Instant Recap: Oklahoma State Wins Final Scheduled Bedlam 27-24

It’s over.

Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma in the last scheduled Bedlam 27-24 on Saturday inside a full Boone Pickens Stadium. The Pokes, after 117 years of turmoil and heartbreak, got the last laugh. And the Cowboys are now atop the Big 12 standings with Texas with three weeks left until Arlington as the Sooners leave for the SEC.

The last quarter of the last scheduled Bedlam began with OU up 21-17 and OSU driving into Sooner territory, but the first action of the frame was a trick play that had running back Ollie Gordon throw a pass that was intercepted and returned to OSU’s 44.

After OSU had its running back throw a pass, OU’s ensuing drive ended with quarterback Dillon Gabriel punting the ball on fourth-and-5 to be downed on OSU’s 3. The Cowboys then marched the 97 yards as Gordon punched it in from two yards to give the Pokes the lead back with 7:59 left, 24-21.

Gordon extended his 100-yard rushing streak to six games after running for 137 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries.

A play later, the Cowboys had the ball back again on OU’s 19 after the snap bounced off Gabriel’s shins onto the turf and Kody Walterscheid hopped on it for OSU’s second fumble recovery of the game. OSU turned the turnover into three more points with a 34-yard Alex Hale field goal to extend its lead to 27-21 with 6:59 left.

OU got down to OSU’s 16 on its next drive before the Sooners were halted and settled for a 36-yard field goal to make the count 27-24 with 4:48 left. The Cowboys then stopped OU on fourth down on its next possession to run out the clock with 1:01 left.

OSU slid down the field in the first drive of the last Bedlam, as Bowman hit Rashod Owens three times for 27 yards and Brennan Presley once for a 26-yard gain. But as the Boone Pickens Stadium crowd chanted, “Ollie!” before the ball was even snapped, Gordon finished the opening drive diving into the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown.

OU almost immediately answered back three plays later with a 67-yard touchdown run from Gavin Sawchuk. The rivals exchanged punts before ending the first quarter knotted at seven.

Bowman ran in a 13-yard touchdown on a quarterback draw on the first play of the second quarter to give OSU the lead back, 14-7. It was only his second rushing touchdown of the season. OSU had gotten the ball back after Xavier Benson fell on a fumble in Cowboy territory on a drive that the Sooners were cruising and had converted a pair of long third-down conversions, including a 49-yard gain the play before the fumble.

The Cowboys extended their lead to two scores with a 36-yard Alex Hale field goal with 9:42 left in the half. It was the first time OSU had a two-possession lead in Bedlam since 2012.

That two-possession lead lasted all until the next drive when Gabriel found Drake Stoops in the end zone for a 6-yard touchdown. Both teams stayed off the scoreboard the rest of the half, including a missed 51-yard field goal from OU’s Zach Schmit, to have OSU up 17-14 at the half.

The Sooners never led in the first 30 minutes, but they did finally get ahead 21-17 with the first strike of the second half on a 23-yard Tawee Walker touchdown run with 8:05 left in the third quarter. That score was sandwiched between OSU failing twice to convert on fourth-and-1 inside OU territory. After the second failed conversion, though, the Sooners also came up short on fourth-and-5 on OSU’s 30 to set up a four-point difference at the start of the fourth quarter.

The Cowboys travel to Orlando next to play UCF on Saturday. The kickoff time for that game has not been announced yet.