The Oklahoma-Oklahoma State rivalry has been one of the best in college football for many decades, but it now has an expiration date of 2025. Mike Gundy wants people to stop pointing the finger at his team for that.
Oklahoma is set to join the SEC in 2025, at which point Oklahoma State will no longer be on their regular schedule. Oklahoma State athletic director Chad Weiburg told Action Network this week that the Cowboys have no openings in the coming years to schedule Oklahoma as a nonconference opponent. Weiburg said Oklahoma State’s Power 5 nonconference schedule is already filled out for the next 15 years. Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione hinted that Oklahoma State has not shown a commitment to continuing the rivalry, which began in 1904.
“Oklahoma State has shown no interest to schedule any future games in football, so we’re moving on,” Castiglione said.
Gundy was asked on Wednesday about the Bedlam Series coming to an end. He said he is tired of Oklahoma trying to blame Oklahoma State when the Sooners are the ones who decided to “follow Texas and the money to the SEC.”
Mike Gundy: “Bedlam is history because OU chose to follow Texas & money to SEC. What’s going on now is like a husband & wife when you know you’re dead wrong & try to make them think they’re wrong. Oklahoma State has no part in this. It’s comical they want to bring us into it"
— Brett McMurphy (@Brett_McMurphy) September 21, 2022
Weiburg said he would be open to renewing the rivalry when Oklahoma State’s current deals with nonconference opponents end. Castiglione told ESPN’s Dave Wilson that it “makes total sense” for the two schools to play one another again in the future, though it probably could not happen until the 2030s.
As Wilson notes, the Big 12 currently plays nine Power 5 teams. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State could find a way to schedule one another, but they would be making their respective schedules a lot more difficult. The cons probably outweigh the pros, even if the end of Bedlam is a huge disappointment for fans.
The Bedlam game has historically been dominated by the Sooners, who lead the football series 90–19–7.
