Bedlam postgame quotes

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy
Opening Statement
"That's a really good football game. Lots of excitement, it's kind of the way we wanted it. Back and forth, lots of big plays for both teams. Mistakes from both teams, things we wish we could have back and I'm sure there are mistakes they wish they could take back. Two good teams competing against each other for a heavyweight fight, trading blows. I mentioned in the locker room how proud I was of our coaches, their plans that they had going into the game but then the adjustments they made through the game. Our players' willingness to ride the wave, ups and downs, and just continue to go out there and compete and play each play. Most of the game I watch faces and monitor body language and things so if I feel like someone is going south, then I've got to go over and pick them up. Or, if they're too enthusiastic and out of control, I've got to go over and calm them down. One that was interesting in today's game, I didn't really have to do much of either. The excitement that was generated at times by our team was timely, and we didn't have anybody that really got down on themselves. So they're starting to learn and get a feel for life lessons that will help them for the rest of their lives to compete, stay the course, be able to take blows and then be able to hit back. As far as the game, our ability to rush the football, again, I don't know how much we rushed for, but I know we rushed for enough to win. They were heavy into stopping the run, but we knew that, we said it at the press conference, it wasn't a secret. They were inserting a safety from inside out, which put an extra guy in the box. If we had to do it all over again, we'd probably throw more passes on early downs, but Kasey (Dunn) is pretty entrenched right now with pumping the ball to Ollie (Gordon), and you can't really blame him for that."

On the calls on fourth and short to go for it
"We weren't very good on fourth and short. I got out of my box a little bit, in most cases I would have kicked a field goal in that situation. But I felt comfortable with our ability to run, and I will give them credit for fourth and shorts, they made plays, they had good calls based on the calls that we had. Earlier when I said that our team continues to fight through adversity, that can be a huge momentum swing. Our guys were upset they didn't get it, but they just came back in, sat down and talked about it, we fixed it and we moved on."

On OU's last play of the game
"The last play, well I think they were oh-for on fourth down, right? Defensively, our guys have done a really good job on fourth down. In the end, when they had the fourth and short, 11 (Fr. Dylan Smith) really, really smart standpoint. You have to know where the sticks are. We call coverages and we call defense, and a lot of times, a young player doesn't understand the importance of knowing where the sticks are. If it's fourth and four, and they throw it for four-and-a-half yards and complete it and you tackle him, it's a first down and doesn't really do us any good. We have coached that, we've talked about it, all last spring and all last summer, and in August. We practice fourth downs every Tuesday and every Wednesday, and it paid off for us today. It's paid off for us this year, and it paid off for us again today. I watched them, and I knew they were going to throw it to (Drake) Stoops, but it doesn't make any difference if I know it because I can't get that communicated to them. But hopefully, they (OSU's defense) had a good idea, I haven't had a chance to talk to them yet. I watched him, when they covered up and went out, we know they were going to run him in the flat, and 11 went downfield immediately. I don't know if they even got a yard on the play. When he started to wrap him up, I knew the game was over and then I took my eyes off of him. It was smart football; we talk a lot on our team about being a smart football player. He's just got to be a smart football player, then that allows us to be a smart football team."

On Rashod Owens' performance today:
"I don't know what to say about Rashod Owens. Owens started the year as a backup. I don't know what his statistics are now this far into the season, but he's a perfect example of you never know what a young man can do if given the chance to be in a situation. To start the year as a backup and plays in the final Bedlam game ever, after 118 years, and he's got 10 catches for 136 yards. It's pretty cool when a young man gets a chance to play, he was willing to step up and compete and make plays."

On what this means for the team and for the fans
"I did tell the team, and whoever else was in the locker room, the one thing they should remember is these are special moments. The one thing they can take with them for the rest of their lives is the thrill they gave these fans out here for this game. There's been a lot of years, a lot of history and a lot of tradition in Bedlam, and the crowd is more engaged with our team than any of the years I've been here, about 30-plus years. Our crowd, our fans and our students are more engaged with our team than ever. So what they did is they give them a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I made sure that they knew we owed them. Here's why. Earlier in the year, we weren't coaching very well, and I told you guys that. After our third game of the year, coaching was awful, so we didn't play very well. I told our coaches their coaching was awful, and my coaching was awful because I watched it happen. We didn't play well. Then we practice for two weeks and played a little better on the road. Came home, and (the fans) filled this place up. Then we played another good team, and they filled this place up. When they didn't have to because we didn't coach very well at the beginning of the year. I wanted to let them know that that was a big win for a lot of people out there, for a lot of years. For the last game, for them to win Bedlam, it gave them a chance of a lifetime."

Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Kasey Dunn
On Brennan Presley's positive impact
"You see him in practice, he's out there competing, playing, and when you give the guy the ball, it's something weird, the joker (Presley) is 135 soaking wet, I tell him I eat his weight every morning for breakfast, but he finds a way to fall forward. He takes a catch and gets eight out of it when he should get five, and that's a big difference for us on the next play call. I can't say enough great things about Brennan, he's been like that forever. This is a big deal for him, that's why he is a team captain. Being an Oklahoma kid, this is all you could want and a bag of chips."

Meaning of winning the last Bedlam
"Oh gosh. It's a long rivalry. I heard coach talking about 118 years worth, and you can end it on top and that's a big deal. We talked about this on Thursday, 23 years from now, you'll be talking about how this game turned out. Maybe they'll remember the 2021, maybe they'll remember 2015…They'll remember this one, 2023, that's for damn sure, whether we won it or lost it, and fortunately we came out on top."

On Ollie Gordan's impact
"He's done a phenomenal job for us, he stayed really, really focused. I just want to keep giving him the football because he's not a prima donna in any way. I'm just so excited for the kid."

Oklahoma State defensive coordinator Bryan Nardo
On embracing the win
"I took my time, I walked. I walked pretty slow, I didn't want to run, I wanted to see the field, I wanted to see what was going on. I know where my wife sits, she's holding up my youngest and waving and I got to see them. I had someone tell me before the game to make sure you enjoy the moment, and I talked to my father this morning, talked to my mom this morning, and it's like, coaching in Bedlam is pretty damn cool and I understand the expectation and I understand we wanted to win. I'm not going to stand here and say oh my god I was wide-eyed, but I took a minute to say, you know what, we just won Bedlam. Any win is great, this one is special because of what it means for the people that are associated with and in love with Oklahoma State."

On the cornerback group
"They got better the day after Iowa State, they got better every week that they've practiced. They go against great receivers every day, and every team has challenged us, every team has tried to isolate people. The way they've responded has been very good."

Oklahoma State quarterback Alan Bowman
On boos after loss to South Alabama
"I definitely think that no matter what, it's always 68 and breezy, that's why I have 68 on my wristband. It can never be too high, you can never be too low. Obviously, people are going to love you when you win, and that's just the sport, the position that comes with playing quarterback. They're going to love when you win but also going to be the first ones yelling at you when you're losing or you're not playing well. Obviously, it feels good. I'm not really upset that they booed me, I just think now we give them a product to celebrate about, not just Stillwater but Oklahoma and every OSU fan."

How he handled the pressure of the environment
"Being at Michigan the past two years and understanding how to game manage with a bunch of good guys around you was a huge help for me as I was coming in here. Yes, I had the talent at Texas Tech - run around and throw for a lot of yards and to be able to learn how to manage a game and take care of the football. We have a bunch of really good players on this team so as long as I don't mess it up – facilitate it, throw it to the open guy, take care of the football, turn the run game, lead the offense, get everybody lined up, get motions right – we are really hard to beat. In a pressure situation, you just get back to taking care of the football, make sure the snap count is coming on, look at the clock, don't get a false start, don't get a delay of game, it's the little things like that that lead to a win."

Oklahoma State linebacker Collin Oliver
On the impact of freshman stepping up
"It means a lot to me knowing they're willing to buy in to our team. It says a lot to them as well. As a freshman, I wasn't expecting to play, I was just expecting to get a couple of shots a game. When those guys get in and we need them this year, it means a lot for me from my perspective that they're willing to go in and make plays for us."

On what getting off the field was like
"I was talking to a lot of random fans, took a lot of pictures. I'm just glad to not get hit or stepped on… I was just having fun with the fans enjoying and embracing themselves."

On what this final Bedlam means
"I realize now that, in 2021, we had a lot of implications, College Football Playoff and Big 12 Championship. Knowing it's the last Bedlam, for this game, the Bedlam game, yes, this definitely means more."

