Oklahoma State Football

The longstanding Bedlam rivalry between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will officially come to an end when the Sooners depart for the SEC in 2025, but Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy wants to make it clear his school is not to blame.

Per ESPN's Dave Wilson, Gundy said Tuesday that Oklahoma State "has no part" in the rivalry ending.

From the perspective of Oklahoma athletic director Joe Castiglione, it's the Cowboys who are calling it quits on the historic rivalry, which has been around since 1904 with 116 meetings between the schools.

"Oklahoma State has shown no interest to schedule any future games in football, so we're moving on," Castiglione said.

Gundy denied the accusation and believes it's not something that is worth discussing because it all hinges on Oklahoma's decision to depart the Big 12.

"Bedlam is history, we all know that. We've known that," Gundy said, "because OU chose to follow Texas and the money to the SEC. It's OK. So now, we're having what I think are childish discussions, in my opinion, over something that's done. And I would like to make this the last statement that I have because I have no hard feelings."

The 55-year-old continued: "But what's going on now is almost a situation with a husband and a wife, or a girlfriend and a boyfriend when you know you're dead wrong and you try to turn the table and make them think they're wrong, when Oklahoma State has no part in this."

While it sounds like Gundy has accepted fate, Castiglione said Tuesday that he hasn't given up on the Bedlam rivalry and he believes it could return "at some point in the 2030s."

As far as Gundy is concerned, the onus doesn't fall on the Cowboys to figure it out because they weren't involved in the "multibillion-dollar conversations" between Oklahoma and the SEC.

"So, everybody needs to get over it and move on and quit trying to turn the tables," he said. "It's somewhat comical that they still want to bring us into this equation. Let's not turn the tables. Let's just say, 'Hey, look, we chose to follow Texas and take the money and we're going to the SEC.' It's all good. Let's quit talking about it. Let's talk about football."

The Sooners will host the Cowboys in what could be one of their final meetings on Nov. 19.

The Bedlam series between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State will come to an end in 2025.

Athletic directors Chad Weiberg of Oklahoma State and Joe Castiglione of Oklahoma told Brett McMurphy of The Action Network there are no plans to continue the rivalry when the Sooners leave the Big 12 for the SEC.

"It (playing Oklahoma) presents logistical issues under our current (scheduling) structure," Weiberg said. "We don’t have any openings to play them. We’re full. Unless there are significant undertakings to make the game happen, it can’t happen."

According to Castiglione, Oklahoma State "has shown no interest to schedule any future games in football" and his program is "moving on" to other potential opponents.

Conference realignment has upended several rivalry games that took place annually across college football. Oklahoma and Nebraska went 11 years between games from 2010 to 2021 after the Cornhuskers left the Big 12 for the Big Ten. The two teams did reunite for a home-and-home series in 2021 and 2022.

The Backyard Brawl between West Virginia and Pittsburgh was on ice for 11 years after the Mountaineers left the Big East for the Big 12. They played their first game against each other since 2011 on Sept. 1, with Pitt getting a 38-31 win.

The Lone Star Showdown featuring Texas and Texas A&M hasn't been played since 2011, though it will likely make a comeback when the Longhorns join their in-state rivals in the SEC in 2025.

Per McMurphy, the biggest reason Bedlam won't continue is because the schools share similar scheduling philosophies, with Oklahoma State expected to maintain a nine-game Big 12 schedule and the SEC expected to implement a nine-game conference schedule when Oklahoma and Texas join.

The board of regents at Oklahoma and Texas unanimously voted to accept an invitation to the SEC in July 2021. The move is expected to happen on July 1, 2025, after the Big 12's current media rights deal expires.

The Sooners and Cowboys have a rivalry that dates back to 1900 if you include track and field. Their football series began in 1904 with a total of 116 games played. The only years they haven't met on the gridiron were 1905 and 1909.

Oklahoma has dominated Bedlam on the football field. The Sooners have a 90-19-7 edge in the series, but Oklahoma State won last year's game 37-33. This year's matchup will be played on Nov. 19 at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman.

Oklahoma State head football coach Mike Gundy didn't mince words when speaking about Oklahoma and Texas leaving the Big 12 for the SEC, saying that the two rivals "took the money and ran."

