FutureCast: Another Tense Showdown Looms for Oklahoma in Bedlam Matchup

Playing in a record number of close games might actually help the Sooners Saturday when things get tight against Oklahoma State.

Maybe Oklahoma State will finally win Bedlam this year.

The Cowboys are ranked higher (No. 7 in Sunday’s polls, compared to No. 10 for the Sooners). OSU is also favored, according to oddsmakers in Las Vegas (OU opened as a 1-point favorite; OSU has since moved to a 3.5-point favorite).

Or maybe Oklahoma will keep its Bedlam mojo alive simply because the Sooners are more battle-tested.

The teams meet on Saturday night at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, and although OU historically dominates the series, this year’s game is shaping up to be a potential classic.

Even better than that, it could be the first two straight weekends of Bedlam football.

OSU has already locked its spot in the Big 12 Championship Game. If OU wins, they’ll play again on Dec. 4 in Arlington, TX. The Sooners can also punch their ticket to AT&T Stadium, win or lose, if Baylor loses to Texas Tech earlier in the day.

Both teams are 10-1, but they’ve arrived at identical records in slightly different ways.

While OSU was enjoying another in a long line of recent blowouts, OU won yet another close game on Saturday, outlasting Iowa State 28-21.

The Sooners won their sixth game of the season by a touchdown or less — a school record.

Does Lincoln Riley have some secret sauce to grinding out wins at the end of games?

“We just win,” head coach Lincoln Riley said. “I don’t know exactly how to answer that.”

Oklahoma State survived several close games early — a touchdown over Missouri State, five points against Tulsa, one point at Boise State — but in their last four games, the Cowboys have outscored the opposition by an aggregate score of 165-23 (55-3, 24-3, 63-17 and 23-0).

OU, meanwhile, has grown accustomed to 15-round slugfests: 40-35, 23-16, 16-13, 37-31, 55-48 and 28-21. Most of those have come down to literally the final seconds.

“I know around here, with Oklahoma football, people expect blowouts,” safety Delarrin Turner-Yell said Saturday after beating Iowa State. “But unfortunately, that isn't happening this year. We have to compete to the best of our ability and finish those close games like we did today.”

There have been some all-time classics in the series in the last two decades, and many of those have played out in Stillwater.

If it comes down to the final minutes again, maybe Oklahoma has a slight edge.

“We've been in these situations so many times,” said linebacker Nik Bonitto. “ … There are so many games where it's just been down to the wire, one-possession games. … A lot of these guys, we've been in this situation before. Nothing surprises us.”

The Sooners lead the all-time series 90-18-7 and haven’t lost to their in-state rival since 2014. Mike Gundy is 2-14 against Oklahoma.

“I’m ready for it,” said OU defensive lineman Jalen Redmond. “It's a game I've been wanting to play since, shoot, since I got here. It's one of the best games outside of Texas, and I'm happy I get to play in this one. Every time there’s been something that came up and I sat out last year, so I'm ready for this one.

“And it's in Stillwater, so I'm really excited.”