Something odd has happened, and it involves two teams that historically have taken very different paths.
The teams of course are the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys. And it’s quite fitting “little brother” is doing their best “big brother” impression.
Let me explain.
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The 2013-14 Oklahoma Sooners were a train wreck of sorts. They weren’t
awful
, but they’re inability to find a quarterback until late in the season cost them two important games.
Even if Oklahoma had a quarterback and beat Texas and Baylor, their defense wouldn’t have stood a chance against Jameis Winston in the last BCS National Championship Game.
As tough as it is to say, OU really had no business winning Bedlam in 2013.
However, by some special teams miracle, OU had a shot and they knocked off an Oklahoma State team that was probably a bit more talented in 2013.
Regardless of who was better, Oklahoma rode that late regular season momentum in to their bowl game and they beat an Alabama team no one thought they had a chance against.
They did this behind the arm of Trevor Knight, who went from second string quarterback to Heisman contender over night.
This created hype beyond belief for the Sooners, and as we all know, the 2014 Sooners disappointed in a big way.
Now let’s take a look at Oklahoma State.
The Pokes don’t draw the OU attention does, but their efforts last night did not go unnoticed.
The 2014 Cowboys struggled just to get a lower-tier bowl game, but by a SPECIAL TEAMS MIRACLE, Oklahoma State beat an OU team they had no business beating.
Oklahoma had more talent, but it’s not always about quantity. Sometimes it takes just one.
OSU had already built up some momentum in a losing effort against Baylor, but the Pokes took the next step by beating Oklahoma in Norman.
Oklahoma State finished off its hot ending to their season with a win over a favored Washington team in the Cactus Bowl. Not quite the Sugar, but the Pokes are feeling better about next season than they were a few months ago.
Maybe it’s not identical endings, but these two have switched places for the most part.
Oklahoma State “has their quarterback.” OU lost a few games they “should’ve won.” OU was beat in their bowl, Oklahoma State won theirs in exciting fashion.
Both fanbases are feeling very different things going in to 2015, but we all know that no matter the record of either team, Bedlam is anyone’s to take.
It is strange how times change from season to season, but the Sooners and Cowboys have seen plenty of role reversals over the past decade with the emergence of Oklahoma State football.
Next year will be very telling in whether OU can recover from its dreadful 2014 season and if Oklahoma State truly has a shot at competing with Mason Rudolph and a more seasoned cast.