Notebook: Dalton Cooper’s First Bedlam, What a Big Moment Could Do and Presley Talks Gordon

STILLWATER — Bedlam is never short on storylines, but there are a million ways to come at this particular game.

Oklahoma State and Oklahoma kickoff at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in Boone Pickens Stadium in what is the last scheduled Bedlam game ever. It also comes at a time where both teams are part of a five-way tie atop the Big 12 before Oklahoma leaves for the SEC. Oh, and it comes at a time where OSU turned its season around from scoring seven points at home against South Alabama to winning four straight games and having an All-America candidate at tailback.

OSU players met with reporters after their Monday practice. Here are three other storylines to keep track of heading into Bedlam.

Cooper’s First Bedlam

A native of Prague, Oklahoma, Dalton Cooper will play in his first Bedlam game Saturday.

Cooper, OSU’s starting left tackle, transferred to Stillwater from Texas State this past offseason. Being an Oklahoman, he has been in the building for Bedlam battles in the past. Cooper said he was at the Mason Rudolph-Baker Mayfield duel of 2017 and he was in Norman for Taylor Cornelius going toe-to-toe with Kyler Murray.

Cooper said that Prague is more an OU town, but he takes the OSU fans in quality over quantity.

“I’d also say that all the OU fans that are there, maybe about 95% of them didn’t go to college at OU,” Cooper said. “But 100% of the OSU fans that are in my town, all of them went to OSU. We’re a little bit more loyal and true at our fan base here. They’re just a buncha bandwagoners for sure.”

Saturday will also be a big deal for the Cooper family. He said his uncle, aunt, grandfather and great grandfather all went to OSU.

“To see me on TV with that orange jersey on, they just get ecstatic and freak out,” Cooper said. “They didn’t think I’d be there and I didn’t think I’d be there, so it’s just lovely.”

‘I’d Give It to Ollie, Too’

In the third quarter of OSU’s game against Cincinnati, the Cowboys had a third-and-goal from the Cincy 1-yard line when the OSU student section let its opinion known on who should get the ball.

“Ollie! Ollie! Ollie!”

But in perhaps a well-staged ruse, the Cowboys instead handed it to Brennan Presley on a sweep, and he scored.

“I mean, shoot, I’d give it to Ollie, too,” Presley said. “Somebody was gonna get in, whether it was me or him.”

Somehow already a senior, Presley is one of the longest-standing members on OSU’s team. He has seen a Bedlam win, he has seen Big 12 title heartbreak, he has seen a Fiesta Bowl win and now he is seeing a teammate take off into the stratosphere of national attention with what Gordon has been doing.

“It’s one of those things where he knew he could play like this, and he knew given the opportunity, he could play like this,” Presley said. “Honestly, it’s not even a shock to him. Of course, you get more buzz and all that stuff around your name and the pressure goes up, but I think he relishes in that. Like, he loves the opportunity to go out there every single day, make plays, play hard.

“… He is the same person as always. I’m telling you, the fame and all that stuff, it doesn’t get to his head because when you expect to play like that, then you know certain things are gonna come with it. He’s been the same person.”

What a Big Bedlam Moment Could Mean

Collin Oliver had a phenomenal freshman season in 2021, but no moment was bigger than his fourth-down sack of Caleb Williams to secure the Cowboys’ Bedlam victory.

With less than 15 seconds to play, Williams took a snap deep in OSU territory. Oliver came off the edge and went past Williams, who stepped up in the pocket as Oliver fell to the turf. But then Oliver lurched his arms forward and grabbed Williams by the ankle and brought him down.

“Dropped! Sacked by Collin Oliver!” Chris Fowler called.

“He is sacked!” Dave Hunziker called. “He is sacked! Back at the 33-yard line, they got him! It was the youngster, the freshman, Collin Oliver that got him! Where’s that Sooner magic now, baby? Where’s that Sooner magic now?”

The play solidified a spot for Oliver, an Edmond Santa Fe alum, in Bedlam’s history, and it also solidified a spot in the hearts of the OSU faithful.

“It wasn’t a life-changing event, no, but it was a cool event that just so happened to be a big moment in a big game,” Oliver said. “In that perspective, yeah, I guess it did change for the better.”