In Oklahoma, you are born into a side. The state’s two largest universities sit 85 miles apart on Interstate 35 — the University of Oklahoma in Norman, Oklahoma State in Stillwater — and the divide between their crimson and cream versus orange and black runs through every family reunion, every workplace, and every fall Saturday from the moment the season begins.
Oklahoma leads the all-time football series 90–21–7. Oklahoma State has won the all-sports Bedlam competition 14 of the last 26 years, including 10 of the last 12. The football rivalry went on indefinite pause after OU left the Big 12 for the SEC following the 2023 season. The last Bedlam football game was November 4, 2023, in Stillwater. Oklahoma State won 27–24.
What Is the Bedlam Series?
The Bedlam Series is the official umbrella name for all athletic competition between the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the Oklahoma State Cowboys and Cowgirls. The name is most commonly attributed to the chaotic atmosphere of early wrestling matches between the two schools — legend holds that a reporter described a particularly raucous meet in Stillwater as “absolute bedlam,” and the name eventually spread to cover all sports. The wrestling programs were the original engines of this rivalry, and they remain its most structurally lopsided component.
Oklahoma State’s wrestling program has won 34 NCAA team championships — the most of any program in the country in any sport. Oklahoma’s wrestling program has won 7 national titles, itself elite by national standards. In dual meets between the two programs, Oklahoma State leads the series 141–27–10. When these two wrestling programs meet, the word bedlam is apt.
The all-sports Bedlam Series has been formally tracked since the 1999-2000 academic year. Oklahoma State leads that competition 14–11–1 through 2024-25, including winning 10 of the last 12 years. In 2023-24, OSU won 21–9, the most lopsided result in series history. In 2024-25 — the first year without a football game between them — OSU won 15–10.
The Football Series
Oklahoma leads the all-time football series 90–21–7 — a .763 winning percentage that reflects a century of dominance. OU has won 7 Heisman Trophy winners (tied for the most in history), 50 conference championships (most of any program in the country), and 7 recognized national championships. Oklahoma has spent 101 weeks at No. 1 in the AP Poll — third-most in history.
Oklahoma State has its own landmarks: 1 Heisman winner in Barry Sanders (1988, one of the most decorated single seasons in football history), 10 conference championships, and a program that under Mike Gundy transformed from a reliable underdog into a consistent Big 12 contender. OU’s longest win streak in the series is 19 straight from 1946 to 1964 — an era that coincided with Bud Wilkinson’s dynasty in Norman. OSU’s longest streak is 2 (1932–1933). The competitive gap in this rivalry is historically enormous; what makes it compelling is that the gap has meaningfully narrowed since 2005.
Brent Venables arrived at Oklahoma in 2022. His 2025 team went 10–3, led the SEC in points and yards allowed (15.5 points per game, 272.5 yards per game), made the College Football Playoff, and lost to Alabama 34–24 in the first round. He is 32–20 overall at OU. Mike Gundy remains at Oklahoma State, now in his third decade as a head coach, still the winningest coach in Cowboys history.
The Games That Define It
1904 — The Record: Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State 75–0, the largest margin of victory in series history.
1945 — OSU’s Finest Hour: Oklahoma State beat Oklahoma 47–0, the largest margin of victory in series history for the Cowboys.
2001 — The Upset in Norman: Unranked Oklahoma State shocked No. 4 Oklahoma 16–13 in Norman on a last-second touchdown pass, ending OU’s national championship hopes.
2011 — The Championship Game: OSU entered ranked in the top 10, won 44–10, and went on to play in the Fiesta Bowl. It remains the Cowboys’ best season in program history.
2014 — Tyreek Hill: OSU trailed No. 20 Oklahoma by 14 points with less than eight minutes remaining at Owen Field in Norman. Mason Rudolph threw a 43-yard touchdown to cut it to 35–29. With 45 seconds left, return man Tyreek Hill caught a short punt at the OSU 15 and went 92 yards to tie the game. Hill was crying before he reached the end zone. OSU won in overtime 38–35 on a 21-yard field goal.
2017 — The Shootout: No. 8 Oklahoma and No. 11 Oklahoma State combined for more than 1,400 yards of total offense. Baker Mayfield threw for a program-record 598 yards. Mason Rudolph threw for 448 yards. Barry Sanders’ son Justice Hill ran for 228 yards. Oklahoma won 62–52. Mayfield won the Heisman.
2021 — OSU’s Modern Peak: OSU entered ranked in the top 10, won 37–33, and finished seventh nationally after the Fiesta Bowl.
2023 — The Final Bedlam: Oklahoma State won 27–24 at Boone Pickens Stadium — the fourth win in five Bedlam games for OSU, and the last meeting for the foreseeable future.
Two Universities, One State
Oklahoma is a comprehensive research university globally renowned for its meteorology program — the National Weather Center sits on the Norman campus. Gaylord Family–Oklahoma Memorial Stadium holds over 80,000 fans. Heisman Park, just east of the stadium, features bronze statues of all 7 Heisman winners. The Sooner Schooner — a covered wagon pulled by white ponies — circles the field after every score.
Oklahoma State was founded as a land-grant institution and retains those agricultural roots. Its programs in agriculture, engineering, veterinary medicine, and aviation are nationally elite. Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater holds just over 55,000 fans in a tight brick-clad design that traps crowd noise. Pistol Pete is one of the most recognizable mascots in college sports. The student section’s “Paddle People” bang orange paddles against the stadium walls throughout every game.
The campuses are 85 miles apart. During rivalry week, the fanbases cross the border freely and the divide runs through the same families and the same offices — which is what makes Bedlam different from rivalries between schools in different states.
Conference Realignment and the Pause
Oklahoma left the Big 12 for the SEC beginning with the 2024 season, joining a conference that distributes approximately $72.4 million per school annually. Oklahoma State remains in the Big 12, which distributes $20.5 million per school in direct athlete revenue sharing for 2025-26.
The Bedlam football series is on indefinite pause. Both schools have expressed interest in non-conference scheduling, but OU’s SEC slate and OSU’s Big 12 slate leave few open dates. The series will return; the timeline is unclear.
NIL and How Fans Are Now Part of It
Oklahoma fans can back Sooners athletes directly through RallyFuel — supporting a program now in the SEC with 7 Heisman winners, 50 conference championships, and the most dominant defensive unit in the SEC in 2025. OU’s NIL ecosystem operates within the SEC’s commercial infrastructure and one of college football’s most passionate and wealthy alumni networks.
Oklahoma State fans can back Cowboys athletes directly through RallyFuel — supporting a program with 34 wrestling national championships, 10 of the last 12 all-sports Bedlam titles, Barry Sanders’ 1988 Heisman, and a football program that has won 4 of the last 5 Bedlam games.
RallyFuel’s weekly college football predictions game lets fans earn points and direct them toward NIL support. The schools leaderboard tracks total fan-driven contributions — a live measure of which fanbase is more mobilized while the football series waits for its return. The Trophy Case tracks Heisman contenders throughout the season; OU’s 7 winners include Barry Sanders’ opponent Baker Mayfield, who threw for 598 yards against OSU in 2017 on his way to the award.
Why It Never Ends
Oklahoma leads football 90–21–7. Oklahoma State leads the all-sports Bedlam 14–11–1. OSU has 34 wrestling national championships; OU has 7. Tyreek Hill returned that punt 92 yards crying before he reached the end zone. The last game was 27–24 in Stillwater in 2023.
The rivalry is on pause. The argument is not. In Oklahoma, it never is.
