What was the best Bedlam football game ever? Let's rank the 25 greatest OU-OSU showdowns

STILLWATER — For more than a century, OU and Oklahoma State have squared off every football season.

But Saturday’s matchup at Boone Pickens Stadium will be the final in the foreseeable future as the Sooners make the move to the SEC next season.

Though the series has been lopsided, with OU leading 91-19-7, there have been plenty of memorable games in the series.

Will Saturday’s game earn its place into Bedlam lore?

In honor of the final meeting, OU beat writers Ryan Aber and Justin Martinez, OSU beat writers Scott Wright and Jacob Unruh and columnist Joe Mussatto conducted a draft to rank the top 25 Bedlam games of all-time.

The order was determined by a random draw, with Wright earning the top pick, followed by Mussatto, Martinez, Aber and Unruh.

Here are our rankings:

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1. 2001 (OSU 16, OU 13)

Among the most iconic moments of Bedlam, Rashaun Woods jumped to pull in the game-winning touchdown catch, barely getting his toes inbounds. Before the game-winner, OSU receiver T.D. Bryant’s remarkably acrobatic catch on a pass from Josh Fields kept the drive alive. The Cowboys finished the year 4-7, knocking then-No. 4 OU out of the Big 12 championship game and national title contention. — Scott Wright

2. 2010 (OU 47, OSU 41)

Landry Jones and the No. 13 Sooners were in an unusual spot as Bedlam underdogs in Stillwater against Brandon Weeden and the Cowboys. Forty points were scored in the fourth quarter, including four touchdowns in the final four minutes. One of those was a Justin Gilbert kickoff return for an OSU touchdown. The Sooners responded, with Jones connecting with tight end James Hanna on a 76-yard touchdown. — Joe Mussatto

3. 2014 (OSU 38, OU 35)

The Tyreek Hill game. Trailing by seven points in the final minute, OSU forced overtime thanks to a 92-yard punt return for a touchdown by Hill. The Cowboys ultimately won the game off the foot of Ben Grogan, who drilled a 21-yard field goal. — Justin Martinez

4. 1988 (OU 31, OSU 28)

Mike Gundy’s throw in the final minute was right on the money, but Brent Parker dropped the pass in the end zone on fourth-and-16 and the Sooners held on to win. The Cowboys had their backs to the wall after Garrett Limbrick was called for taunting with 56 seconds left that put the ball at the OU 34 instead of fourth-and-1 from the Sooners’ 19. Barry Sanders turned in a magical day for OSU, running for 215 yards on 39 carries but Mike Gaddis and Charles Thompson combined to give the Sooners plenty of firepower on the ground themselves. — Ryan Aber

5. 2002 (OSU 38, OU 28)

Five simple words define this Cowboys victory: Rashaun Woods is still open. The future first-round pick caught 12 passes for 226 yards and three touchdowns in OSU’s second straight victory over the Sooners, even surpassing the total passing yards from OU quarterback Nate Hybl in the game. — Jacob Unruh

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6. 1976 (OSU 31, OU 24)

On his first carry of the game, OSU’s Terry Miller went 72 yards for a touchdown. The Cowboys later trailed by as many as 11 points, but rallied for the win behind quarterback Charlie Weatherbie, who entered the game in the third quarter. It was OSU’s first win in Norman in a decade and eventually helped the Cowboys to their first and only Big Eight title, shared with OU and Colorado. — Scott Wright

7. 2008 (OU 61, OSU 41)

This game was known for Sam Bradford’s Heisman moment: The Flip. Bradford, not known for his legs, dove for the pylon on a third-quarter scramble and was upended at the goal line. Bradford snuck into the end zone on the next play. He passed for 370 passing yards and four touchdowns that night. — Joe Mussatto

8. 2013 (OU 33, OSU 24)

OU played spoiler to OSU, which had hopes of a Big 12 championship and BCS bowl game appearance. The Sooners trailed by four points with 19 seconds left when Blake Bell found Jalen Saunders for a 7-yard touchdown. OU then recovered a fumble for a touchdown as time expired to pad the final score. — Justin Martinez

9. 2012 (OU 51, OSU 48 OT)

The Sooners never led until Brennan Clay’s 18-yard touchdown run in overtime ended the game. Landry Jones threw for 500 yards and three touchdowns, while the Belldozer, Blake Bell, ran for a 4-yard score on fourth down with four seconds left to send the game into overtime. Justin Brown (15 catches, 146 yards), Jalen Saunders (10-162) and Kenny Stills (9-103) gave OU its first ever trio of 100-yard receivers in the same game. — Ryan Aber

10. 2021 (OSU 37, OU 33)

In a back-and-forth game, the Cowboys somehow stopped OU star quarterback Caleb Williams on a long open-field run in the final minute. Current OSU star Collin Oliver later sacked Williams as OSU’s defense stopped OU from scoring on all eight second-half possessions en route to the win that clinched a spot in the Big 12 title game and propelled OSU to the Fiesta Bowl, which it won over Notre Dame in dramatic fashion. — Jacob Unruh

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11. 1969 (OU 28, OSU 27)

OU running back Steve Owens had been awarded the Heisman Trophy the week before, but cemented his spot as the nation’s best player with a 55-carry, 261-yard performance, scoring two touchdowns. At the time, the 55 carries set an NCAA record. But the game wasn’t decided until OU’s Albert Qualls sacked OSU’s Bob Cutburth on a two-point conversion try with 1:15 to play. — Scott Wright

12. 2017 (OU 62, OSU 52)

A Baker Mayfield vs. Mason Rudolph duel in which the teams combined for a Bedlam record 114 points. Mayfield threw for a school record 598 yards and five touchdowns. Rudolph passed for 448 yards, and OSU running back Justice Hill ran for 228 yards. — Joe Mussatto

