Oklahoma State University Athletics
Cowboys Conclude Regular Season With Bedlam Showdown
November 20, 2006 | Cowboy Football
Saturday, Nov. 25, 2006
Boone Pickens Stadium • (43,500)
Stillwater, Okla. • 1:40 p.m.
Television: Fox Sports Net HD
Bill Land (play-by-play)
Gary Reasons (analyst)
Emily Jones (sidelines)
Jim Knox (sidelines)
Radio: Cowboy Radio Network
Dave Hunziker (play-by-play)
John Holcomb (analyst)
Robert Allen (sidelines)
Joe Riddle (engineer)
Satellite: Sirius Radio Channel TBA
Internet: www.okstate.com
Storylines
The Oklahoma State Cowboys conclude the 2006 regular season this weekend when they host the University of Oklahoma Sooners at Boone Pickens Stadium. Kickoff is set for 1:40 p.m. with Fox Sports Net on hand for a national telecast.
The Cowboys enter the game at 6-5 overall and 3-4 in the Big 12 Conference after another down-to-the-wire finish in Lubbock. A win over Oklahoma would provide OSU with at least a seven-win season for the fourth time in five years and for the first time under head coach Mike Gundy.
The Sooners enter the game riding a six-game winning streak with their last loss coming in the Cotton Bowl against Texas on Oct. 7. Oklahoma enters the week still alive for the Big 12 South title. The Cowboys already own a win over the Big 12's 2006 North champion, Nebraska.
The Bedlam Series
Oklahoma State and Oklahoma will renew the Bedlam Series Saturday afternoon. The two schools have been meeting on the football field since 1904 – three years prior to statehood. The two schools did not play in 1905 or 1909, but have been meeting every fall since then. The first meeting in Stillwater took place in 1906. OU holds the all-time series lead, 76-17-7.
Bedlam Lately
While Oklahoma holds the upper hand historically, the Bedlam Series seems to have entered a new era. Oklahoma holds a 6-5 series advantage over the last 11 years. It has been the most competitive decade-plus of Bedlam football since 1922 through 1934. During that 13-year stretch, Oklahoma A&M, now Oklahoma State, and OU went 4-4-5 against each other.
The Stillwater Element
The Cowboys and Sooners have hooked up for some exciting finishes and dramatic games in Stillwater over the past few years. OU's last four visits to OSU have produced a 38-35 Sooner victory (2004), a 38-28 Cowboy win (2002), a 12-7 OU win (2000) and a 41-26 OSU victory (1998). In fact, going back even further, to 1992, Oklahoma has outscored Oklahoma State in seven Stillwater meetings by a total of 179-167. Shorten the curve and the Cowboys have outscored the Sooners, 121-104, in the last four games played in Stillwater.
Offense On Deck?
Oklahoma State has scored 38 and 35 points against Oklahoma during the Sooners' last two visits to the OSU campus and the Cowboys scored 41 against OU in a 1998 Cowboy win. Those three games represent Oklahoma State's three best point totals against OU in Stillwater and they rank as the second, third and fourth best point totals ever by the Cowboys against the Sooners. The biggest OSU/A&M output came in a 47-0 A&M win over the Sooners in 1945 in Norman. OSU's 38-point performance in Stillwater in 2002 is tied for the second most points allowed by OU under head coach Bob Stoops. Stoops is 59-11 against the Big 12, including a 5-2 record vs. Oklahoma State.
Cowboys And The Poll People
OSU's game against the Sooners marks its fourth of the season against the top 25. OSU has held its own against America's elite. The Cowboys dropped the 34-33 overtime game to No. 23 Texas A&M, knocked off No. 20 Nebraska, 41-29 and fell at No. 4 Texas, 36-10. Under Mike Gundy, OSU is 2-3 against ranked opponents. The highest ranked foe to fall to OSU under Gundy was No. 13 Texas Tech. The Cowboys were 24-17 winners against the Red Raiders last season in Stillwater. Under Gundy, OSU is 2-2 against the top 25 in Stillwater.
Orange And Black ... And Red
There are, of course, many player connections between the Cowboys and Sooners as both schools recruit in-state and hit Texas hard during the signing period. Among the staff, OU running backs coach Cale Gundy is the younger brother of OSU head coach Mike Gundy. Sooner defensive line coach Jackie Shipp is a Stillwater native. Oklahoma defensive ends coach Chris Wilson was a defensive coach at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Junior College under head coach Dale Patterson, now Oklahoma State's assistant director of football operations. Jerry Schmidt, OU's director of Sports Enhancement, was OSU's strength and conditioning coach in 1988 and 1989. Jimmy Gonzales, OSU's director of football operations, spent 1992 and 1993 on the OU football staff under head coach Gary Gibbs as an administrator.
Senior So Long
Saturday's game marks the final appearance in Stillwater for 17 Cowboy seniors. On the field for the last time as players will be DB Cortney Billingsley, DL Larry Brown, DE Victor DeGrate, OL Corey Hilliard, DB Grant Jones, DB Sonji Ketiku, DT Xavier Lawson-Kenney, DL Ryan McBean, TE Nick McDonnell, DL Steve Mocco, Cabel Noble (medical), K Bruce Redden, OL Kurt Seifried, DL Darnell Smith, OL Marshall Tetsworth, WR Tevin Williams and WR D'Juan Woods.
Scouting The Sooners
Oklahoma brings a 9-2 record to Stillwater, including a 6-1 record in conference play. OU averages 375.7 yards of total offense per game to rank eighth in the Big 12th and 34th nationally in that category. The Sooners lead the Big 12 and are No. 10 nationally in total defense, allowing just 265 yards per game.
