Bedlam might be back in 2026, and it may not take a scheduled nonconference game or a mutual change of heart to make it happen. College football’s bowl machinery could force Oklahoma and Oklahoma State back onto the same field after the rivalry ended in 2023, when OU moved from the Big 12 to the SEC.
The matchup gaining traction is the Texas Bowl, which multiple bowl projections this week have turned into a potential Bedlam reunion on Dec. 31 in Houston. ESPN’s Mark Schlabach and CBS Sports both projected Oklahoma and Oklahoma State to land there, a rare double dose of belief that the rivalry could return in postseason play.
There is still plenty of football left before anything is locked in, but the matching predictions matter. They suggest this isn’t just a random idea floating around - it’s a possibility that bowl organizers would almost certainly try to make happen if the teams end up in range. And for a sport that has made bowl season increasingly hard to care about, Bedlam would at least give fans a reason to pay attention.
The Sooners and Cowboys are both already on the outside of the College Football Playoff picture. Oklahoma sits at 4-3, while Oklahoma State is 5-2 and ranked No. 24 in the country.
A CFP meeting would obviously be the strongest version of Bedlam, but a bowl game would still bring back an in-state rivalry that has sat dormant for three years. The concern, of course, is whether the game would actually feel like Bedlam if too many players skip it. That would cheapen one of college football’s best rivalries and turn it into something closer to a glorified junior varsity game.
For Oklahoma State, the biggest unknown is quarterback Drew Mestemaker. He has climbed into the group of top quarterback prospects for the 2027 NFL Draft, and that usually means final bowl games become optional in the eyes of those players. Protecting draft stock and getting a head start on pro prep has become the norm.
Still, Mestemaker played in the New Mexico Bowl last year for North Texas, even with his head coach, Eric Morris, already on his way to Stillwater - and with Mestemaker’s own move widely expected. If he suited up again, Oklahoma State would have its best shot at being fully dangerous. Without him, the Cowboys would be exposed.
Oklahoma would also have its own personnel worries on defense. Brent Venables’ unit includes several players who could soon be NFL-bound, including defensive tackles David Stone and Jayden Jackson, linebackers Kip Lewis and Owen Heinecke, safety Peyton Bowen, and cornerback Eli Bowen.
On offense, the Sooners probably do not need to worry about quarterback John Mateer heading for the draft, but they would still want wide receiver Isaiah Sategna, center Jake Maikkula, and tight ends Hayden Hansen and Rocky Beers available for one more run.
And that is before accounting for the transfer departures both teams will face once the regular season ends.
There are obvious drawbacks to a bowl-season version of Bedlam, but it would still be the kind of game that makes sense for the Sooners and for college football as a whole. It would give fans a bowl worth watching, and in a setting where pride and bragging rights are usually all that’s on the line anyway, Oklahoma might as well try to finish the rivalry with the last word against the school down the road rather than some random opponent with no shared history at all.
In Other News...
Sooners Face A Corner-Turning Test Against A Dangerous South Carolina
Oklahoma heads into Saturdays matchup with a chance to do something it has not managed yet this season: stack consecutive wins. At 4-3, the Sooners return home to Gaylord Family - Oklahoma Memorial Stadium to meet a South Carolina team that looked sluggish early but has now won two straight conference games, a reminder that this is still a league race with plenty of turn left in it.
John Mateer will be central to Oklahomas hopes of continuing that momentum, but the challenge is a real one. South Carolina brings a dynamic presence at quarterback in LaNorris Sellers and a disruptive defensive piece in Dylan Stewart, giving the Gamecocks the kind of playmakers that can tilt a game quickly. It makes this a useful measuring-stick afternoon for Oklahoma, with kickoff on Saturday and the SEC Network carrying the broadcast. [Read more 🡒]
Mississippi State Brings One Big SEC Question Oklahoma Fans Should Watch
Mississippi States trip into this stretch of SEC road life comes with a few questions attached, and the biggest one for Oklahoma fans to keep an eye on is who the Bulldogs can actually trust at quarterback. The matchup arrives with Mississippi State trying to stop a three-game skid, and the uncertainty around Kamario Taylors injury only adds to the sense that this offense is searching for answers while the defense has also been fighting through recent struggles.
For Oklahoma, the broader interest is less about the Bulldogs record and more about what kind of version of Mississippi State shows up once the game gets going. A team that has had to lean on key players and work through instability on both sides of the ball can still create problems if it settles in early, and the history between the programs adds a little more texture to the conversation. Even with the current issues, this is the kind of SEC test that can change fast depending on who is available and who takes control first. [Read more 🡒]
Oklahoma Just Landed A Big Recruiting Opportunity This Month
Fresh off a win over Mississippi State, Oklahoma is still very much in the middle of the kind of recruiting stretch that can shape the next few classes. The Sooners are set to host South Carolina next, but the staff also has its eye on the sidelines and the visitor list, where a few high school prospects are mapping out their next rounds of campus stops while sorting through offers from multiple programs.
Among them are 2028 defensive linemen Malakai Leilua and Brynnen Thompson, along with 2029 tight end Wyatt Cordray, all of whom have visits lined up at Oklahoma and elsewhere. For a program trying to keep momentum on the field and on the trail, the next few weeks matter almost as much as the next game, even if the real decision-making is still a long way from being finished. [Read more 🡒]