"Let's just cut to the chase. They made a choice to financially secure their athletic departments for the next 12 to 15 years," Gundy told Chris Low of ESPN. "People can talk about all the reasons, but that's why they did it, all for the money, and took a lot of history out of this league and a lot of history out of college football with them.

"Now, they're not the first ones to do it. Texas A&M did the same thing when they jumped ship to the SEC [in 2012]."

Texas and Oklahoma will officially leave the Big 12 for the SEC on July 1, 2025, and both schools are bound to take in far more cash thanks to the seemingly bottomless pit of money waiting for SEC institutions, as Chuck Carlton of the Dallas Morning News noted on Feb. 18, 2022:

"The latest staggering number came Feb. 10, when the SEC reported $777.8 million in revenue for the 2020-21 fiscal year. That translates into $54.6 million for each of the 14 member schools, including Texas A&M. The figure represented a $9.1 million increase over 2019-20, the first fiscal year to be affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and paves the way for a lot of pricey contract extensions and facility upgrades."

Jabari Young of CNBC reported in July 2021 that Texas and OU had "received about $34 million from the Big 12 over the last year."

Gundy also noted that "some great rivalries and a lot of history" will be lost with Texas and OU leaving, including the infamous "Bedlam" showdown between Oklahoma and Oklahoma State.

"It's just not going to be feasible," Gundy said in part. "We're scheduled out to 2036, I think, and I'm sure the SEC is going to nine conference games. They'll have to, or the media will kill them."

As far as the Big 12's future goes sans Oklahoma and Texas, Gundy isn't overtly concerned that their exodus will negatively affect the conference.

"The Big 12 is going to be fine, and I'm just giving you my opinion and know people get upset with my opinion, but we were fortunate that the two teams that left did it when they did [last year] and not now," Gundy said.

Gundy also praised the four schools (BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF) who will be joining the Big 12 with Texas and Oklahoma now leaving, noting they "can compete at any level."

"They have great television markets in different locations in the country that we didn't have," he said. The SEC and Big Ten are going to be strong, but after that, we're right there."

Gundy is entering his 18th season as the Cowboys' head coach. His team is ranked No. 12 in the preseason Associated Press poll and is slated to begin the year against Central Michigan on Sept. 1.

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy didn't have much to say about his brother, Cale, in the wake of his resignation from the University of Oklahoma earlier this week for using what he described as a "shameful and hurtful" word during a position meeting.

Speaking to reporters Saturday, Mike joked the situation "gave me enough information for a good chapter in my book whenever I retire."

Specific details about the word Cale used have not been made public. He said in his resignation statement on Twitter that he "read aloud the words" written on a player's iPad screen and one of them he "should never—under any circumstance—have uttered" the word that was displayed.

Sooner Nation, thank you. pic.twitter.com/BYBOjObGna

— Cale Gundy (@calegundy) August 8, 2022

Sooners head coach Brent Venables said in a statement that he accepted Cale's resignation for reading aloud "not once but multiple times, a racially charged word that is objectionable to everyone, and does not reflect the attitude and values of our university or our football program."

When Venables took over as head coach in December following Lincoln Riley's surprise move to USC, Gundy was named wide receivers coach.

Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon, who played for the Sooners from 2014 to 2016, issued a statement of support for Gundy on Twitter:

Sooner Nation This Ain’t Right‼️ @OU_Football pic.twitter.com/2WoKGrxcXX

— ⚡️Primetime!!!⚡️ (@Joe_MainMixon) August 8, 2022

Mike was asked on Saturday about the possibility of adding his brother to Oklahoma State's coaching staff.

"We hadn't even talked about that," Mike said. "He's got several other options right now that he's looking at. I haven't talked to him about that."

Cale has spent most of his life at the University of Oklahoma. He played quarterback for the Sooners from 1990 to 1993 and remained with the program as a graduate assistant in 1994.

After spending four seasons as an assistant coach at UAB, Cale returned to his alma mater in 1999 when Bob Stoops hired him as running backs coach. He has also coached wide receivers and was the team's recruiting coordinator from 2015 to 2021.

