The Final Bedlam Week

​This loss stings because I think about how sweet it would have been for the Sooners to go to the Playoffs in Venables' second season as the head coach. I'm marking this loss against Kansas as a "Growing Pains" loss. It needed to happen. Not that I wanted it to happen, but it needed to. We still have a good shot at winning the Big XII at the end of this season and making it to a significant Bowl Game. This game is a wake-up call for the Sooners since last week's close call against UCF wasn't enough. 

Rain was a significant factor this past weekend that the Sooners couldn't overcome. They relied on their running game too much, and with Marcus Major out, they were working with a backup running back. Gabriel only attempted 19 passes, which is the second least amount of attempts in his Oklahoma Career. Last year at TCU, he only attempted 16 passes. When a defense can take out the passing game like Kansas did this weekend, Oklahoma does not perform well. 

With four games left in the season, I like our chances of winning out. Our next four opponents, Oklahoma State, West Virginia, BYU, and TCU, have a combined record of 20-12, and all are above .500. It is telling just how good Oklahoma is since I feel good about the next four games. I have stated that if Oklahoma is down, they won't be down long. Even when we move to the SEC, they may struggle for a year or two, but Oklahoma is Oklahoma, and Championships are the standard, not just something that happens once every decade. 

Bedlam is next, and as much smack Gundy and Oklahoma State have been talking, they better play the best game in the program's history. For my North Carolina readers, this upcoming matchup is equivalent to North Carolina and Duke meeting in the Final Four. This is the last time the two schools will likely see each other for a long time because Oklahoma State does not want to play Oklahoma when they move to the SEC. 

The last time Oklahoma and Oklahoma State did not play, according to Winsipedia, was back in 1909. The two have seen each other a total of 117 times since 1904, and in that time, Oklahoma State has won 19 times, Oklahoma has won 91 times, and the game has ended in a tie 7 times. 

Oklahoma has a better All-Time Record, more National Titles, more Conference Championships, more Bowl Game Appearances, more Wins All-Time, more Consensus All-Americans, more Heisman Winners, more NFL Draft Picks, more First Round NFL Draft Picks, more weeks in the AP Poll, and more weeks at the AP #1. Despite all this, Oklahoma State has a better Bowl Game record than Oklahoma. 

With this rivalry coming to an end, it's safe to say regardless of the outcome, Oklahoma is Oklahoma State's daddy. I know good and well if Oklahoma State pulls off a win on Saturday, they are never going to let it go, and we for sure will never see an Oklahoma vs. Oklahoma State game again. At least as long as Gundy is the coach.