Stormin in Norman
Fansided

Oklahoma football: Sooners vs. Cowboys by the numbers

By Chip Rouse

Nov 27, 2021; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Trevon West (81) tackles Oklahoma State Cowboys wide receiver Brennan Presley (80) after Presley muffed the ball during a kickoff return in the third quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium. Oklahoma State won 37-33. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 27, 2021; Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma Sooners wide receiver Trevon West (81) tackles Oklahoma State Cowboys wide receiver Brennan Presley (80) after Presley muffed the ball during a kickoff return in the third quarter at Boone Pickens Stadium. Oklahoma State won 37-33. Mandatory Credit: Brett Rojo-USA TODAY Sports /
facebooktwitterreddit

Numbers don’t lie, and the historic numbers in the 117-year old Oklahoma football series with Oklahoma State say that the Sooners are in the best position to win on Saturday when these two longtime rivals meet for what could be the final game in the series, at least for the foreseeable future.

The Sooners own a commanding 91-19-7 advantage in the overall series and are 33-5-1 against their Bedlam rivals when the game is played in Stillwater, which is where this year’s game will be played. Since 1950, Oklahoma is 31-5-1 against Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

That’s all well and good and speaks impressively about Oklahoma, but most every football fan knows that in a rivalry game — which I’m not sure is a fair characterization, given how one-sided and uncompetitive this long-standing football series has been — records and rankings often take a backseat to execution, resilience and heart.

And if you take current momentum into account, Saturday’s Bedlam battle features an Oklahoma State team that is on a four-game winning streak and has gotten progressively better since its 2-2 start to the season and an OU team that has struggled in the two games since its signature win over then No. 3-ranked Texas.

The stakes are high for both teams on Saturday. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State are tied with three other teams — Texas, Kansas State and Iowa State — at the top of the Big 12 standings, all with 4-1 records. Texas and Kansas State also play each other this weekend. So the winner of the OU-OSU game will fare no worse than a three-way tie for first place in the standings after Saturday with three games remaining. The loser will no longer have control of its own destiny.

Here is how the 2023 numbers shake out for both OU and OSU in major statistical areas. The national rankings in each category are in parentheses.

                                                                                  OU                     OSU

Scoring offense                                                 41.9 (4)              31.1 (46)

Scoring defense                                                18.9 (22)           24.4 (55)

Rushing offense                                             180.9 (33)        184.4 (30)

Rushing defense                                            132.0 (52)        170.4 (101)

Passing offense                                             308.9 (11)        244.6 (55)

Passing offense                                             237.6 (86)        238.9 (90)

Total offense                                                  489.8 (7)           429.0 (39)

Total defense                                                 369.6 (61)        409.2 (105)

3rd-down conversion offense                    47.7% (17)        39.2% (76)

3rd-down conversion defense                   28.6% (5)           42.0% (96)

Red zone conversion offense                     86.0% (33)         88.6 (38)

Red zone conversion defense                   75.0% (19)          72.2% (14)

Turnover margin                                            +10 (3)               +3 (35)

Home/OU Football