1.

Since the inception of this blog I have, of course, been somewhat partisan in my articles. You may have have noticed some of the derogatory tags directed at that group of pinheaded nitwits down south. You can find Norman with your nose; you’ll smell the shit before you’re there. On the other hand, in my actual picks, I’ve tried to be nonpartisan as possible, picking OU to beat the shit out of Texas and for OSU to lose to that same batch of inconsistent, underperforming Bovines. At times it’s been hard not to get carried away by my emotions. Subjectivity undermines, and informs, everything.

And here we have Bedlam upon us. Possibly the most lopsided rivalry in all of college sports, OU owns an 82-17-7 edge. In the most illustrious past era of OU football, the Barry Switzer- and Bud Wilkinson-coached days, the Sooner lost once in thirty-three tries. Whole swaths of this series have been defined by OU beatdown after beatdown.

Fast forward a few years.

My first memory of Bedlam: 2000, OU’s Josh Heupel-led National Championship run. The Cowboys almost derailed it, despite a 3-7 record at the time. Despite holding one of the best offenses in the country to 12 points, the Pokes lost, with Aso Pogi futilely throwing to Marcellus Rivers in the endzone.

I ran out of the house in tears. I’d never cried about the outcome of a sporting event before.

A lifelong hatred of that team down I-35 was cemented.

The next year hope came in the form of a Josh Fields-to-Rashaun Woods touchdown pass to crush the Sooners’ NC-hopes, winning 16-13. I can barely remember such ecstasy. Rashaun Woods & co. crushed the Sooners the next year in Stillwater, too, in a 38-28 victory that was nowhere near as close as its score indicated.

And then in 2003, the Sooners reasserted themselves, beating the ever-loving shit out of us in Norman, with a final score of 52-9. For the next seven years, the Sooners repeatedly blew the Pokes out in Norman, with final scores of 49-17, 42-14, and 27-0 (against an OSU squad that might better have been named the Walking Dead: Zac Robinson had a knee wobblier than Mitt Romney’s voting record, and stud wideout Dez Bryant had been declared ineligible.

Games in Stillwater, however, were another story. The Pokes lost heartbreakers: 38-35, 27-21, 61-41 (closer than it looked), and, in 2010, 47-41, as Landry Jones threw a pair of TDs in the final three minutes of the game.

And then, 2011. OSU was a juggernaut, sitting at 10-1 with a clear lead in the Big 12, surging towards its first ever season as conference champions. As usual, I crossed my fingers, freaked out, and worried. And then a rushing attack led by Joe Randle and Jeremy Smith gashed the Sooners, rushing for 151 and 119 yards respectively, as well as a couple of touchdowns apiece; Landry Jones couldn’t seem to either field a snap or throw a pass forward. I’d never seen anything like it.

OSU won 44-10. I lost my shit.

Squinky was dead. The Pokes went on to win the Fiesta Bowl against an Andrew Luck-led Stanford squad. OSU had arrived on the national scene as a football power.

2.

And now here we are in late November of the year 2012. OSU, though plagued by injuries and forced to play not one, two, but three quarterbacks, has consistently improved throughout the year, has won 4 of its past 5 games by at least 21 points. They’ve beaten a couple of the league’s best quarterbacks–WVU’s Geno Smith and Tech’s Seth Doege–by 21 and 38 points, respectively.

That team down south, on the other hand, though man-handling Texas Tech in similar style to OSU, crushing them 41-20 in Lubbock, has squeaked past Baylor and WVU (allowing 252 and 458 yards rushing in those games) over the past two weeks.

Though their over-all resume is better than OSU’s, only losing to Kansas State and Notre Dame, they were home losses, both of them.

The fear of a permanent football power up north has risen amongst the Sooner faithful. Last year’s 44-10 whipping is still ringing in the ears of many wearing crimson-and-cream. As far as talent goes, these teams are in a dead heat. The talent gap has closed.

But will it translate into Oklahoma State’s first victory in Norman since 2001?

3.

The failures of Mike Stoops’s defense in its the past two games has been well-documented. On the other hand, Clint Chelf’s unpredicted and unheralded rise to the starting job at OSU has received just as much attention.

The difference between these two teams, to me, comes down to a question of balance.

Landry Jones’s best game of the season came in a tight 50-49 victory last week against WVU. And, well, the Mountaineers’ defense is almost as bad as you can get, ranking 117th in total defense.

Clint Chelf, although his sample size is limited in comparison, has displayed a poise almost entirely vacant in the OU senior, quarterbacking the Cowboys to blowout wins over West Virginia and Texas Tech. With a win against the Sooners he can nail down next year’s starting job, quelling the idea of another QB derby in Stillwater.

If Randle and Smith have the kind of game they did last year against OU’s porous run defense, the passing lanes will open. An open rushing attack, combined with a robust passing game and a vicious defensive line anchored by James Castleman and Calvin Barnett, will be the difference in this game.

Final prediction: OSU 41, OU 31. 

GO POKES!!!