Bedlam Grades: Oklahoma State Fans, Bowman, Big 12 Chances

The only feeling I can think of comparing Saturday night to is the last day of school. And not just the average last day, your last, last day. When you know you never have to sit in a classroom and stress over grades or finals ever again.

Alan Bowman took a knee like the final bell ringing. Students sprinted toward the field instead of the hallway and out the door to celebrate. Oh, the relief.

Oklahoma State upended Oklahoma 27-24 on Saturday night in Boone Pickens Stadium in what’s the last Bedlam on the schedule. Here are grades from the Cowboys’ historic win.

Being a Cowboy Fan: A+

Cowboy fans, you got the last laugh. Your team won the last scheduled Bedlam. Your team is now in the drivers seat for a trip to Arlington to play for a Big 12 title.

Being a part of the OSU faithful in September was really a test of your loyal and trueness. Cheering for the then 2-2 Cowboys was more of an F experience, as in F this season.

But five straight wins and a victory in the last scheduled Bedlam later, what a time to root for the Pokes and go out into public for the day. And this week. Heck, for maybe ever.

Alan Bowman: A

I plan on writing more about Alan Bowman and what he brings to this OSU program later this week, but he deserves all the props he can get right now as he’s often overlooked in this incredible run.

Bowman was not the star of Bedlam. In fact, he hasn’t been the star of any game this season, which it’s hard to stand out when he’s handing the ball off to the best running back in the country. But, as usual, Bowman did everything he needed to for the Cowboys to win.

Throwing the ball, Bowman was 28-of-42 for 334 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown, but he also didn’t throw an interception. He did score a 13-yard rushing touchdown, though, on a quarterback draw in the second quarter to put OSU ahead 14-7.

Possibly Bowman’s biggest play of the day, though, was as a defender. Ollie Gordon, the running back, threw an interception on a botched trick play. The defender had no one between him and the end zone until Bowman ran him down and out of bounds. The Sooners were ultimately kept off the board thanks to Bowman’s run down.

Mike Gundy & Co.: PASS

Gundy has said twice this season (from what I remember) that coaches are graded on a pass-fail scale. He says, if their team scores more points than the other, they pass. If the other team scores more points than theirs, they fail. Simple.

Gundy and his staff passed a big test against OU on Saturday night. That was five passing grades in a row for the OSU coaching staff. At 7-2, that means Gundy and his staff have passed seven of nine tests in 2023. If you do really want to look at percentage grades, that’s a 78% for 2023 (so far). The fact 7-2 would be a high C shows the high expectations and daunting task of coaching big-time college football.

OSU’s Big 12 Title Path: B+

I would never put an A when it involves things going right for the Cowboys in the future. We know better than that from history, no matter how different Saturday night seemed.

Regardless, OSU’s Bedlam win gave the Cowboys the easiest path to the Big 12 championship game left. The schedule includes only newcomers from here on out: at UCF, at Houston and BYU for Senior Day.

OSU currently sits atop the Big 12 standings along with Texas, which lost to OU as its only conference blunder. If both win out, that’ll be the matchup for the Big 12 title in a season that OSU would finally not face the Longhorns.

The hardest part is over, now OSU just has to not slip.

Goal Post Legends: A+

OK, I’m not sure if this is behavior I should condone, but legends aren’t made unless stories like this happen.

When fans stormed the field, they eventually made their way to the goal post directly in front of Gallagher-Iba Arena. That was about the time I was making my way down from the press box and heard a chant of, “Tear it down,” as a group was crowded around the goal post and a line of security guards protecting it.

Then it was like a zombie apocalypse movie as fans took turns reaching arms up, stacked on top of shoulders and reaching for the yellow bar. I heard some were even tased as security tried to prevent the vandalism. But when one went down, it was next man up.

I actually turned my back assuming the goal post would never come down, but by the time I reached the other end zone I heard a roar and turned to see the goal post and those piled on it crashing down. I really have no idea how it was possible, especially after seeing that metal rod left behind up close later. A maintenance man later brought out tools I’ll never own to try and cut off some more pieces of the post as souvenirs but only made a small cut.

By the time I came back out after postgame interviews, there was only that metal stub left, which you can see from the press box here. Fans had managed to get the goal post out of Boone Pickens Stadium and, ultimately, into Theta Pond. OSU posted a video of the goal post’s journey that you can watch here.

But mission accomplished. Literally, A for effort. Those involved may not be Bedlam legends like Ollie Gordon and Tyreek Hill, but legends nonetheless.

It was legendary enough that the historical marker left behind at BPS had people posing for pictures with it all night, including me and Marshall.