Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy at Big 12 Media Days on Wednesday — (Jerome Miron / USA TODAY Sports)

No Bedlam Game for Cowboys, But Hogs Could Take Place

Oklahoma won't have a big rival in-state with Oklahoma State that creates chance

Author:
Andy Hodges
Updated:
Jul 12, 2023 7:46 PM EDT
Original:
Jul 12, 2023

In this story:

Arkansas Razorbacks

Oklahoma State Cowboys

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The Big 12 Media Days that started Wednesday usually draws about as much attention around here as the weather, but Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy talked about the difference now in this annual rivalry game with Oklahoma going to the SEC.

"The Bedlam game is over because Oklahoma chose to leave the Big 12. Period," Gundy said when asked about Bedlam. "Do I like that? No. Do I like that conferences have broken up in the past? No, I don't. But I also know that we have to control what we can control, which is conference realignment is there. It's probably still going on. Wherever we all end up and whatever schedule they give us to play, we go play it and do the best we can."

The Razorbacks would provide an interesting non-conference rival for the Cowboys because neither one would have that. The Sooners have a huge rival already in Texas, and that's not going anywhere anytime soon. The money is too big and too good for everybody involved to take that away.

Plus, there's some history involved. For 21 straight years, while the Hogs were in the Southwest Conference, they played the Cowboys. Former coach Frank Broyles wanted it because it was a competitive early match-up that didn't affect what happened in the conference, but often indicated problems with his team.

When the Hogs played in Stillwater in 1978 for the first time in forever, it marked the first time they wore red pants in a game. That was Lou Holtz's idea and considered never doing it again after the Hogs were lucky to come out with a 19-7 game that was played on a sun-swept day with a huge wind blowing and no end zone seats to stop it in an East-West oriented stadium.

These days, it might be a little more competitive, but it would be an early game that could land the Hogs and OSU needed national exposure. It's a game with high potential buy-in from both fan bases. A surprisingly large number of Cowboy fans live in West Arkansas, much more than a lot of people would normally think.

It's also close enough to be convenient for travel both ways. It's a little over three hours between the two campuses, and most fans live a bit closer. In other words, it's roughly the same thing as Little Rock from Fayetteville and can be managed much easier for everybody, including athletics.

Besides, now even "Bedlam" has changed in tenor and tone. Everybody wants to be friends now.
"The Bedlam game has changed," Gundy said. "These players, they all know each other now, like they talk on social media. When I played, I didn't even want to talk to people from OU. We just weren't friends. Now these guys are buddies."

It could be a match-up that benefits both teams. The Cowboys are on the Razorbacks' schedule in 2024 (at Stillwater) and the return trip is in 2027. Don't talk about contracts and all. That's an excuse for an answer that is truthful, but doesn't tell the whole story. Contracts on future schedules are simply the starting point for negotiations to break them.