Mike is entering his 18th season as Oklahoma State head coach. The 55-year-old began his coaching career with the Cowboys in 1990 as wide receivers coach on head coach Pat Jones' staff.

Before entering the coaching ranks, Mike played quarterback at Oklahoma State from 1986 to 1989.

With numerous NCAA Division I schools switching athletic conferences, Oklahoma State football head coach Mike Gundy said Wednesday that he believes the realignment is just a big cash grab.

"The moves that are being made are only being made for the money. Period," Gundy told reporters.

This is not the first time Gundy has discussed realignment.

In October 2021, he predicted that conferences would realign again in 2024 while speaking on his weekly radio show (via Kyle Boone of Pistols Firing).

“They’ve got to get some central time zone teams [in the Pac-12] in my opinion in order to keep the level of a power-something conference to continue to put forth television money. The central time zone teams that were discussed the last couple months with all this realignment, this whole thing could realign in three, four years, don’t kid yourself. I think you will see someone in this time zone trying to go back and forth to put it all together.

"SEC’s not going anywhere, ACC feels comfortable and the Big Ten’s got a ton of money. At some point I would think [the Pac-12] will feel like there could be some realignment to gain strength and momentum. That’s just my opinion. … I’m just telling ya at some point they’ll have to see it that way.”

The Big Ten is set to add USC and UCLA in August 2024, and the SEC will add both Texas and Oklahoma in 2025.

With the Big 12 set to lose both Texas and Oklahoma, the conference could aim to realign with other conferences. Gundy's Oklahoma State figures to be the face of the Big 12 if the conference remains as is.

After the loss of UCLA and USC, the Pac-12 and ACC have discussed a "loose partnership," according to Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports. If the two conferences partnered up, it would help decrease the financial gap between them and the "superconferences" that are beginning to form.

Losing both UCLA and USC will be a tough blow for the Pac-12 financially. Without those two schools, rights for Pac-12 teams are worth around $30 million per year, according to Dodd. With both in the fold, they were worth around $42 million per team.

Lincoln Riley was Bob Stoops' handpicked successor at Oklahoma, but the Sooners coaching legend isn't too concerned about his protege's departure.

"Lincoln Riley didn't invent OU football," Stoops said Tuesday when being honored by the Oklahoma Legislature.

Riley served as Stoops' offensive coordinator for two seasons before being hired as head coach in 2017. He went 55-10 over his five seasons helming the Sooners, reaching the College Football Playoff three times. When Riley left for USC in November, he departed with the highest winning percentage for a coach in Oklahoma history.

Stoops took over for Oklahoma's Alamo Bowl victory over Oregon, saying he wanted to send a message that the program would remain a national power. 

"My first mission was to remind everybody—players, community, everybody at the university—Lincoln Riley didn't invent OU football, OK?" Stoops said. "Everyone needed a wake-up call because they kind of slipped into thinking he did."

Oklahoma targeted Brent Venables as Riley's replacement, bringing the respected defensive mind back into the fold after he spent the last decade working under Dabo Swinney at Clemson. Venables previously served as an assistant under Stoops from 1999 to 2011.

"Brent was a major part of [Oklahoma's undefeated 2000 season]," Stoops said of Venables. "He was with us 13 years and then went 10 years to Clemson where they've had as big a resurgence—not resurgence they've come from nowhere—to be one of the premier teams in the country.

"He's got all the experience in the world. I don't need to tell you about his passion and energy. It oozes all over the place and infects everybody."

Despite being one of the best assistant coaches in college football for two decades, Venables is in his first stint as a head coach with Oklahoma. The Sooners got off to a rocky start to his tenure, losing several transfers and commitments who either followed Riley to USC or looked for greener pastures elsewhere.

However, Oklahoma recovered from the initial setback well and has the No. 8 recruiting class in the country, per 247Sports. 

HEIGHT: 5'11"

WEIGHT: 232

HAND: 9 5/8"

ARM: 30 1/8"

WINGSPAN: 6'1 1/8"

40-YARD DASH: 4.52

3-CONE: DNP

SHUTTLE: DNP

VERTICAL: 39.5"

BROAD: 10'0"

POSITIVES

— Very good vision and discipline. Identifies run and pass concepts quickly and does not hesitate to react.

