Bedlam 2015: The Matchup

Bedlam 2015 kicks off Saturday between the Sooners and the Cowboys, and with both Oklahoma teams sitting at 10-1 on the season and battling for the Big 12 championship, this year’s matchup is sure to be a barn burner.

Baker Mayfield has proved himself this year, helping his team lock the No.3 spot in College Football Playoff rankings over No. 4 Iowa, No. 5 Michigan State and No. 6 Notre Dame. The Sooner standout is also a Heisman Trophy candidate and a finalist for the Burlsworth Trophy. Against TCU, he was 9-of-20 for 127 yards and had two touchdowns before being checked out after taking an illegal hit to the head from Horned Frog linebacker Ty Summers. This season, he’s thrown for 3,209 yards and 33 touchdowns.

"He's been really good,” said Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy. “You know, I was very impressed with [Trevone] Boykin, and in my opinion, Mayfield is as elusive and productive in the world he's living in. He has made plays with legs, and his ability to run has kept drives going and has moved the chains. He's been a really good player."

Related Story: Mayfield Madness: OU's Baker Mayfield Named Finalist For Burlsworth Trophy

But Mayfield isn’t without help. Playmakers Samaje Perine and Sterling Shepard have been major factors in the Sooner offense as well.

Perine has racked up 13 touchdowns and 1,160 rushing yards on the season. He also recorded 188 rushing yards against TCU and 166 against Baylor. The workhorse’s performance in Bedlam is going to play a significant role in the Sooners' fate.

Shepard currently has ten touchdowns and 1,114 receiving yards on the season, the most he’s tallied in his college career during a single season. Against TCU, he was the only Oklahoma receiver with more than one catch, finishing with eight on the day while tallying 111 receiving yards. It’s clear that the senior is trying to help his team to a Big 12 championship.  

On the other side, you have sophomore and senior quarterbacks Mason Rudolph and J.W. Walsh. Both have been excellent this season, leading the Cowboys past caliber teams such as TCU. In OSU’s only loss to Baylor, Rudolph threw for 430 yards and three touchdowns.

“Rudolph and Walsh really do a great job complimenting one another, [and] they’ve got some excellent receivers they make a lot of big plays with,” said OU head coach Bob Stoops.

With the help of their receivers, OSU’s passing game should cause some disruption in Oklahoma’s defensive. James Washington has an FBS-best three receptions of or over 70 yards and David Glidden holds a team-high of 50 catches. 

As far as the Cowboys improving their running game before this weekend, Mike Gundy said, “There's not much we can do from a scheme standpoint, mainly because you only have two days to prepare. It's unrealistic to change that much. At this point in the season, you have more flexibility when you get into postseason play. We try to find ways within the system that we can manage to stay balanced on offense. It's not frustrating, but it makes it more difficult to be successful on offense and generate points and yards. We can't change what's happened or how we got to this point, but we can try to make it better in the future."

As far as Oklahoma State’s defense, you can’t mention it without mentioning Emmanuel Ogbah. “Defensively [they’re] very disciplined and structured in how they play. Ogbah [is] an excellent player up front, very disruptive,” explained Stoops.

As far as the Sooners defense, junior cornerback Zack Sanchez’s name is often the topic of conversation. In OU’s win over TCU, Sanchez picked off two of passes and led a defense that held TCU to 390 yards which is 218 below their season average. He also had four tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup to help him earn Big 12 Co-Defensive Player of the Week honors.

With all of that being said, on Saturday night Bedlam will record another year of Oklahoma’s historic rivalry between orange and crimson and cream.