Flashback: Bedlam 2002
Rashaun’s still open!
Every Cowboys fan from the early 2000s rejoices in this all-time favorite claim.
And what a memory, that image of Rashaun Woods streaking through the Oklahoma secondary, repeatedly, for long touchdowns and big gains on a glorious November afternoon in Stillwater.
And let’s be honest, there aren’t a lot of Bedlam football scenes worth remembering. There should be more, frankly, with several within grasp allowed to slip away.
But enough of that, we’re here to celebrate great games from OSU’s past during this period of sports-free isolation in the time of COVID-19.
And this was a stunner, almost as much as the upset the year before, which you can read about here if you missed our series opener last week.
Stunning in the ease in which the Pokes produced another “upset,” as OU entered at No. 3, only to be dismissed from the game quickly.
Indeed, 2002 Bedlam – a 38-28 romp that gave the Cowboys one of their few back-to-back wins in the series – was all but over by halftime, despite a final score that suggests otherwise.
OSU led 28-6 after two quarters and 35-14 entering the fourth. OU’s final touchdown came with 2:14 remaining.
Overall, the Cowboys outgained the Sooners 506-333, in a pre-spread era when 500 yards was a huge number.
And it could have been worse, had Les Miles understood that winning Bedlam actually wasn’t easy.
As I stood in the end zone after the game, then-offensive coordinator Mike Gundy ran towards me, beaming, and exclaimed:
“I had eight more plays I know would have scored, but Les wouldn’t let me call them!”
Maybe if Miles had suffered as much as Gundy and other more invested Cowboys, he’d have poured it on more. But that really wasn’t his personality. A comfortable win would do.
“We played our best opponent; we played our best football,” Miles said afterward. “Considering all of our big wins this year, this was undoubtedly our best one.”
The Cowboys finished that season 8-5, returning to a bowl game for the first time since 1997, which they won over Southern Miss.
While it wasn’t a clean season, marred by ugly losses to Louisiana Tech, Kansas State and Texas Tech, it featured wins over Texas A&M, Nebraska and Oklahoma, the latter two in the same season for the first time… ever.
And, of course, beating the Sooners was something to behold.
The Cowboys upended OU the year before, spoiling its Rose Bowl hopes, 16-13, highlighted by a Josh Fields-to-Woods touchdown pass in the closing minutes.
This time, Fields and Woods connected again. And again. And again.
Woods finished with 12 catches for a school-record 226 yards, with three touchdowns covering 41, 60 and 13 yards.
After the Cowboys drove for a TD and a 7-0 lead on their first possession, they needed just two plays to score again – with Woods burning the Sooner secondary on the 41-yarder.
OU drove to a score, only to miss the extra point, but Woods hauled in his 60-yard scoring catch to boost the lead to 21-6, before Fields and Woods connected on the 13-yard TD for the 28-6 bulge, all before halftime.
OSU’s staff recognized weaknesses in the OU secondary and attacked them.
“Their defensive backs are known for sitting on short passes,” Woods said. “When they do that, they’re susceptible to the double move.”
Woods’ route-running was on full display, as he locked up the Sooner DBs often, picking on cornerback Andre Woolfolk in particular.
“There are no excuses,” said OU coach Bob Stoops. “They did an excellent job all around – their coaches and players – and just beat us.”
Beat ’em again, convincingly.
“We just wanted to prove that last year wasn't a fluke,” said tight end Billy Bajema, who had a 58-yard catch on a second-quarter scoring drive. “It will improve our bowl destination, but that’s not what we were thinking coming in. Playing Oklahoma was enough motivation.”
Beating Oklahoma, again, confirmed the Cowboys were heading in the right direction. Woods was named first team All-American, and again in 2003, when he returned to help spark a 9-win season that included an NCAA-record seven touchdown-day against SMU and a Cotton Bowl bid for the team.
“We are on the rise,” said Woods. “It’s obvious now that we are a program on the rise.”
The nine wins in 2003 matched a school record previously accomplished only four times before, the last in 1988. Under Gundy, the Cowboys have won at least nine games eight more times, including a new record of 12 wins in 2011.