— Plays fast downhill. Knows how to stay tight to the DL and work in traffic.

— Good quickness in the box. Can hop gap to gap and function in tight spaces.

— Effective at slipping blocks thanks to his quickness, natural leverage and decent balance.

— Good speed. Can make plays in space and toward the perimeter.

— Heads-up, physical coverage player. Effectively plays his zones and reroutes when possible.

NEGATIVES

— Short build with poor arm length. Prone to losing engagements with OL and giving up ground.

— Despite putting up 36 reps of 225 at the Oklahoma State pro day, his play strength is inconsistent. He is willing to play violently but just does not have the functional strength or explosion to do it consistently.

— Change of direction in space can get clunky. Needs to take perfect angles to the perimeter.

— Sound form as a tackler, but his short arms can lead to missed tackles.

2021 STATISTICS

14 G, 129 TOT, 16 TFL, 3 SK, 4 FF, 1 INT

NOTES

— 3-star recruit in 2017.

— Recruited to Oklahoma State as a safety but transitioned to linebacker by the time he became a starter in 2018.

— Four-year starter.

— 2019 and 2020 second-team All-Big 12; 2021 first-team all-Big 12.

— Team captain in 2020 and 2021.

OVERALL

Malcom Rodriquez has all the necessary skills of an NFL linebacker, but he will be fighting an uphill battle against his small build.

At 5'11" and 232 pounds, Rodriguez sports a thick build, but he will be one of the shortest linebackers in the league. Likewise, he measured in at the combine with 30⅛" arms. That lack of length regularly showed up on film when going to take on blocks. He rarely proved he could them head-on, both due to his poor length and wavering play strength. Even in the most optimistic projection, there will be instances where he is outmatched physically.

Rodriguez has plenty to offer, though. Despite his size and strength, he still finds ways to excel in the box. He plays with a hair trigger that is seldom wrong, allowing him to get the jump on run plays. Rodriguez is also quite comfortable playing tight to blocks and finding creative ways to slip blocks in congested areas, helping him overcome his deficiencies. He's also mostly impressive in space. Though his change of direction can get ugly at times, he plays with good initial burst as well as long speed to chase to the perimeter.

Rodriguez can hold his own in coverage as well. Keeping up with quicker running backs and slot receivers may be tricky with his change-of-direction limitations, but his awareness and speed allow him to play effectively in zone coverage. He can patrol windows all around him while also excelling at triggering downhill to kill yards-after-catch situations.

Size and strength are Rodriguez's limiting factors. Everything else about his game screams NFL starting-caliber linebacker. That said, size and strength are major limitations to overcome, and Rodgriguez would need to develop into an elite processor and technician to make it work at a high level. He would be best served as a "Mike," where his quick processing, coverage skills and range can be accentuated.

GRADE: 6.9 (Potential Role Player - 4th Round)

OVERALL RANK: 117

POSITION RANK: LB11

PRO COMPARISON: Discount Eric Kendricks

Written by B/R NFL Scout Derrik Klassen

Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy didn't mince words after his team's 37-35 win over Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl.

"This is clearly the biggest win in the history of the school," Gundy told reporters after the game.

Saturday's victory came in dramatic fashion as Oklahoma State erased a 28-7 first-half deficit before fighting back for the win, the largest deficit the Cowboys have overcome in program history.

Oklahoma State fans can debate the program's biggest win, although this is the third Fiesta Bowl victory in school history. The team also won in 1974 and 2011, the latter coming at the end of a 12-1 season.

This year's 12-2 record marks only the second time the Cowboys have reached 12 wins.

Gundy now has a 149-69 record across 17 years at Oklahoma State, winning 11 bowl games. The team also captured the Big 12 title in 2011, although that was without a conference championship game.

It's an impressive resume at a school with limited history, but the coach lacked many signature wins during his tenure.

The November win over rival Oklahoma this season was an important one, although the latest victory over a Notre Dame team that came close to reaching the College Football Playoff might be the best postseason win of his career.   

The No. 9 Oklahoma State Cowboys scored 30 unanswered points, overcame a 21-point deficit and spoiled Marcus Freeman's debut as Notre Dame's head coach Saturday, beating the No. 5 Fighting Irish 37-35 in the Fiesta Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Everything went wrong for OK State for much of the first half, but quarterback Spencer Sanders hit his stride and threw three consecutive touchdown passes to Tay Martin to tie the game in the second half.

