Ross Dellenger of Yahoo! Sports reported Thursday that SEC executives are now closer to adopting a nine-game conference schedule after four years of debate and discussion on the possibility. University presidents will still ultimately have to make the decision, per Dellenger.
According to Dellenger, in the new model, SEC teams would play three permanent conference opponents every year while rotating the other six. That would also mean only three nonconference games every season compared to the current four, which is what could throw yet another obstacle in the way of getting Bedlam ever again on a football field.
SEC possibly moving to 9 conference games puts Bedlam potential on hold
Bedlam football died after the 2023 season when Oklahoma left Oklahoma State behind in the Big 12 to move to the SEC. As nearly every other sport still made Bedlam happen in nonconference meetings, that wasn't possible in football because of less nonconference options that are scheduled years in advance.
Both OU and OSU already have a Power Four nonconference opponent on the schedule until at least 2030, with the Sooners hosting Nebraska that season to renew yet another dead rivalry because of conference realignment. That meant 2031 was likely already the earliest we'd see Bedlam on a schedule in a nonconference capacity.
However, that was also when OU had four games to give, but now it looks like the Sooners will have one less game to work with if the SEC adds another, which the Big 12 already does. However, while the Cowboys are looking at ways to beef up their schedule for a better College Football Playoff resume, the Sooners need the opposite.
Another SEC game for OU means someone else like Georgia or Florida on the schedule, both of which the Sooners avoided their first two years in the conference. With another foe like that, OU will have no need to add another Power Four opponent like OSU to its slate. The last hope would be if the CFP committee really does start weighing strength of schedule heavily, which might be necessary to keep big-time nonconference games alive.
With every change to college football, though, it seems like Bedlam football is a victim, so unless there's another seismic shift, bowl season will be our best bet at getting Bedlam football again, and even then, the state's biggest rivalry wouldn't even be played in Oklahoma.
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