Tag: Bedlam

Report Card: Offense’s dysfunction dooms Sooners chance to end Bedlam on top

Grading the Oklahoma Sooners by position group in their loss to Oklahoma State.

If Saturday was the last time Bedlam is played, the Oklahoma Sooners will always regret how things went in their final game against their in-state rivals. The Sooners will walk away from this game knowing they have dominated this series. There’s no debating that the Sooners have owned the Cowboys. But on Saturday, Oklahoma had the chance to put one final bow on this lopsided series, and they didn’t get it done.

Oklahoma State came out swinging, and the Sooners responded. But the most common theme was Oklahoma’s offense stalling on four different possessions once they got to the Oklahoma State side of the field. Most notably on the Sooners’ final drive of the game.

Defensively, Oklahoma played well enough to win. After getting bullied early, the defense found its footing and locked in the remainder of the contest.

In the end, the dysfunction and mistakes on offense put Oklahoma in a near-impossible spot. When it mattered most, they couldn’t rectify their own mistakes.

Oklahoma will move on and turn their attention to West Virginia. Before that, it’s time to pass out grades for Oklahoma’s performance against Mike Gundy’s Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Sooners slide, remain in front of Bedlam foes in US LBM Coaches Poll

The Oklahoma Sooners dropped back several spots but stayed in front of Bedlam rivals in latest US LBM Coaches Poll.

Oklahoma’s loss in Bedlam ended with unfortunate extenuating circumstances. As poor as the Sooners played, they still had a chance to win the game late, but a no-call on pass interference in the end zone changed how the final few minutes should have played out.

Still, it gets chalked up as a loss for the Sooners, who fell to 7-2 and 4-2 in Big 12 play. The [autotag]College Football Playoff[/autotag] may have been a long shot before, but now those hopes are pretty well dashed. There’s an outside shot they could make it to Arlington for the Big 12 title game, but they’d need a lot of help to get there.

It was disappointing to end to [autotag]Bedlam[/autotag], especially since Oklahoma State has no interest in continuing the rivalry beyond this year.

Despite the loss to the Cowboys, the Sooners stayed in front of their Bedlam rivals in the first poll out Sunday. They also stayed in front of the [autotag]Kansas Jayhawks[/autotag], who beat the Sooners a week ago. That’s a testament to the improvement the Sooners have made from their 2022 season. The coaches voting in the poll respect what the Sooners have accomplished in one short season under Brent Venables.

There’s still a lot of room for improvement, but the Sooners defense is trending in the right direction under Venables. If you want a positive takeaway from the loss, it’s that Oklahoma has a defense that plays winning football, even if is still giving up a lot of yards.

In this week’s US LBM Coaches Poll, the top five remained the same after Week 10. In a surprise, the USC Trojans fell out of the top 25.

Here’s a look at the full top 25 of the US LBM Coaches Poll.

Best of Bedlam: Photos from the final matchup in the historic rivalry

A look at some of the best photos of the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys in the Final Bedlam.

For the second straight week, the Oklahoma Sooners lost the final matchup in the foreseeable future to a team with a long history. For the second straight week, their opponent’s fan base rushed the field after the win.

The Sooners walked into their final Bedlam contest with Oklahoma State as road favorites and walked out with a two-game losing streak and needing lots of help to get back to the Big 12 title game for one final time.

The Sooners haven’t been to the Big 12 title game since announcing their intentions to go to the SEC. Officiating wasn’t the only reason the Sooners lost on Saturday, but it was a key factor in the outcome.

But Oklahoma shot itself in the foot far too much to overcome with three turnovers and untimely penalties throughout the game. In the game’s critical moments, Oklahoma State executed better and tackled better than the Sooners.

It was an underwhelming performance in a game the Sooners had no margin for error.

They’ve got work to do to get things right before hosting West Virginia.

Check out some of the best photos from the final Bedlam.