All told, Sanders finished with 371 passing yards, 125 rushing yards and four passing touchdowns.

Playing in his final collegiate contest, Notre Dame senior quarterback Jack Coan turned in a great performance in his own right with a Fiesta Bowl record 509 passing yards to go along with five touchdowns and one interception.

It was a less-than-ideal start to Freeman's career as a head coach after he took the reins from Brian Kelly, who left Notre Dame for LSU.

With the win, Oklahoma State finished the season 12-2, which was its best record since going 12-1 in 2011. The Irish fell to 11-2 in defeat.

---

Notable Stats

Spencer Sanders, QB, OSU: 34/51 for 371 YDS, 4 TD, 0 INT; 17 CAR for 125 YDS

Jack Coan, QB, ND: 38/68 for 509 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT

Tay Martin, WR, OSU: 10 REC for 104 YDS, 3 TD

Lorenzo Styles Jr., WR, ND: 8 REC for 136 YDS, 1 TD

Brennan Presley, WR, OSU: 10 REC for 137 YDS

Chris Tyree, RB, ND: 6 CAR for 18 YDS; 6 REC for 115 YDS, 1 TD

Jaylen Warren, RB, OSU: 19 CAR for 83 YDS; 6 REC for 34 YDS

Kevin Austin Jr., WR, ND: 6 REC for 105 YDS, 1 TD

Michael Mayer, TE, ND: 7 REC for 72 YDS, 2 TD

---

Sanders Atones for Poor Big 12 Title Game Performance

Sanders had a ton to prove after throwing four interceptions in Oklahoma State's Big 12 Championship Game loss to Baylor, and he righted the ship in the Fiesta Bowl.

Things initially looked bleak for Sanders and the Cowboys, as they trailed 28-7 late in the first half, but the momentum of the game changed after Coan's seven-yard touchdown pass to Mayer with 1:16 remaining in the second quarter.

It would have been easy for Sanders and Oklahoma State to go into the locker room with their tails tucked between their legs, but they showed a sense of urgency instead and staged a four-play, 75-yard drive culminating in a nine-yard touchdown pass from Sanders to wide receiver Tay Martin to cut the deficit to 28-14:

Toe-tap TD for the Pokes‼️ pic.twitter.com/eCYZuUyOEL

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 1, 2022

The Sanders-to-Martin connection was just getting started at that point, as the first drive of the second half ended with a five-yard scoring strike from Sanders to Martin:

RIGHT BACK IN IT!

Cowboys make it a one-score game 🤠 pic.twitter.com/fEDsK3UMNX

— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) January 1, 2022

That touchdown ended a 12-play, 87-yard drive, with Sanders accounting for all but four of those yards.

Oklahoma State seemed destined to tie the game at that point, and it finally happened with 2:47 remaining in the third quarter, as Sanders hit Martin again for an eight-yard score:

this man @_Taymartin1 is a walking cheat code. 😲

📺 @espn #LetsRide I @Fiesta_Bowl pic.twitter.com/uJkL7ichg2

— OSU Cowboy Football (@CowboyFB) January 1, 2022

Patrick Hayslip of the Gainesville Daily Register, Jacob Unruh of The Oklahoman and Curtis Fitzpatrick of WWLS all marveled at Sanders' resurgent performance:

This has been one of the best games Spencer Sanders has played. Terrific accuracy and poise and incredible judgment when to use his legs. This #FiestaBowl has been great.

— 🅿️atrick Hayslip (@PatrickHayslip) January 1, 2022

Spencer Sanders has been excellent today. #OKState

— Jacob Unruh (@jacobunruh) January 1, 2022

Spencer Sanders has been outstanding today. Perhaps his best game as a Cowboy.

— Curtis Fitzpatrick (@cfitzfox) January 1, 2022

The comeback truly came full circle on the Cowboys' next drive when Tanner Brown hit a 38-yard field goal to give them their first lead of the game at 31-28.

All signs pointed toward Coan being the story of the game, but Sanders finished with 496 total yards.

