Mussatto: The final Big 12 Bedlam football game just got juicier for OU, Oklahoma State
STILLWATER — Cowboys fans cheered as Oklahoma State pummeled Cincinnati 45-13 on a drizzly night in Stillwater. They also cheered when the video board in the east end zone of Boone Pickens Stadium flashed scores from around the country.
Really, it was one score in particular that delighted the crowd: Kansas 38, OU 33.
The Sooners’ loss came hours earlier, but Cowboys fans celebrated as if they were seeing the score for the first time.
And oh what drama OSU’s win against Cincinnati and OU’s loss at Kansas teed up: the Cowboys and Sooners tied atop the Big 12 standings heading into the last-ever Big 12 Bedlam, which will kick off at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Stillwater.
“I expect the Pokes to come out on top,” OSU running back Ollie Gordon II said.
Why wouldn’t he? OU won’t win unless they tackle Gordon, and Gordon, who ran for 271 yards against a stout Cincinnati front, doesn’t seem to enjoy getting tackled.
More: Leon Johnson III breaks out & more stats from Oklahoma State football's win vs. Cincinnati
Gordon and the Cowboys (6-2, 4-1 Big 12) are surging, having won four in a row, while the Sooners are stumbling. OU’s loss in Lawrence came a week after the Sooners (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) survived in a 31-29 home victory against UCF, which is winless in the conference.
It was assumed that OU and Texas would meet at the Big 12 Championship Game in Arlington for a Red River Redo, but it’s nearly November and five teams are tied for first place in the Big 12 at 4-1: OU, OSU, Texas, Kansas State and Iowa State.
“This was our expectation,” OSU linebacker Nick Martin said. “Our expectations are always Big 12 championships, so we’re working to that and we’re gonna keep getting better every week.”
You might think Bedlam lost some juice with the Sooners’ loss, and FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff seemingly agreed by passing on the game, but what’s juicier than the last Bedlam, at least Bedlam as we know it, breaking a tie for conference supremacy?
“We’ve turned into the NFL,” said OSU coach Mike Gundy, using his go-to line to explain the parity in college football.
OSU beat Kansas and Kansas beat OU. Iowa State beat OSU and OU beat Iowa State. OU beat Texas, OSU doesn’t play Texas. OSU beat Kansas State, OU doesn’t play Kansas State.
How the heck is anyone supposed to figure this out?
Just a few weeks ago, the Sooners had a realistic path to the College Football Playoff and it looked as though the Cowboys barely had a path toward bowl eligibility.
More: Oklahoma State football vs. Cincinnati takeaways: Ollie Gordon joins Barry Sanders in win
“It’s great,” Gordon said, “because when you look back at the beginning of the season, people probably thinking, ‘Oh, Oklahoma State’s out the race, out the run.’ And I feel like we just keep working harder each week, keep upsetting people.”
And now the Cowboys will try to hand the SEC-bound Sooners an L in their Big 12 farewell tour. But more than vengeance will be on the line for OSU. Actual stakes.
“The better both teams are, the better game it’s gonna be, the bigger the atmosphere, that’s what we want, right?” OSU quarterback Alan Bowman said. “To pack out Boone Pickens Stadium is going to be unbelievable.
“I can’t wait for it. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
It’s going to be Bedlam.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe's work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
OU vs. OSU
KICKOFF: 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater (ABC)
More: ‘No quit in him’: How Oklahoma State's Ollie Gordon became college football's hottest RB
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma State football raises stakes for Bedlam in win vs. Cincinnati