 

Oklahoma State trolled Oklahoma with perfect Taylor Swift song after winning last Bedlam rivalry game

Oklahoma State is never ever getting back together with Oklahoma after winning the last Bedlam game.

As Oklahoma and Oklahoma State faced off in possibly the last-ever Bedlam rivalry game, the Cowboys found a very clever way to troll the outgoing Sooners after the former pulled off an upset victory.

It’d be a costly loss for Oklahoma, who dropped its second-straight game this season on Saturday in Stillwater to rival Oklahoma State.

After the 27-24 victory, the Cowboys played the Taylor Swift song “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” as fans sang along to poke fun at the Sooners, who join the SEC next year and don’t have any further Bedlam games scheduled at this point.

The longstanding rivalry looks to conclude for the meantime, and it’s Oklahoma State that has gotten the last laugh on the football field.

It’s not a fun day to be an Oklahoma fan, as comedian Nate Bargatze compared the incoming SEC contenders to the conference’s “unfrosted Pop-Tart” in terms of how formidable they’ll be.

Maybe the Sooners will acclimate better to the SEC than they did to the final Bedlam game against the Cowboys. Oklahoma State sure sounds ready to never ever get back together for a rematch after going out on top.

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5 takeaways from the Sooners’ 27-24 loss to Oklahoma State

Oklahoma lost 27-24 in the last Bedlam game. Here are our five takeaways from the loss.

Oklahoma, for the first time since last year, finds itself on a two-game losing streak. OU lost the final matchup of Bedlam on Saturday, 27-24, in controversial fashion.

The Sooners entered the game looking to bounce back quickly after losing a close game on the road against the Kansas Jayhawks.

Oklahoma played much better collectively this week. Ultimately, the result was the same. Now, Mike Gundy and his Oklahoma State Cowboys will have the distinction of owning the last win in the Bedlam series before it takes an indefinite pause.

The Sooners had every chance to put themselves in a position to win the game but failed multiple times to either extend their lead early in the fourth quarter or avoid big mistakes. As the dust settles, it’s time for our five takeaways from the game.

Social media reacts to uncalled pass interference on Drake Stoops in Sooners’ loss to Cowboys

The Big 12 officiating crew failed to call a blatant pass interference in the end zone in Oklahoma’s loss to Oklahoma State and here’s how social media reacted.

It’s easy to overlook officiating when it doesn’t have a direct effect on a potential game-winning drive. But what happened in the end zone as Drake Stoops battled an Oklahoma State defender was an egregious injustice to the game of football.

On the crucial third-and-12 late in the game, Stoops was tackled in the end zone with a Big 12 official right there to witness the play. No flag was thrown. Instead of getting the ball first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, the Sooners were forced to settle for a field goal.

There were numerous plays the Oklahoma Sooners left on the field, and there are always plays that could have gone either way. But with the game on the line and Brett Yormark on hand, the Big 12 officials failed to throw a flag on an obvious pass interference. And it had a direct impact on the outcome.

Instead of getting first-and-goal at the 1-yard line, the Sooners had to attempt a comeback in the final two minutes. Instead of leading with less than two minutes to play, the Sooners were trailing. And the officials were a big reason.

It was an unfortunate ending to a rivalry that dates to 1904. Bedlam deserved better than that.

And here’s how social media reacted to the defensive pass interference no call.

Oklahoma Sooners stunned by the Oklahoma State Cowboys in final Bedlam

The Oklahoma Sooners were unable to overcome three turnovers and a terrible no-call in the end zone and fall to Oklahoma State 27-24 in final Bedlam.

The Oklahoma Sooners and the [autotag]Oklahoma State Cowboys[/autotag] battled in another classic [autotag]Bedlam[/autotag] game.

Both teams started the game hot offensively. The Cowboys scored on their first drive on a 20-yard run by [autotag]Ollie Gordon[/autotag] and the Sooners answered with a 64-yard run by [autotag]Gavin Sawchuk[/autotag].