That seemed like a farfetched scenario in the first half, but once Sanders and the Oklahoma State offense went up-tempo, Notre Dame had no answers.

Saturday marked the breakout performance Cowboys fans have been waiting for out of Sanders, and if he can carry that momentum into the offseason, the junior has a chance to make OK State a national title contender again next season.

---

Coan Ends College Career with Huge Showing

Notre Dame's success was built largely on its running game and defense this season, but with star running back Kyren Williams opting out of the Fiesta Bowl to prepare for the NFL draft, Coan took center stage Saturday.

Offensive coordinator Tommy Rees crafted a masterful first-half gameplan that saw Coan throw early and often, usually taking advantage of Oklahoma State's lax coverage.

Coan's dissection of the Pokes defense started on the first drive of the game, as he needed less than two minutes to march 75 yards and find wide receiver Lorenzo Styles Jr. on a 29-yard touchdown pass:

Notre Dame strikes first! 😤 pic.twitter.com/BlG7FY3Woj

— ESPN (@espn) January 1, 2022

The Irish made it 14-0 later in the quarter when Coan smartly beat an all-out blitz with a lob pass to running back Chris Tyree, who took it 53 yards to the house:

he goneeee ✌️@chris_tyree4 | #GoIrish pic.twitter.com/rPJUrjMGoa

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 1, 2022

Based on that play, Patrick Engel of BlueandGold.com pointed how well-prepared Coan and the Irish offense appeared to be:

Oklahoma State goes 0 blitz on third and long. Jack Coan sensed it all the way and burned it with an acrobatic pass to an uncovered Tyree.

Notre Dame sure looks well prepared in its first game under Marcus Freeman.

— Patrick Engel (@PatrickEngel_) January 1, 2022

Oklahoma State managed to answer with a short touchdown pass by Sanders, but Coan's hot start continued over the course of the entire first half.

A 16-yard touchdown pass from Coan to tight end Michael Mayer restored Notre Dame's 14-point lead:

the Incredible Michael Mayer would 𝗻𝗼𝘁 be denied 😤#GoIrish pic.twitter.com/QlGtuX0pQ2

— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) January 1, 2022

Coan later hit Mayer on a seven-yard touchdown pass late in the first half to give the Irish their biggest lead of 21 points.

Cayden McFarland of KJRH noted that it marked the first time all season Oklahoma State allowed more than three offensive touchdowns in a game:

Oklahoma State is the only Defense in the country that hasn’t allowed more than 3 offensive TD in a game this year… on the line the rest of the way here.

— Cayden McFarland (@caydenmc) January 1, 2022

With Coan enjoying his best game of the season and perhaps of his entire collegiate career, Keith Arnold of WGAw suggested he could potentially play on Sundays:

Jack Coan looks like an NFL quarterback. I’d say he should chip Tommy Rees off 20%, but Tommy just got paid, too.

— Keith Arnold (@KeithArnold) January 1, 2022

WGR's Nate Geary was highly complimentary of Coan as well, especially in comparison to former Notre Dame quarterback Ian Book:

Jack Coan doesn’t have the sexy intangibles, but he’s so much better than Ian Book.

— Nate Geary (@NateGearySports) January 1, 2022

As great as Coan played in the first half, things went downhill for the Irish after going up 28-7.

The Cowboys scored a touchdown late in the first half and would go on to score 27 unanswered points to take a 34-28 lead in the fourth quarter.

Everything that worked for Coan and the offense in the first half was shut down by the Oklahoma State defense for much of the second half, as the Cowboys' unit looked far more representative of what it had been all season long before the Fiesta Bowl.

Even with so much going wrong, the Irish were driving for the go-ahead score in the fourth quarter, but Coan made his first big mistake of the game with 6:35 left when he was intercepted by linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez.

Notre Dame did get another opportunity a bit later, but a turnover on downs essentially put the game out of reach and squandered what was a red-hot start for Coan and the Irish.

What's Next?

Oklahoma State will look to build on one of its biggest wins of the Mike Gundy era as it enters the offseason and prepares for 2022.

Meanwhile, the Irish will look to regroup after letting a winnable game slip away in Freeman's first outing as head coach.