Flashback: Bedlam 2001, or 16-13
Oklahoma State’s current run of success – the greatest sustained stretch of success in program history, by far, I remind you – began on Owen Field on a chilly November day in 2001.
You know, 16-13.
Just the score is all you need to say to prompt an ear-to-ear Bedlam grin for any Cowboys fan invested in OSU football back then.
They called it an upset, with the three-win Pokes upsetting No. 4-ranked Oklahoma, knocking the Sooners out of Big 12 title contention, and more importantly, the national title picture.
But was it really an upset? A great Cowboys win for sure, one featured to kick off a Flashback series that hopefully will lend some brightness to the gloom attached to coronavirus pandemic gripping us all.
In retrospect, however, 16-13 is not the upset of epic proportions most proclaimed it at the time.
Let me explain.
It was the debut season of Les Miles, who inherited a bit of a mess in terms of teach confidence and chemistry from Bob Simmons. And yet, there was some solid talent in place, emerging talent, like Kevin Williams, Darrent Williams, Tatum Bell, Billy Bajema, Rashaun Woods, Josh Fields and more.
All of those mentioned played professionally, with Fields going on to Major League Baseball, although Mike Gundy (then the offensive coordinator) always said that NFL scouts regularly asked about Fields when they stopped by, even after he was gone, to see if he was happy with his choice.
That’s serious talent.
Sure, the Cowboys scuffled through much of 2001. I mean, they were 3-7 entering Bedlam. Still, they were growing and building, and Miles’ strong swagger pulled them out of the funk from the close of the Simmons era and overhauled their confidence.
The move to Fields, a freshman, late in the schedule at quarterback boosted the offense in terms of talent and brashness. Fields came off the bench, twice, to lead wins over Baylor and OU to close the season.
Something good was definitely brewing with the Cowboys that season, even if it wasn’t always apparent.
Then came Bedlam.
The Sooners were 10-1 entering the game, although something was amiss with their offense, something that became clearer against OSU, and again in a 10-3 Cotton Bowl win over Arkansas that ranks among the most boring games in postseason history.
OSU didn’t simply luck into that Bedlam win in Norman. In many ways, they dominated the day, ending the Sooners’ 19-game home winning streak in the process.
“I told our players I don't want to hear any of this excuses stuff, or us looking toward the Big 12 championship game, or anything else, because I felt good about our week of practice. I really did," Bob Stoops said after the game.
“The bottom line is we just got outplayed today.”
Outplayed to the tune of the Cowboys defense stuffing OU to a net zero rushing yards. You read that right, zero rushing yards.
The Kevin Williams-led defensive front owned the line of scrimmage, leading to seven sacks of Sooners quarterback Nate Hybl. OSU picked off Hybl three times.
The Cowboys’ offense wasn’t dynamic, until it needed to be late.
Luke Phillips booted three crucial field goals, including two 52-yarders. Still without a touchdown, OSU drove to the winning score, covering 65 yards in six plays, fueled by a third-down, 31-yard pass from Fields to T.D. Bryant to the OU 14, and completed when Fields found Woods in the end zone, for the decisive catch over Thorpe Award winner Derrick Strait.
“We never lost hope on offense,” Wood said. “The defense was doing a great job all day. We knew we were going to come through. There was no other way.”
Time still remained, 1:36 to be exact. But there was no Sooner Magic on this day.
When Hybl trotted out for the ensuing series at his own 7, his body language spoke of a broken man. Four incompletions followed.
The Cowboys took over, ran the clock down to 16 seconds on four running plays, and handed the Sooners one more chance, a chance snuffed when Marcus Jones intercepted Hybl.
I was on the field for the final minutes, along the OSU sideline, and witnessed Woods’ catch, still etched in the memory of Cowboys fans.
When the game ended, the turf was littered with roses, discarded roses that had been planned for a celebration accompanying a Rose Bowl bid.
As for the Cowboys, they celebrated the dawning of a new day.
“This team has too much character to quit,” Miles said in the aftermath. “It’s not a part of their makeup.
“They kept telling us that they’re a good football team, and just needed the right day and opportunity to show it.”
An upset? Sure.
The rankings and record suggest that.
But not a stunning upset, not in hindsight. The following year in Stillwater, the Cowboys blitzed the Sooners 38-28 in a game not near that close, part of an 8-5 season that ended with a Houston Bowl win over Southern Miss. The program was on the rise and 16-13 served as a stepping stone.
The 2002 Bedlam game, by the way, is also known simply for a phrase.
“Rashuan is still open.”