On the next Sooners possession, Oklahoma tried a direct snap to [autotag]Jovantae Barnes[/autotag] the snap mishandled and the Cowboys recovered the fumble. Oklahoma State capitalized on [autotag]Alan Bowman[/autotag] 13-yard touchdown run to make it 14-7.

The offense really couldn’t find a rhythm and the Sooners quickly found themselves down 17-7 early in the second 1uarter. But that’s when the defense really started to settle in for the rest of the game.

[autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] hit [autotag]Drake Stoops[/autotag] on a six-yard pass to cut it to 17-14.

But just when it seemed like Oklahoma was getting things going, they regularly stalled once they got to midfield.

Trailing 17-14 to start the second half, Dillon Gabriel launched a deep ball to Brenen Thompson in double coverage. The ball was intercepted and Oklahoma State was able to put together a nice drive. The Sooners defense responded, stuffing Ollie Gordon on fourth and 1.The Sooners’ offense answered with a 23-yard run by [autotag]Tawee Walker[/autotag] to take a 21-17 lead.

Oklahoma State had another great drive going before Gordon was once again stuffed on fourth down. However, Oklahoma couldn’t do anything with it, turning it over on downs on their next possession.

With the Oklahoma State Cowboys driving deep into Sooners territory, [autotag]Billy Bowman[/autotag] picked off running back Ollie Gordon’s pass on a trick play to start the fourth quarter. Bowman returned it all the way to midfield. But again, the offense couldn’t capitalize to put the game away. After three straight runs, the Sooners were forced to punt.

A beautiful pooch punt put the Cowboys on their own three-yard line. But that didn’t stop them. Oklahoma State took the lead on a 97-yard drive that was aided by a pass interference call on Makari Vickers and a Brent Venables unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The official appeared quick with the flag on replay.

Gordon would cap it off with a one-yard run to give Oklahoma State the 24-21 lead.

The Sooners gave it right back to the Cowboys on their half of the field on an Andrew Raym snap that hit Gabriel in the shins and rolled straight to the Cowboys defensive line.

The defense responded to force a three-and-out, but the Cowboys would add a field goal to go up 27-21.

The next drive is where things get interesting. Gabriel hit [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] on a 46-yard pass to give Oklahoma a first down at Oklahoma State’s 16-yard line. The Sooners were stuffed on their first two plays and on 3rd and 12, Gabriel would fire a ball to Stoops in the end zone.  Stoops was tackled by the Cowboys defender allowing the ball to fall to the turf incomplete. There were no flags on the play, despite an official standing right there. Oklahoma settled for a field goal to make it 27-24.

The Sooners’ defense forced a Cowboys punt. Gabriel got the ball back on their 20-yard line with 1:46 to go in the game. Gabriel hit Stoops on a 21-yard pass. But again at midfield, the Sooners’ offense stalled again.

On third and 10, Jeff Lebby called a short slant to Jalil Farooq, who was only able to pick up five yards, setting up a fourth and five. Lebby dialed up another pass attempt that Stoops caught short of the first down marker and was tackled out of bounds before he could turn it upfield, turning the ball over on downs.

It was an unfortunate end for the Oklahoma Sooners who had numerous opportunities to take control of the game, but turnovers, mental miscues and poor officiating kept them from winning the game.

Drake Stoops had a phenomenal game, catching 12 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. Gabriel completed 70% of his passes for 344 yards and a touchdown. He also had a fumble and an interception.

Gavin Sawchuk and Tawee Walker had solid performances, helping the Sooners average 5.5 yards per carry in the game.

Getting the start in place of Danny Stutsman, Kip Lewis led the Sooners with 15 total tackles. Robert Spears-Jennings earned the first extended run of his Sooners career and finished second on the team with seven total tackles, including a pivotal fourth down stop.

