Bedlam

2020 has decided to throw a bone to Sooner (and, begrudgingly, Cowboy) Nation with today's Bedlam matchup being meaningful, at night and on national television. Little Brother thinks this is their year so the prospect of the Sooners breaking their spirits while also getting back into Big 12 championship game contention is a cherry on the cake.

OFFENSE

The Cowboys believe they have a respectable defense for once and are eager put it on display. I do not wish them the best and am having difficulty imagining a scenario where they hold the Sooners under 35. The Sooners, and particularly Spencer Rattler, will need to make some poor decisions in the passing game to not make the magic number. 

Rattler's decision making continues to improve, however, and I think their plan today is to wear out the Cowboy defense with a bludgeoning mix of Rhamondre Stevenson and quick throws to the sidelines. It will pay off in the last 20 minutes with the Sooners going over the top and stocking the highlight reel. It's gonna be a party.

I'll go with Spencer today for my OPOG in what I can see being his best game as a Sooner. He's much more prepared for the spotlight here in late November than he was as the much ballyhooed wunderkind of early September.  

DEFENSE

There is no doubt the Sooner D is rounding into something resembling form but they need to be careful today. It's a knifes edge between playing fast and having that speed exploited and the Cowboys do have pieces around the field to turn strength to weakness. 

The key will be how Alex Grinch handles the second level. For instance, I would much rather see Brian Asamoah, DaShaun White, Nik Bonitto and David Ogwoegbu at the point of attack than having Bookie or, God forbid, Pat Fields trying to contain or shadow Spencer Sanders. 

You obviously have to stop Chuba Hubbard while also keeping Spencer Sanders from running the ball. Here is where the D-Line has to be aggressive like they've been all year without being too fast and running themselves upfield so quickly they get exploited. 

I may be prematurely prognosticating here but I'm going to pick a DPOG. Ronnie Perkins. He looks like a baby eater and will put on a show tonight.

THE SCORE

A lot of people think this will be low scoring by Sooner standards but I think the Sooners will get to that magic number of 35. The Cowboys will have to work hard for what they get and will get lucky a little too because it's Bedlam and shit gets wild. 

But I like the Sooners easy at home 35 Cowboys 20.

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Bedlam

Both Nate and Mark Schlegel have told me separately that, "This team just isn't that good". They are right. They manage to survive in a world of survive and advance but they do so by playing to the level of the competition and consistently being their own worst nightmare. Today it's Bedlam in Stoolwater, a place where season's go to get spoiled.

Will it happen today?

OFFENSE

Well, I've come to the conclusion that Jalen Hurts is the football version of Russell Westbrook. He's a ball hog. He manages to be both hero and goat mostly because he dominates the ball. You live (and win) with him but god damn can he frustrate.

I'm frankly over him. He's dragging the offense with an inability to share the ball. There are weapons three deep at every position. And yet they run this RPO which is more of a RRO which is more of a Jalen-O. I'm also tired of his "post-game workout I piss excellence" shtick. Quit fumbling the fucking football.

Today he needs to (in this order) hang on to the ball when he runs, make a read or two, get rid of the ball quickly and spread the love. He needs to have zero turnovers but he damn sure better not have more than one and that better be an interception.

In spite of my gripes I am picking Hurts to be my OPOG. It's begrudging but he really needs to have his shit together today.

DEFENSE

This group seems to be playing pretty well again. They've been handed some shit sandwich situations and mostly acquitted themselves well. My nightmare is that Chuba Hubbard runs for 275 yards on 25 carries or some shit and The Mullet calls the kind of pass game to give whoever their shit brick QB is the easiest time possible.

The Sooners have to get off the field and they need to be seriously aggressive on third down. If they can bottle up Hubbard on first and second down and get the Cowboys in third and long maybe they can get their QB to shit down his trouser legs a few times.

This group also has a penchant for making a big play when they have to. They will need to again today because, again, my faith in Jalen Hurts not doing something inexcusably bone-headed is shaken to the core.

For my DPOG I'm going Kenneth Michael Murray. He needs to play smart in his gap assignments and not overrun everything. If he can do that and he can get about 10-15 tackles I think that's a great sign for the Sooners.

THE SCORE

It's going to be close and it could be ugly. It might be like a couple of prize fighters just throwing haymakers at each other. I do not believe, like the Oklahoman, that this will be low scoring. I expect a lot of big plays for both teams.

I do like the Sooners though surprise surprise.

