A Decade on, Oklahoma State Will Again Lean on Defense to Try to Win Bedlam
A decade on, the stage is set for Bedlam deja vu.
Ten years ago, the Oklahoma State Cowboys romped the Oklahoma Sooners 44-10 en route to the program’s first Big 12 Championship, completely flipping the script on preseason expectations.
Entering the 2011 season, the Sooners were primed to get over the hump and return to the top of college football.
An experience quarterback in Landry Jones was supposed to take the next step and cement his place amongst the OU greats.
Instead, the Sooners looked disjointed all season and fell flat on their face, culminating in a Bedlam blowout.
The Cowboys, on the other hand, flew under the radar on the back of an historically great defense. Oklahoma State led the nation with 44 forced turnovers in 2011.
Move forward a decade and things appear eerily similar.
Spencer Rattler, the preseason Heisman Trophy favorite, was replaced halfway through the season, and Oklahoma has fallen well short of its national championship aspirations.
And on the back of another great defense, it is the Cowboys who have already booked their ticket to Arlington, TX, for the Big 12 Championship, not the Sooners.
But this year’s Oklahoma State defense is much different than the turnover machine in 2011. A decade ago, Oklahoma State’s defense would give up yards, but they always seemed to find a way to clamp down and force a turnover or mistake when it was most needed.
This year, Jim Knowles’ group is flat out dominant.
“I don’t know what else to say about the defense,” Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy said on Saturday after OSU’s shutout victory over Texas Tech. “I’m kind of running out of things to say about them on Saturdays. Hopefully they can just stay the course.”
Led by star linebacker Malcom Rodriguez, the Cowboy defense has taken its game to an entirely different level over the past four weeks.
Oklahoma State has allowed one offensive touchdown in its last four games, allowing 5.8 points per game in four games since losing to Iowa State.
While the defense has ramped up the intensity another few notches, the offense has become more and more steady, relying on running back Jaylen Warren and an improving offensive line to win the day.
As a result, the Cowboys have started blowing people out, and they boast a nation-best 35.5-point margin of victory over the last four weeks.
OU quarterback Caleb Williams has struggled the past two weeks facing the two best defenses he’s seen all year in Baylor and Iowa State.
Over the two games, Williams has combined to complete 18-of-37 passes for 233 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. Over that span, the OU offense has scored 35 points, but has struggled to move the ball consistently and stay on the field outside of those few scoring drives.
The bad news for the Oklahoma offense is they’re about to see another massive step up in competition.
Oklahoma State’s defense ranks No. 3 in the country in total defense, leads the country in sacks with 42, ranks fourth in rushing defense and is No. 10 in passing defense.
The Cowboy defense isn’t gimmicky. It’s not based on luck or rolling the dice. They're one of the most consistent and technically sound units in the country, and Gundy will look to ride them back to his second Big 12 title, just like he did 10 years ago.
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