Oklahoma football is taking on the Oklahoma State Cowboys in the highly anticipated Bedlam game this weekend. With College GameDay riding into Norman, here are some Bedlam facts for this game.
This is the seventh time Oklahoma will be the lower ranked team in this series. When the Sooners have been ranked lower in Bedlam they are 3-3. Out of 114 Bedlam football games, Oklahoma has been the higher-ranked team 56 times. The first ever Bedlam game was not held in Stillwater or Norman but in Guthrie, Oklahoma. Oklahoma State was known as Oklahoma A&M until 1957.
In the first 16 Bedlam games, Oklahoma State only won one game. This will be the ninth night game for Bedlam but the first one in Norman. Bedlam is the fourth longest continuously played rivalry in FBS Division 1 football. It is also the longest uninterrupted rivalry between two public universities in the same state. Lastly, it is the most lopsided rivalry in all of college football with Oklahoma leading big 89 wins, 18 losses and seven ties.
For Oklahoma, this is an obvious big game but there seems to be a calmness going into it. Sooners quarterback Spencer Rattler ranks first in avoiding tackles among quarterbacks in the Big 12 and second in yards per attempt as a freshman. He has found his groove and improved a lot since the beginning of the season.
In the press teleconference this week, Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy spoke very highly about Rattler.
“He looks like he’s going to be what he was advertised to be coming out of high school,” Gundy said.
Oklahoma’s young playmakers have also stepped up big this season. Freshman wideout Marvin Mims has 25 catches for 418 yards this season with seven touchdowns and still has three games left. Now, the Sooners have running back Rhamondre Stevenson back and defensive lineman Ronnie Perkins back to help on both sides of the ball. There is speculation that five-star wide receiver Jadon Haselwood will be making a comeback sometime very soon. It could be for Bedlam or after but Lincoln Riley tends to keep those updates to himself for advantage reasons.
Nevertheless, Oklahoma State has a team that can beat the Sooners and even possibly win the Big 12. It has struggled with some games this season but has only lost one in overtime. If its offensive line gives Spencer Sanders time or opens up holes for Chuba Hubbard, the Cowboys could pull away in Norman. Oklahoma’s offense is also probably the best Oklahoma State will play all season.
If Oklahoma does not make dumb penalties on defense and does not create unforced turnovers, the Sooners might blow the Cowboys out of Norman. Oklahoma is currently favored to win by at least a touchdown and I bet it wins by at least double digits. The way Riley’s team has been playing shows Oklahoma football can only go up from its last lost to Iowa State. The Sooners will win out and play Iowa State in the Big 12 title.