OU football vs. Oklahoma State: Five takeaways from Sooners' loss to Cowboys in Bedlam

STILLWATER — OU has dominated Bedlam over its century-plus long history.

But Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium, Oklahoma State got the last laugh.

The Sooners tied a season-high three turnovers and the Cowboys pulled out a 27-24 win over OU.

The Sooners once again had a chance to drive for a win late, but Drake Stoops was brought down short of the first-down marker on fourth-down with 1:01 remaining to seal the win for the Cowboys (7-2, 5-1 Big 12).

OU (7-2, 4-2) got the ball back with 1:53 left at the 20 after the Sooners’ defense forced a punt.

It started off promisingly enough, with a 21-yard pass to Stoops, but then things stalled out from there as Gabriel twice couldn’t connect with Nic Anderson.

Jalil Farooq’s 5-yard catch got OU closer but Farooq couldn’t fight for more, then Stoops was stopped two yards short of the first down to all but end the game.

Here’s four more takeaways from the Sooners’ Bedlam loss:

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Danny Stutsman’s absence felt…

After dressing out for the game and going through warmups, OU linebacker Danny Stutsman was held out of Bedlam.

Stutsman suffered an ankle injury in the loss to Kansas the week before.

Without Stutsman, redshirt freshman Kip Lewis took over at Stutsman’s weakside linebacker spot.

Though Lewis had eight tackles in the first half, the Sooners still felt Stutsman’s loss plenty, as they struggled to contain Cowboys’ quarterback Alan Bowman and running back Ollie Gordon at critical points.

Lewis finished with 15 tackles but Gordon ran for 137 yards and two touchdowns and Bowman threw for 334 yards.

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…But OU defense comes up big repeatedly in second half

The Sooners’ defense was the epitome of bend but don’t break in the second half.

OSU managed plenty of yards, but the Cowboys didn’t have anything to show for it until Ollie Gordon’s 2-yard touchdown with 7:59 remaining..

After OSU drove to the OU 16 following an interception on the first drive after halftime, Robert Spears-Jennings hit Cowboys star running back Ollie Gordon in the backfield and Gordon was brought down for no gain on fourth-and-1.

After Tawee Walker gave the Sooners their first lead of the game on the ensuing possession, Trace Ford stopped Gordon for a 1-yard loss on fourth-and-1 from the OU 36.

Then on the first play of the fourth quarter, with the Cowboys once again in OU territory, Billy Bowman picked off Gordon’s pass just outside the end zone and returned it 39 yards to the OU 44.

The interception was Billy Bowman’s team-leading fourth of the season.

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Drake Stoops has career day…

There has been a Stoops involved in Bedlam every time since 1999.

So it’s appropriate that in the final scheduled Bedlam for the foreseeable future, Stoops would have a big game.

OU sixth-year receiver Drake Stoops was the Sooners’ top receiver, with 12 catches for 134 yards, including a six-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter.

Each time Stoops brought down a catch, the large contingent of OU fans in Boone Pickens Stadium chanted a long, drawn out “Stoooooops.”

When Stoops was called for a false start in the second half, a sarcastic chant came from the Cowboys’ faithful.

Stoops’ previous high in receptions was eight, earlier this season against Tulsa. His previous career high in yardage was 93 against Kansas State in 2020.

He was also involved in the most controversial play of the day when the Sooners faced third down deep in OSU territory in the fourth quarter trailing 27-21.

Stoops was battling OSU cornerback Dylan Smith in the end zone, but there was no flag for pass inference after contract from Smith. The Sooners settled for a field to make it 27-24 OSU.

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…But Sooners struggle with turnovers

OU hadn’t had much of a fumble problem before the last two weeks.

In the first seven games, the Sooners lost just two fumbles.

But against the Cowboys, OU coughed up a pair on apparent bad snaps.

The first came in the first quarter, when an apparent direct snap hit Jovantae Barnes in the face, ultimately being recovered by OSU’s Xavier Benson.

The Cowboys scored on the ensuing drive to take a 14-7 lead.

That fumble came two plays after Gabriel coughed the ball up on a sack and was able to recover himself.

In the fourth quarter, after OSU had taken a 24-21 lead, the first-down snap came in low and bounced off Gabriel’s shin.

It was recovered by the Cowboys’ Kody Walterscheid.

It was the second consecutive week the Sooners have lost two fumbles in a game.

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OU vs. West Virginia

KICKOFF: 6 p.m. Saturday at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman (Fox)

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OU football falls short at Oklahoma State in final scheduled Bedlam