterback John Mateer from Washington State. Mateer’s offensive coordinator, Ben Arbuckle, followed the quarterback to Norman to run Oklahoma’s offense. Win-win. Another win: Landing standout running back Jadyn Ott, a California transfer. Oklahoma returned a lot of production, and it surely can’t be as injury plagued as last season. That leaves the manhole, though, of arguably the nation’s most daunting schedule, which could swallow even an improved Sooners team. – Toppemeyer, USA TODAY Sports

For years, Oklahoma had some of the best offenses in college football but were held back by their defense. Last year, it was the other way around. If Oklahoma wants to contend in the SEC and secure a College Football Playoff berth, everything has to come together this year. The defense must be as good or better than it was last year, and the offense must return to what is expected at Oklahoma. And as important as all of that, the Sooners need some good fortune on the injury front.

Brent Venables, Ben Arbuckle, and Jim Nagy made significant additions on both sides of the ball to give the Sooners a boost. But it’s the offensive improvement that drives the optimism with Oklahoma. If John Mateer, an improved offensive line, and Jaydn Ott can find a rhythm early in the season, the Sooners will be tough to beat and a surprise contender in 2025.

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The emergence of R Mason Thomas last year paired nicely with the steady presence of Ethan Downs on the other end of Oklahoma’s defensive line. 

And while Thomas will be back in 2025 to terrorize SEC quarterbacks, the Sooners will have to replace Downs’ work, especially to set the edge and stop the run. 

Downs played 496 snaps lack year per Pro Football Focus, which ranked sixth on the defense and second amongst defensive lineman behind Thomas’ 529 snaps. 

The Weatherford, OK, product totaled 29 tackles, including nine tackles for loss and three sacks, and Downs also forced a fumble, recovered a fumble and tipped a pair of passes. 

Downs started 37 games over the last three years, and he’s been a constant along the defensive line under Brent Venables and defensive ends coach Miguel Chavis. 

The Sooners have a pair of incredibly athletic options who studied under Downs last year waiting for a larger role, but for different reasons, they didn’t see too much of the field in 2024. 

Adepoju Adebawore, a former 5-star recruit, had the start of his season derailed by a fluke ankle injury in 2024.

He sustained an injury during a walkthrough, which meant he had a slow start instead of building immediately on his freshman season. 

Adebawore logged three tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and four quarterback hurries as a freshman in 2023, but he was only able to follow that up with 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack last year, and he played just 119 snaps. 

He was able to enter winter workouts feeling much more like himself, and Adebawore said he had gained 15 pounds from the end of last season to the end of March. 

Adebawore hopes that extra mass will allow him to continue to take steps forward, as he feels more and more comfortable in the defense now than he ever has before. 

“I’ve improved my knowledge of the game, awareness, situationally, physicality—all of the above when it comes to D-line play,” Adebawore said. “… (I’m) stronger, faster… It’s easier to shed a block. It’s easier to get knock back.”

Another piece who hopes to pair with Adebawore in Downs’ absence is redshirt freshman Danny Okoye. 

The 6-foot-3, 250-pound edge rusher from Tulsa played in just two games last year, but is one of the fastest linemen on Oklahoma’s roster. 

“Danny’s a beast,” Thomas said. “He’s always been athletic, but for him to get the calls and the plays down, know what he’s doing, he’s gonna be an even better player.”

Redshirt sophomore Taylor Wein also turned heads during spring practice after the 6-foot-4, 269-pounder played in 12 games a year ago.

OU also hit the portal to bring in some experience to help offset the loss of Downs. 

Marvin Jones Jr. transferred to Norman after stops at Georgia and Florida State throughout his career. 

Jones initially committed to the Bulldogs as a 5-star recruit as rated by 247Sports, and he has 41 career tackles and five sacks in 36 career appearances. 

“I love that guy,” Thomas said. 

The Sooners have plenty of options opposite of Thomas, and when paired with the interior of Oklahoma’s offensive line, OU’s front should be formidable again in 2025.