Ten years ago: OSU’s shocking win in Norman
Published: 11/22/2011 8:54 PM
Last Modified: 11/22/2011 8:54 PM
Ten years ago this week, in advance of the Bedlam game in Norman, Oklahoma State was a four-touchdown underdog.
With Les Miles as their first-year coach, the Cowboys were 3-7. The defending national champion Sooners were 10-1 and positioned for a possible shot at a championship repeat.
Excerpts from the Tulsa World’s coverage:
Nov. 20, 2001: "I promise you, (the Sooners) do not want to lose this game, but I don't think that makes it any harder for us," Miles said. "We're a team whose goal is now to defeat them, and they stand in our way. That's how you approach it."
Nov. 24, 2001: During a 10-year span that began in 1982, OU held an Associated Press ranking in advance of nine Bedlam games. In eight of those contests, OSU had a lead or trailed by no more than nine points in the second half. OSU went on to lose each game. Miles laughed at the suggestion that the Cowboys might be cursed in the Bedlam series. "I'd hate to draw the picture that we're unlucky,” he said. “Good players who expect good things to happen – they’re the most lucky. I think our guys can be that way, too."
Nov. 25, 2001: Oklahoma State, in one of the most shocking upsets in Bedlam series history, rallied from a 10-point, fourth-quarter deficit to stun No. 4 Oklahoma 16-13. "I don't want to hear any excuses," OU coach Bob Stoops said. "They outplayed us." The Cowboy defense limited OU to 220 total yards. OU had zero rushing yards and Nate Hybl was sacked seven times. Playing with a dislocated thumb on his left hand, OSU freshman quarterback Josh Fields found Rashaun Woods for the winning TD with 1:36 left to play.
That Bedlam victory was the seed that blossomed into a significantly more successful Oklahoma State program. When the Cowboys and Sooners reunite on Dec. 3, OSU attempts to reach the 11-win mark for the second consecutive season.
The OSU football culture has completely changed, and the movement began on Nov. 24, 2001 – when Miles beat OU with a freshman quarterback and a 3-7 team.
-- Bill Haisten
Written by
Bill Haisten
Sports Writer