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables
Opening Statement
"I'm really hurt for our guys; they really laid it on the line. We didn't always play great today. We had too many critical mistakes against a good football team, but I loved the fight, the grit of the team to give ourselves a chance at the end. But, as we saw, the errors that we made – the timeliness of errors – just couldn't overcome getting into a rhythm on offense in the second half."

On Oklahoma's final offensive play
"I liked the play. Obviously, we need to run a route that can get open and convert right there – wound up being short. But, we got the play we wanted with the coverage that we wanted."

On turnovers
"The turnovers were what the difference in the game was. I'm pretty sure they made plenty of mistakes on their side of the ball, they would tell you. But the turnovers matter."

On Oklahoma State's RPO offense
"I thought they put them in some tight windows and, at times, we weren't tight enough. They did a nice job from an execution standpoint."

On time of possession
"There's a cumulative effect to all of it. When you turn the ball over three times, they get extra possessions and, in particular, the 97-yard drive I think was just under five minutes. That was a big one. That was a tough one."

On the environment
"External factors, we preach to them all the time it can't matter. We practice with noise all week, and you go on the road lots of places, lots of places get loud. You gotta be able to handle that. But a couple turnovers happened, bad snaps. So did it affect it [the result] – I'm not sure. That might've happened."

On the emotion of Bedlam
"Emotion – that's a real thing. There's a lot at stake, a lot on the line today when it comes to our league, certainly a state championship and big picture – there were a lot of things that were on the line today. When Oklahoma shows up to Stillwater, that's what it's usually like. That's what I remember."

Oklahoma linebacker Kip Lewis
On the loss
"I don't really know what exactly went wrong, we just have to get better next week. West Virginia is a good team, and it will take a lot. We have to keep a family mindset and fight for each other week to week. We made a couple mistakes that we shouldn't have, and we just have to come next week and fix it. We have to prepare better and correct our mistakes. It's not that we have doubt. We just have to get better and we will."

On the advice from Danny Stutsman
"He just gives me a ton of tips and reminders. Things that he sees on the field and helps me out with. It's all about next man mentality, but it is really hard to replace a guy like him. I just wanted to do the most I could for the team."

Oklahoma safety Billy Bowman
On the loss
"I can't really put it into words; all I know is we have got to bounce back. We've got to find a way. Obviously, that's two weeks in a row. We've got to go back to the drawing board and fix what's wrong. We will bounce back. We expected them to go deep, but they hit us underneath with a ton of passes. We have got to play better man."

On Oklahoma State's 97-yard touchdown drive
"That is on us. There is no way possible we should give up a 97-yard drive, penalties or not, that cannot happen to a good team. I don't feel like Coach (Venables) did too much, but it is what it is. We have to move past it."

Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel
On the turnovers
"I just did not catch the ball so I fumbled it and that can't happen. Lots of mistakes tonight, and I don't know where they came from. We had a lot of issues I don't even know. We didn't play well when we needed to. We did not play good football at all. That'll get you beat."

On this week of practice leading into the game
"Practice should have been better. There were a lot of things that played into that, but it should have been better. As we know, this can get worse. We have got to tighten it up. I think you always hope for things to be better, and they just weren't. Just in general we have to be better in all aspects."

Oklahoma defensive coordinator Ted Roof
On the game
"Missed tackles. There were so many. It just kept happening. We have got to find a way to get off the field in that situation. Especially at the end of the game. At the end of the day, we have got to find a way to play a little bit better and find a way to win."

On not having Danny Stutsman
"I thought the other linebackers played great. They fought hard and played really well. I couldn't ask much more from them. We just couldn't get off the field so it didn't really matter who was out there."

Oklahoma offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby
On 4^th down call at the end of the game
"We liked the look, we really did. We thought it was going to be man to man and it was. It needed to be about a yard deeper, and that's the reality of it. I liked the look, and we were in a good situation there."

On offensive struggles
"We have preached about these struggles to every position group. We got drives going and found ways to mess them up. Whether it was a negative run or a penalty. Just like on the second drive of the game. We had a great play, got a penalty, and ended up 3^rd and 12 and had to punt. We had 3 drives with turnovers on the first play. We put our defense in bad spots all night. When the margins are small, you have to do the little things right to win games and we didn't do that."

Oklahoma State University Athletics

Players Mentioned

Alan Bowman

Collin Oliver

Rashod Owens

Brennan Presley

Dylan Smith

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