Oklahoma State University Athletics
Bedlam Series History: Cowboy Success in the Mike Gundy Era
November 03, 2023 | Cowboy Football
1909 marked the last year Oklahoma State and Oklahoma weren't sharing a line of scrimmage. At that time, Theodore Roosevelt was the president and Oklahoma was just over a year removed from statehood.
With a deep-rooted history and over 120 years of tradition engraved in the series – these two in-state foes will clash one final time at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT before the Sooners join the SEC for the 2023-24 season.
The Phillips 66 Bedlam Series housed a collection of legendary moments and became a stomping ground for some of the all-time greats.
Let's look at some of the Cowboys' highlight performances in the Mike Gundy era:
A Scramble of Silence - Nov. 21, 2021Â
Freshman quarterback Caleb Williams sat in the pocket, made a defender miss and took off. The Cowboy faithful went dead silent.
With 40 seconds on the clock and the Sooners down four, Williams sprinted into a sea of green. Entering the final moments of play, a touchdown here would flip Boone Pickens Stadium on its head.Â
As Williams darted down the sideline, the heroic moments that got the Cowboys into this moment fizzled out of memory. Brennan Presley's electrifying 100-yard return, Spencer Sanders' 37-yard touchdown and Jaylen Warren's goal line touchdown to erase a nine-point deficit – it was all seemingly gone until Williams stepped foot out of bounds.
With a 56-yard run in the chamber, OU had life on the OSU 24. Three incomplete passes later, the Sooners had one play to keep its championship hopes alive.
Collin Oliver had other plans.
A true freshman, Oliver fell to all fours in shedding his block. On all fours, Oliver crawled two steps forward, latching onto Williams' right leg. Ball game.
Final: Oklahoma State 37, Oklahoma 33
This Is Bedlam - Dec. 6, 2014
With one minute on the board, Oklahoma had the Cowboys pinned at the 15-yard line. The Sooners wanted more.
After accepting a running into the kicker penalty, Oklahoma punter Jed Barnett booted his second punt to Tyreek Hill. There was no third.
Backpedaling to the 8-yard line, Hill rumbled to the OSU sideline, weaved between a pair of OU defenders and was gone. Ninety-two yards to the house, Hill and the Cowboys pushed play into overtime.
With the program's then eight-year bowl streak hanging in the ballots, James Castleman opened the overtime session with a sack – yielding a missed Sooner field goal. After three Desmond Roland rushes, Ben Grogan propelled the Cowboys to bowl eligibility.
Final: Oklahoma State 38, Oklahoma 35
Championship Stand - Dec. 3, 2011
Oklahoma State stood on the cusp of a Big 12 Championship and a potential BCS bowl bid as they squared off against Oklahoma. But with a loss, they'd notch a tie for the hardware and, in turn, plummet in the rankings.Â
In the Bedlam brawl, the Cowboys stuffed the scoreboard. Powered by a pair of Joseph Randle touchdowns, Oklahoma State jumped out to a commanding 24-0 lead. In its first defense play of the second half, Richetti Jones strip-sacked quarterback Landry Jones – taking the loose change to the house.
After leading by as large as 41, the Cowboys notched their second-largest win over the Sooners, while seniors Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon connected on 10 passes for 95 yards.
Final Score: Oklahoma State 44, Oklahoma 10
 The 2011 Cowboys set a new height for the program and put OSU on the national map in college football. The season marked OSU's greatest in school history, as the team reached 12 wins for the first time in program history and earned its first-ever BCS bowl appearance – knocking off an Andrew Luck-led Stanford Cardinal in the 2012 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.Â
Led by the dynamic duo of Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon, the Cowboy offense had shattered nearly every offensive passing and scoring record. As an offense, the Cowboys scored the most points in a single season (633), had the highest scoring average over a 13-game season (48.7) and scored the most touchdowns (81) in program history, which still stands today.