13. 2018 (OU 48, OSU 47)

The one-loss Sooners got a scare from their in-state rivals. OSU’s Taylor Cornelius hauled in a 24-yard touchdown to trim the deficit to one point with 1:03 remaining, and the team went for the 2-point conversion. But the Cowboys failed to convert, and the Sooners went on to reach the College Football Playoff that season. — Justin Martinez

14. 2004 (OU 38, OSU 35)

The Cowboys got the ball with 2:44 left and drove to the OU 32, where Jason Ricks lined up for a 49-yard field goal with 11 seconds left. But Ricks’ kick sailed wide left and the Sooners remained undefeated. Jason White threw for three touchdowns and Adrian Peterson ran for 249 yards. Peterson’s bug day included an 80-yard third-quarter touchdown that put the Sooners up 35-21 before two Vernand Morency touchdowns gave OSU a chance late. — Ryan Aber

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15. 2011 (OSU 44, OU 10)

The rout clinched OSU’s first and only Big 12 title to date. The third-ranked Cowboys put up nearly 500 yards of offense behind Brandon Weeden, Justin Blackmon and Joseph Randle. OSU’s defense also forced No. 13-ranked OU into five turnovers — four by quarterback Landry Jones. It was OSU’s first outright conference title since 1948 and it also propelled them to a national stage, later winning the Fiesta Bowl over Stanford after being snubbed from the national title game. — Jacob Unruh

16. 1945 (OSU 47, OU 0)

The regular-season finale in OSU’s only undefeated season in program history, the Cowboys — then still known as Aggies — dominated the Sooners with linemen who were “big as box cars and twice as fast,” The Oklahoman’s Hal Middlesworth wrote that day. OSU All-American Bob Fenimore threw for 110 yards and rushed for 139, returning the opening kickoff 59 yards to set up a score as well. — Scott Wright

17. 1965 (OSU 17, OU 16)

The Cowboys snapped a 19-game losing streak to the Sooners. To celebrate, OSU president Oliver Willham canceled classes on Monday after the game. — Joe Mussatto

18. 2006 (OU 27, OSU 21)

OU only attempted 11 passes as it leaned on the run game. The Sooners were led by Allen Patrick, who ran the ball 23 times for 163 yards and one touchdown. OSU trimmed the deficit to six points midway through the fourth quarter, but OU emerged victorious and secured the Big 12 South title. — Justin Martinez

19. 1983 (OU 21, OSU 20)

Trailing 20-3 with 10 minutes left, the Sooners overcame a slew of early mistakes to win on Tim Lashar’s 46-yard field goal with 1:14 remaining. Barry Switzer had called for a deep kick with 2:50 remaining, but Lashar didn’t get the message, kicking it onside, where it hit OSU’s Chris Rockins in the helmet before being recovered by OU’s Scott Case. — Ryan Aber

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20. 1966 (OSU 15, OU 14)

OSU won its second straight over the Sooners again in dramatic fashion. This one featured the Cowboys stopping OU on a two-point conversion with 1:29 remaining after they also stopped the Sooners on fourth-and-goal from 1 earlier in the fourth quarter. It was OSU’s 10th win over the Sooners since the rivalry began in 1904. — Jacob Unruh

21. 2000 (OU 12, OSU 7)

A three-win OSU team in what would be Bob Simmons’ last game as coach had no business hanging with an OU squad ranked No. 1 and on its way to a national title. Yet there were the Cowboys, throwing into the end zone, chasing the winning touchdown in the closing moments. OU cornerback Derrick Strait batted away a pass intended for OSU tight end Marcellus Rivers on fourth-and-goal to seal the Sooner victory and save the perfect season. — Scott Wright

22. 1985 (OU 13, OSU 0)

Dubbed the Ice Bowl, temperatures were in the 20s and freezing rain made the field impossibly slick. OSU running back Thurman Thomas rushed for 100 yards, but the Sooners shut out the Cowboys. OU went on to win the national championship. — Joe Mussatto

23. 1992 (OU 15, OSU 15)

The seventh and final Bedlam tie before the overtime rule was adopted in 1996. OSU took a three-point lead with 1:19 remaining thanks to a 26-yard field goal by Lawson Vaugh. But OU marched down the field in the closing moments, and Scott Blanton drilled a 27-yard field goal as time expired. — Justin Martinez

24. 1948 (OU 19, OSU 15)

The Sooners came up with defensive stand after defensive stand late, including stopping the Cowboys at the OU 3 in the final two minutes, then Darrell Royal took an intentional safety as time ran out to give the Sooners the win. “Those three goal-line stands in the last quarter was the greatest defensive football I have ever seen or ever hope to see,” Sooners line coach Gomer Jones said. Royal also had a then-OU record 81-yard punt. — Ryan Aber

25. 1917 (OSU 9, OU 0)

It’s the first victory for OSU in the series — all the scoring came on a touchdown and safety — but also the first use of the word “Bedlam” by The Oklahoman. On that day, these words appeared in the paper: “So surprised were students, faculty members and citizens when they first heard the 9 to 0 victory story from Oklahoma City that confirmation was necessary. Then bedlam broke loose. Nine long shrieks of the college power plant whistle told the score. Guns were fired. The antique, dust-covered bell in old Central building belfry chimed for the first time in years. Literally the town was painted white. On buildings, sidewalks, windows and other places, the score was painted. A huge figure nine and a tiny naught.” It’s also the origin of the original bell trophy for the series. — Jacob Unruh

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This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Ranking OU football vs Oklahoma State top 25 games in Bedlam rivalry