Could Bedlam Football be Renewed With Postseason Matchup?

Oklahoma State’s rivalry is on hold, and it could take some unconventional routes to get Bedlam back.

In 2023, OSU beat Oklahoma in Stillwater in the final scheduled Bedlam matchup. With the Sooners joining the Texas Longhorns in moving to the SEC in 2024, the in-state rivalry could be a distant memory before it is seen again.

Since the Sooners moved to a new conference and took the Cowboys off the schedule, neither side has been willing to budge on their future nonconference matchups to make room for the rivalry. With how it’s currently going, the rivalry could be on the field next in the 2030s if the teams wait for the right nonconference slots to open up.

However, there have been some attempts to get the Cowboys and Sooners on the same field again in a different capacity. Earlier in the spring, OSU coach Mike Gundy proposed the idea of a spring Bedlam game. 

Instead of having a standard spring game, Gundy explained that the Sooners and Cowboys could have a scrimmage against each other. He proposed playing twice each spring, with one game on each campus, or simply alternating campuses each year, as the teams did in the regular season for so many years.

Considering the NCAA’s shaky ability to enforce its rules about not having spring games like that, it could be a possibility in the near future. Of course, that could lead to a much more interesting proposal for Bedlam to be renewed.

In this world of college football, it seems the only thing that matters is the College Football Playoff. And with the playoff’s rapid expansion, the number of premier bowl games outside of the playoff is dwindling.

Considering that missing the playoff in this era effectively leads to a meaningless postseason, that could open the door for a new type of postseason matchup. If OSU and OU each fail to make the playoff but are bowl-eligible, the teams could meet in a postseason matchup.

Perhaps a name such as the “Oklahoma Bowl” could draw fans in from across the state, with the team with the higher ranking or better record hosting each season.

With both programs struggling to find their footing in this new world of college football, capping a non-playoff year with the most anticipated matchup in the state of Oklahoma could be the perfect way to ensure the postseason is meaningful and fans have something to look forward to even if the College Football Playoff is off the table.