Oklahoma’s defense did a nice job, limiting Ollie Gordon in key situations, still, the star running back ran for 133 yards and two touchdowns. The Sooners held Oklahoma State to 5 of 15 on third downs and 1 of 4 on fourth downs. The defense was good enough to win the game.

The Sooners’ three turnovers on offense had a huge impact on the outcome of the game.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys now put themselves on the road to the Big 12 title game with the win. The Sooners have now lost two in a row and head home to take on an underrated West Virginia squad.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

5 players that will be key to an Oklahoma Sooners win in Bedlam

For the Oklahoma Sooners to get a win on the road vs. Oklahoma State, these five players will be key.

The build-up to this final iteration of Bedlam has been an interesting one. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State seem to be trending in two different directions.

For Oklahoma, this game has big-time repercussions for the goals they want to accomplish in 2023. A win keeps them in the Big 12 title hunt. A loss creates a far more difficult path.

No one expected Oklahoma State to be a Big 12 contender. They were picked to finish seventh in the Big 12 preseason poll. But the Cowboys have experienced a resurgence since their bye and have won four straight.

The onus falls upon Brent Venables and his staff to right the ship.

Venables knows he and his staff have to coach better, but the Sooners need improved discipline and execution on the field as well.

As Oklahoma looks to get back on the winning side of things, here are five Sooners that will play key roles on Saturday.

Danny Stutsman named Lombardi Award semifinalist

Danny Stutsman named a semifinalist to a prestigious defensive award.

There is no question the Oklahoma Sooners defense is much improved from a season ago. A big reason is the step linebacker [autotag]Danny Stutsman[/autotag] has taken in Year 2 under Brent Venables.

Stutsman leads the team with 73 tackles and 11.5 tackles for loss. He also has 2 sacks and an interception. He ranks 26th in the nation in tackles per game. He was in the top 10 for most of the season but fell out after leaving last week’s game early.

On Wednesday, his performance this season was honored as he was named one of 12 semifinalists for the [autotag]Lombardi Award[/autotag].

The Lombardi Award is given each year to the college football offensive or defensive lineman or linebacker who exemplifies the character and discipline of NFL Hall of Fame head coach Vince Lombardi in addition to outstanding performance on the field.

To even be considered for the Lombardi Award, a player must be a down lineman on offense or defense, setting up no further than 10 yards to the left or right of the ball at the time of the snap, or a linebacker on defense setting up no more than five yards deep from the line of scrimmage.

Former Sooners [autotag]Lee Roy Selmon[/autotag] (1975), [autotag]Tony Casillas[/autotag] (1985) and [autotag]Tommie Harris[/autotag] (2003) have been honored with the award.

The finalists for the Lombardi will be announced on Nov. 15, 2023. Oklahoma’s best defensive player can continue to take a step toward postseason honors with a big game in [autotag]Bedlam[/autotag].

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.

5 Oklahoma State Cowboys to know before Oklahoma’s final Bedlam matchup

Oklahoma is set to take on in-state rivals Oklahoma State on Saturday. Here’s a look at five Cowboys to know ahead of Bedlam.

Bragging rights for the state of Oklahoma are on the line Saturday afternoon with a rowdy Stillwater crowd. The Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys matchup in Bedlam one final time as Big 12 rivals. The two schools haven’t come to an agreement to continue playing in the future.

The game also has massive implications for this year’s Big 12 title race. The winner will put itself in a prime position to book a trip to Arlington to start the final month of the season.

The Cowboys started this season 2-0 before losing 33-7 at home to South Alabama from the Sun Belt. They followed that up with a loss to Iowa State before righting the ship and reeling off wins in their last four games, including wins over Kansas and Kansas State. The makeup of this team is different than Oklahoma State teams of the past.

Mike Gundy is doing an terrific job coaching this team. As the Sooners get ready for one final Bedlam battle, here are five Oklahoma State Cowboys to know ahead of the matchup.