When you talk about the biggest rivalries in college football, you think about the Iron Bowl, Ohio State vs. Michigan, Army vs. Navy, and Texas vs. Oklahoma, although the Sooners’ rivalry against Oklahoma State has heated up in recent years.
Recently it was announced that Oklahoma will be joining the SEC, essentially ending the Bedlam series against the in-state rival Cowboys.
According to ESPN college football analyst Paul Finebaum, that’s fine because no one cares that the series is ending.
“Nobody cares,” he said during an ESPN appearance. “We’re talking about Stillwater, Oklahoma. Mike Gundy hasn’t said anything significant since ‘I’m 40, I’m a man.’
“What he (Gundy) said yesterday is nonsensical. Oklahoma’s moving on. They’re going to be playing Alabama. They’ll still be playing Texas. They’ll be playing A&M and Georgia.
“This (Bedlam) is a nice, little game in a small state, but to the rest of the country … is giving it a big yawn this morning.”
Gundy, the head coach of Oklahoma State, basically called out Oklahoma saying that “Bedlam is history, we all know that. We’ve known that because OU chose to follow Texas and the money to the SEC. It’s OK. So now, we’re having what I think are childish discussions, in my opinion, over something that’s done. And I would like to make this the last statement that I have because I have no hard feelings.”
Finebaum is not exactly wrong. While Bedlam drew 7.7 viewers last year, the Iron Bowl and Michigan vs Ohio State drew much bigger numbers.
While Gundy is taking shots at OU, most doubt that the Sooners, who have dominated this series, are concerned about missing Bedlam when they have games against Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Auburn ahead of them.
{ESPN}
