Postgame Thoughts: Oklahoma 35, Illinois State 3
In a performance you could characterize as positively “whelming,” the Oklahoma Sooners kicked off their 2025 season on Saturday with a 35-3 win over the Illinois State Redbirds. The performance left plenty of questions about the squad with Michigan coming to town next. Beats losing, though.
My impressions of what we saw from the Sooners over the weekend from one viewing of the live broadcast.
*Illinois State is far from an FCS-level juggernaut, but I watched a number of teams Saturday from the Group of Five conferences that would probably lose to the Redbirds if they lined up on a neutral field tomorrow.
*Let’s start with the object of consternation for most fans after game one: The offensive line still looks like a major work in progress.
If you’re being generous, you’ll note the OL deserves some slack. Freshman phenom Michael Fasusi missed the game at left tackle, as did guard Heath Ozaeta and veteran transfer Derek Simmons at right tackle. Oft-injured starting tackle Jacob Sexton left the game early with a leg injury.
But that’s being overly kind to the players who did get in the game. Even grading the OL on a curve, OU shouldn’t have trouble opening up running lanes against an overmatched FCS opponent like Illinois State. Nevertheless, Illinois State bottled up the Sooners on the ground, allowing a net of 103 yards on 32 rushing attempts. The RBs just didn’t see much daylight throughout the game.
I’d like to see how ISU was aligned throughout the game before going much further about the issues up front. Notably, the problems seemed to start on the interior.
*Not all of the struggles in the running game should be put on the big uglies. Starting running back Jovantae Barnes seemingly missed holes in the defense on multiple occasions in generating just nine yards on seven rush attempts. Xavier Robinson wasn’t much better: Eight carries for 17 yards. And why did high-priced free agent Jaydn Ott go in the game in the second half? (You would hope Brent Venables has an explanation about Ott’s participation that we get to hear at this week’s press conference.)
Freshman Tory Blaylock offered the only flashes of explosiveness throughout the game from the RBs. Unfortunately, he left with what looked like an arm injury, putting his near-term availability in doubt.
*To be fair, the passing game looked sharper than expected. Quarterback John Mateer made equally decisive reads and throws on his 37 passing attempts, and he fired some strikes down the field that were missing from the more recent vintage of the OU offense.
Importantly, Mateer showed solid chemistry with a group of receivers who looked smoother than predicted. Transfer Keontez Lewis led the way among OU’s pass catchers. The 6-2 senior snared nine catches for 119 yards and two touchdowns, and he looked like more of a physical matchup problem than predicted. Of course, he was bound to look bigger standing next to the other starting wideouts, Deion Burks and Isaiah Sategna, who have more catch-and-run ability.
The bottom line is that the throwing game appeared light years ahead of where it was at any point last season.
*Jaren Kanak’s move to tight end felt more like a side show coming into the game. He gave off an entirely different vibe when the game started. A fumble in the opening quarter was sloppy, but Kanak went off the rest of the game as he hauled in five passes for 90 yards. Maybe he gave Michigan something to ponder this week, although I didn’t see much to think he will be much help as a blocker.
*Top to bottom, OU’s defense played well against the Redbirds. Given that ISU only snapped the ball 47 times and the Sooners played 28 players, this evaluation feels a little cursory.
*You’d like to see the Sooners hold a team like ISU below 4.5 yards per rushing attempt, but most of the carries produced short or negative gains. From the outside looking in, a few missed assignments by OU’s linebackers resulted in a smattering of explosive runs by the Redbirds. ISU RB Wenkers Wright made the Sooners pay a few times, racking up seven carries for 50 yards.
Broken record time: Michigan has the kinds of players in the backfield who will punish missed run fits badly.
*In Kobie McKenzie and Kip Lewis, the Sooners have one of the best tandems of inside linebackers in the country this season. We did see some hiccups in the depth when the defensive coaches dipped down the bench, however. It seems like a waste putting Kendal Daniels inside the run box as often as he was (15 of his 31 snaps, per PFF), but he is probably a superior option as backup ILB to most of the others.
*The most promising sign of the day was Peyton Bowen’s performance. He played as fast as we’ve seen him throughout his career and tackled well. Keep an eye out to see if Venables moves him around a lot next week to confuse Michigan’s freshman QB Bryce Underwood.
*Freshman cornerback Courtland Guillory appears to be legit. With Gentry Williams healthy at one spot, Eli Bowen may end up coming off the bench once he finally gets back in action.
*Sategna looks like the best threat OU has had at punt returner in a while.
*The party line from Venables after the game was the familiar “basic” theme, and you can’t blame the coaches if they kept a lid on some wrinkles on both sides of the ball in game one. It’s still hard to shake off the inability of the OL to bully the Redbirds. The returning personnel could fortify OU’s rushing attack, but this offense could ultimately take on a pass-to-run identity if the receiving corps continues to impress.