After finishing 6-7 for the second time in Brent Venables’ three seasons, the OU football program enters the 2025 season needing to show plenty of improvement.
The SEC schedule is unforgiving, with home games against Auburn, Ole Miss, Missouri and LSU, and road games against South Carolina, Tennessee and Alabama to go with the annual showdown against Texas in Dallas.
The Sooners’ non-conference schedule also features a showdown with fellow blueblood Michigan.
With less than three months before the start of the season, OU beat writers Ryan Aber and Colton Sulley take a game-by-game look at the Sooners’ schedule:
vs. Illinois State
5 p.m., Aug. 30 (SEC Network+)
Aber: The Redbirds were solid last season, going 10-4 and making it to the second round of the FCS playoffs. But OU shouldn’t have a problem dispatching of Illinois State. The Sooners’ defense figures to make life difficult on the Redbirds’ offense, which hasn’t scored against an FBS opponent since 2019. And with John Mateer running Ben Arbuckle’s offense, OU will score plenty to put the game away by early in the second half at the latest. It might not be perfect, but it’ll be a victory for the Sooners.
vs. Michigan
6:30 p.m., Sept. 6 (ABC)
Sulley: This matchup is one of the most anticipated non-conference games in all of college football. Michigan coach Sherrone Moore returning to his alma mater. Two historic football brands facing off for the second time ever and first time since 1976. Furthermore, it’ll be the first chance to see OU’s new look offense led by Arbuckle and Mateer face an elite defense. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one goes either way, especially with a Wolverines defense that could be one of the best groups nationally. But I’ll give a slight edge to the Sooners at home with a more experienced quarterback in Mateer against the talented Michigan true freshman Bryce Underwood in his first road contest.
at Temple
11 a.m., Sept. 13 (ESPN2)
Aber: Even with what turned out to be a historically bad offense, the Sooners scored 51 points against the Owls last season, with Deion Burks scoring three touchdowns. Temple figures to get better — eventually at least — under first-year coach K.C. Keeler, but this early in the season, OU figures to be able to pull away from the Owls early and build some momentum heading into SEC play.
vs. Auburn
2:30-3:30 p.m. OR 5-7 p.m. , Sept. 20 (TBD)
Sulley: Jackson Arnold’s return to Norman. The former OU quarterback will obviously be inspired for this one and Auburn will be out for revenge after OU stole a game in an instant classic last season. The Sooners return a plethora of defensive starters and should overwhelm the Tigers’ offense. OU has a better roster and should begin SEC play 1-0.
vs. Kent State
3 p.m., Oct. 4 (SEC Network)
Aber: The Golden Flashes are just 1-23 over the last two seasons under Kenni Burns. Burns was placed on administrative leave in late March and was fired April 11, with offensive coordinator Mark Carney taking over as interim coach for the 2025 season. While the Michigan game offers a stiff test for the Sooners, the rest of the non-conference schedule is incredibly soft and that’ll be evidenced once again in this game as OU rolls.
vs. Texas (in Dallas)
2:30 p.m., Oct. 11 (ABC or ESPN)
Sulley: This game is usually a toss-up and perhaps the hardest to predict in recent years. Texas, a playoff team in back-to-back seasons, is loaded and will be led by the ultra-talented but unproven quarterback Arch Manning. The Longhorns should win this game but OU’s revamped offense will score touchdowns and keep it closer than last year’s blowout. As for me, I’m excited for another 2:30 p.m. kick.
at South Carolina
11 a.m.-noon, Oct. 18 (TBD)
Aber: This was perhaps OU’s most disappointing game in 2024, when the Gamecocks scored thrice in the first 5:20 to put the game away not long after it began. Quarterback LaNorris Sellers played a big role in South Carolina’s eventual 35-9 win, and Sellers is back in 2025. Williams-Brice Stadium is also one of the more underrated atmospheres in college football. Former OU assistant Shane Beamer gets another victory over the Sooners.
vs. Ole Miss
11 a.m.-noon, Oct. 25 (TBD)
Sulley: This is an interesting one. Coach Lane Kiffin and Mississippi should be competitive again next season with new quarterback Austin Simmons. I’d rank Mississippi as a better team as of now, but my opinion on this game will likely change as the season inches closer. Feels like a game OU could win at home but the SEC’s week-to-week schedule is a grind.
at Tennessee
2:30-3:30 p.m. OR 5-7 p.m., Nov. 1 (TBD)
Aber: This one would’ve been a fairly easy pick for Tennessee until mid-April, when quarterback Nico Iamaleava left the team amid a dispute over his NIL deal. Iamaleava eventually transferred to UCLA, leaving Josh Heupel’s Vols with a void at the most important position. Joey Aguilar isn’t bad, having thrown for nearly 7,000 combined yards over the last two seasons for Appalachian State, but the Sooners have the edge at quarterback with Mateer. OU finds a way to pull this one out.
at Alabama
2:30-3:30 p.m. OR 5-7 p.m., Nov. 15 (TBD)
Sulley: Another revenge game against OU. You’ve got to think coach Kalen DeBoer, star wide receiver Ryan Williams and new quarterback Ty Simpson will be out for blood in mid-November in Tuscaloosa after watching the Sooners storm Owen Field after upsetting the Crimson Tide last season. If Simpson is the real deal, Alabama will be much-improved and get the job done against OU inside a rocking Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium.
vs. Missouri
11 a.m., Nov. 22 (ABC or ESPN)
Aber: Missouri figures to take a bit of a step back this season with Brady Cook, Luther Burden, Theo Wease and Nate Noel all having departed from the Tigers’ 2024 offense. Missouri needed two touchdowns in the final 1:03 to escape the Sooners last season, and there won’t be a miracle coming this time around with the game in Norman.
vs. LSU
2:30-3:30 p.m. OR 5-7 p.m., Nov. 29 (TBD)
Sulley: LSU has aspirations for an SEC Championship and College Football Playoff berth this season. Coach Brian Kelly has perhaps his best roster since arriving in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and quarterback Garrett Nussmeier is projected to be one of the nation’s premier quarterbacks. The Tigers’ roster is loaded, and while I think OU will be much-improved and have an advantage at home, it’s hard not to see LSU being favored in this one.
What will OU football’s 2025 record be?
Aber: I’m going with 7-5 for the Sooners this season. They could go just below or a game or two above that if things fall right. In a critical season for Brent Venables and OU, they’ll show vast improvement on the offensive side, but it will be up to the Sooners’ defense how the season goes as a whole. OU’s defensive line needs to be at the center of that defense this season. If it is, the Sooners could be at the fringes of the CFP discussion, but it’s more likely OU finishes slightly above .500.
Sulley: For now, I’m predicting the Sooners to finish 8-4 with losses to Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and LSU, which would be a vast improvement from last year and be deemed a successful season in my mind. If we do this again before the season, my predictions will inevitably look different. I could really see OU losing to Michigan and finishing 7-5 or stealing a late SEC game and finishing 9-3, winding up in the CFP conversation.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