Sooners 38, Cowboys 35

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Bedlam

You couldn't ask for more in Stillwater today. The Sooners control their own destiny and, with a win, are in The Playoffs?! Should the Cowboys win they'll be pleading their case for the next two days for the playoffs. Even children understand this rivalry. My son and another kid playfully heckled each other at last night's Thunder game. For one day friends are enemies. Good times.

The best part about this game, besides what's at stake, is that each team has its full complement of players. Until Monday it seemed possible that the Sooners would be without Baker Mayfield, Semaje Perine and Joe Mixon. That's the equivalent of American Pharoah running without a leg or three. Mason Rudolph is evidently playing today for the Cowboys amidst rumors of a broken bone in his foot. By all accounts he's their "passer". 

Oklahoma is likely announcing a state of emergency but the weather, while miserable, doesn't look like it will be as bad as, say, TCU-Baylor from last night. 

OFFENSE

As mentioned, the big 3 are cleared to play. Had Baker not been cleared to play I would have rather seen Joe Mixon run Wildcat all night than Trevor Knight take the reigns. Holy smokes did he look awful last week. Being full strength portends nightmares for the Cowboys. They got exposed against Baylor. 

The Sooners will offer a steady does of the ground and pound while Mixon in (get it?) some play action deep routes to keep the Pokes honest. The Cowboys are going to see how well we can pick up a blitz. 

Today I'm leaning heavy on the guy who's gotten us here. Without Baker Mayfield who knows what our record would be. We certainly aren't in the playoff picture. We probably aren't getting mentioned outside of Oklahoma. He's got moxie, he understands what's at stake and there is no way this team lets up for one second today while he's able to play. 

DEFENSE

OSU has a quality offense. By now we've seen as much as we can to prepare for it. Unfortunately it's been everyone's B-team. However, the Sooners D has totally redeemed itself over the course of the season and this group is salty. There is nothing OSU has seen to prepare. Big advantage for the Sooners. 

The Cowboys are going to keep on trucking with their deep ball until we can stop it. We'll win some and lose some. Hopefully we can get our hands on some balls and turn them over a few times. That differential should be enough. 

My top three players on the D this year have been Steven Parker, Eric Motherfuckin Striker and Charles Walker. I'm picking my DPOG from those three and I'm choosing Steven Parker. He's been awesome and his help in the passing game is going to be huge. 

THE SCORE

This will be fun. One team is going to ruin the others dreams. You couldn't ask for more from two teams and fan bases that truly loathe one another. 

The Sooners are a team that's running downhill right now. This game is last jewel in their amazing November run. There is a revenge factor after last year. Bob Stoops had his worst game as coach. The Cowboys can't match what's about to come. 

Sooners 35 Cowboys 17

Boomer to the motherfuckin Sooner

Bedlam 2012

OU is finishing up a run against the best offenses in the Big 12. So far, these offenses are who we thought they were. Baylor was savvy but, ultimately, not game. West Virginia was the most potent five-loss (at the time) team you are likely to see. Now it's OSU. Frankly, I fear them the most.

Conversely, the Sooner Defense is no longer who we thought they were. Sometimes statistics don't tell the whole story. Last week it did. The Sooner D at West Virginia was the worst defensive effort in Sooner history. They have been exposed and embarrassed for two weeks. Last week against West Virginia they needed someone, anyone, to step up. Landry Jones of all people bailed them out by playing one hell of a football game.

Speaking of, it's Senior Day for Landry Jones, the most polarizing player of the Bob Stoops era. A QB who re-wrote virtually all record books at OU and yet, the most readily criticized and vilified. Most praise heaped on him is deserved. When he's good he's great.

But much of his criticism is deserved as well.

I will argue forever that he leaves 150 passing yards on the field almost every game. These yards came in the form of interceptions for sure. But more often, it was a terrible swing pass or, worse, locking onto a receiver and ignoring/completely missing a more open target.

Ah well. He won a hell of a lot of football games and I really want him to win three more starting today. I hope next year I don't utter the words, "I wish we still had Landry Jones".

OFFENSE

At home, on Senior Day, against a rival, I expect the Sooners to come out humming like a sewing machine. Only a depleted offensive line can stop it completely.

The Cowboy defense is decent at best but shouldn't be able to hold the Sooners to less than 30. Shutting down Kansas and Iowa State does not make them a defensive juggernaut. No way they can stop the OU receiving corps. Will they be able to get pressure on Landry?

Kenny Fuckin Shitbag is going to pick the offensive unit up on his shoulders and make sure the Seniors, and particularly Landry, go out in style. This is the closest I can come to picking Landry. I like Kenny for 150 today.