On the season, Weeden set program records in passing yards (4,727), total offense (4,625), completed passes (408) and completion percentage (72.3%), while Blackmon was awarded his second Biletnikoff Award and notched Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors.Â
With a deep-rooted history and over 120 years of tradition engraved in the series – these two in-state foes will clash one final time at Boone Pickens Stadium on Saturday at 2:30 p.m. CT before the Sooners join the SEC for the 2023-24 season.
The Phillips 66 Bedlam Series housed a collection of legendary moments and became a stomping ground for some of the all-time greats.
Let's look at some of the Cowboys' highlight performances in the Mike Gundy era:
A Scramble of Silence - Nov. 21, 2021Â
Freshman quarterback Caleb Williams sat in the pocket, made a defender miss and took off. The Cowboy faithful went dead silent.
With 40 seconds on the clock and the Sooners down four, Williams sprinted into a sea of green. Entering the final moments of play, a touchdown here would flip Boone Pickens Stadium on its head.Â
As Williams darted down the sideline, the heroic moments that got the Cowboys into this moment fizzled out of memory. Brennan Presley's electrifying 100-yard return, Spencer Sanders' 37-yard touchdown and Jaylen Warren's goal line touchdown to erase a nine-point deficit – it was all seemingly gone until Williams stepped foot out of bounds.
With a 56-yard run in the chamber, OU had life on the OSU 24. Three incomplete passes later, the Sooners had one play to keep its championship hopes alive.
Collin Oliver had other plans.
A true freshman, Oliver fell to all fours in shedding his block. On all fours, Oliver crawled two steps forward, latching onto Williams' right leg. Ball game.
Final: Oklahoma State 37, Oklahoma 33
This Is Bedlam - Dec. 6, 2014
With one minute on the board, Oklahoma had the Cowboys pinned at the 15-yard line. The Sooners wanted more.
After accepting a running into the kicker penalty, Oklahoma punter Jed Barnett booted his second punt to Tyreek Hill. There was no third.
Backpedaling to the 8-yard line, Hill rumbled to the OSU sideline, weaved between a pair of OU defenders and was gone. Ninety-two yards to the house, Hill and the Cowboys pushed play into overtime.
With the program's then eight-year bowl streak hanging in the ballots, James Castleman opened the overtime session with a sack – yielding a missed Sooner field goal. After three Desmond Roland rushes, Ben Grogan propelled the Cowboys to bowl eligibility.
Final: Oklahoma State 38, Oklahoma 35
Championship Stand - Dec. 3, 2011
Oklahoma State stood on the cusp of a Big 12 Championship and a potential BCS bowl bid as they squared off against Oklahoma. But with a loss, they'd notch a tie for the hardware and, in turn, plummet in the rankings.Â
In the Bedlam brawl, the Cowboys stuffed the scoreboard. Powered by a pair of Joseph Randle touchdowns, Oklahoma State jumped out to a commanding 24-0 lead. In its first defense play of the second half, Richetti Jones strip-sacked quarterback Landry Jones – taking the loose change to the house.
After leading by as large as 41, the Cowboys notched their second-largest win over the Sooners, while seniors Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon connected on 10 passes for 95 yards.
Final Score: Oklahoma State 44, Oklahoma 10
 The 2011 Cowboys set a new height for the program and put OSU on the national map in college football. The season marked OSU's greatest in school history, as the team reached 12 wins for the first time in program history and earned its first-ever BCS bowl appearance – knocking off an Andrew Luck-led Stanford Cardinal in the 2012 Tostitos Fiesta Bowl.Â
Led by the dynamic duo of Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon, the Cowboy offense had shattered nearly every offensive passing and scoring record. As an offense, the Cowboys scored the most points in a single season (633), had the highest scoring average over a 13-game season (48.7) and scored the most touchdowns (81) in program history, which still stands today.
On the season, Weeden set program records in passing yards (4,727), total offense (4,625), completed passes (408) and completion percentage (72.3%), while Blackmon was awarded his second Biletnikoff Award and notched Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year honors.Â
Players Mentioned
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