Bedlam Was As Wild As Ever With Oklahoma Holding Off Oklahoma State

There may not be a college football rivalry that has a more appropriate name than Bedlam. When Oklahoma and Oklahoma State meet up on the gridiron, college football fans are usually treated to a completely absurd game, one with a whole lot of points and unfathomable amounts of offense and weirdness out the wazoo.

Last year, the Sooners beat the Pokes in Stillwater, 62-52. The festivities moved to Norman this year, with sixth-ranked Oklahoma holding onto College Football Playoff aspirations and unranked Oklahoma State looking to end a second Big 12 squad’s hopes at competing for a national title. By the time the dust settled, the Sooners picked up a crucial win by a final score of 48-47.

From early on, it was evident this game was going to be weird. Not because of any football-related things, mind you, but because the Sooner Schooner nearly lost a man.

The first half made it look like it was going to be as high-scoring of an affair as we had last year, as the Sooners took a 34-28 lead into the half. Kyler Murray was dropping dimes, including this long touchdown pass to Marquise Brown.

But both defenses managed to settled down a bit in the second half, as they both did a ton of bending and not quite as much breaking as they did early on. Let us fast forward to the fourth quarter, which started with a 10-play, 75-yard drive by the Pokes that ended in a score. However, because of a missed PAT, the game was tied at 41.

The ensuing Oklahoma drive ended in a punt, and upon getting the ball back, the Cowboys dinked and dunked their way down the field. However, Pokes running back Chuba Hubbard got hit hard, coughing the ball up and giving the Sooners the ball with plenty of time on the clock.

Oklahoma did what Oklahoma does at this point, getting down the field quickly behind the brilliance of Murray. With the ball on the doorstep, the Sooners gave the ball to Trey Sermon, who got licked but made his way into the end zone.

The Cowboys got the ball with three and a half minutes left, and veteran signal caller Taylor Cornelius led them down the field. It looked like the drive might have stalled out in the red zone, but on 4th-and-12 from the Oklahoma 24, Cornelius found Tylan Wallace for six.

Oklahoma State was faced with a choice: Kick the PAT with a kicker who had already missed, or go for two and trust your defense can win you the game? The Pokes picked the latter, and Cornelius was unable to get his feet set, leading to an inaccurate pass.

A bad onside kick and a few plays to end the game later, the Sooners came out on top. Despite how it ended, Cornelius had a big game through the air, going 34-for-53 for 501 yards and three scores. Hubbard toted the rock 22 times for 104 yards and three touchdowns of his own. But it wasn’t enough to overcome a solid evening from Murray — 21-for-29, 349 yards, one touchdown — and a dominant performance on the ground by Oklahoma to the tune of 47 carries for 353 yards and five scores.