DEFENSE

The Sooner defense is dead to rights for these last three games of the season and they know it. The Cowboys, regardless of who the Sooners face in a bowl, are the most lethal.

Joseph Randle could run for 300 yards. I guarantee Cowboy receivers will be running across the middle all day. The Cowboys are not near the levels of the last two years but they can pile up the points.

On the other hand, the Sooners have pride and legacies are at stake. 

What can the Sooners do? They can start making plays at the point of attack or they can change the scheme up a bit. Both seem difficult to do at this stage of the season. Things are a bit hard-baked by now.

I'll take my chances and hope that players will start making plays. It appears to be near impossible for coaches at this level to change schemes. I'm taking Senior DeMontre Hurst. Not that he'll have the most chances to make plays at the point of attack. He's just the most trustworthy not to screw up and he takes away half the field. He's been as solid as any DB in the Stoops era. He's had his position on lockdown for four years and no one has challenged him. He's about the only player you can trust over there these days.

THE SCORE

Of all the teams, nobody schemes on offense like the Cowboys. Of all teams, they are least respectful of the Sooners. If it can be said that anyone occupies time in Bob Stoops' headspace, it's Mike Gundy. In short, OU should be very concerned.

The Defense has been so sieve-like that the Offense might not be able to keep up. Is it possible the Sooner D is this bad? Is it possible to right the ship? Of course it is. And there's no better time than today.

Sooners 42 Cowboys 38 in a barn burner.

Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner

Bedlam

Bedlam. It sucks that this one isn't "the most important football game in Oklahoma history". Though, for OSU, it still is. As I've snarkily pointed out to every Poke fan I know this week, all the hopes and dreams of Cowboys fans and players are right there in front of them. Manifest Destiny and all that.

A Cowboy win would mean the first Big 12 Championship in school history (and the first outright conference championship since prohibition). The first BCS bid in school history. An outside shot at the first title game in school history.

Noooooo pressure.

That sound you just heard was the collective puckering of Poke buttholes.

All season long OSU had the mental advantage in this one. If there is one silver lining to the Sooners losing two games and being out of contention for the title it's that they now have, hopefully, a mental edge.

OU is now the underdog with nothing to lose. Everyone has written them off. They seem destined for a craptacular bowl game. But with one more spectacular effort they can rip the guts out of Little Brother on their own field.

No Big 12 Championship. No BCS. No title shot.

Sooner fans have to hope that the same Sooner team that showed up at Florida State, Texas and Kansas State will show up in Stillwater. Regrettably, this years Sooner squad has played to the level of its competition. Please God let them rise to the occasion today.

OFFENSE

It's Landry Jones. I hope he leaves for the NFL. He is the penultimate system QB. He leaves 120 yards on the table every week with his terrible screen passes. But we need him today. We really need him to not shit his pants and to not make inexplicably awful decisions. Make smart decisions, easy throws and let the run game do the heavy lifting. All he has to do is manage the game because the unit under the gun in this one is the defense.

DEFENSE

Great Oden's Beard these bastards need to show up today. OSU wants to turn the ball over. They love it. Brandon Weeden is not averse to making terrible decisions. Justin Blackmon made one of the dumbest football plays I've ever seen against Texas A&M and is not immune to fumbling. Joseph Randle really likes being careless with the football.

The Sooner D needs to embrace these tendencies. What they don't need to do is let the Pokes run roughshod or let receivers get behind the safeties. In general they should not give up the "Big Play". Unfortunately, they've done just that in spades all year long.

The Sooners will sorely miss Ronnel "The Hammer" Lewis. Now I'm hearing Big Frank Alexander might be out. Um, that sucks.

I'm going for Tom Wort. He's been playing well. Maybe he can get some pressure on Weeden. I think that's the key. Maybe Venables blitzes with Tommy. I actually feel pretty good about this.

THE SCORE

I'm really, really hoping for a defensive score for the Sooners. I think Landry can get a couple TD throws. Jaz Hands Reynolds will be back so that will be a huge help. The run game has been pretty stellar at times recently. I think the Sooners can get 35. That should be enough to win. But....

The D has given up big plays all season long. It's unfortunately their stock and trade. So, count on the Cowboys getting a few. Likewise, Landry could do something dumb and hand the Pokes a score on a platter. I think they take advantage.

Also, Bobby is 6-0 versus Mike "I'm a Man!" Gundy in season ending games. This fact is not lost on the Poke faithful. They are legitimately afraid of Bobby.

OU 35, OSU 24

Oh boy, this one's big. Boomer to the Motherfuckin Sooner.