OU football: OSU tries to pin 3rd loss on Bob Stoops

Bob Stoops lost to Oklahoma State in 2001 and 2002. Such was the novelty of powerhouse Sooner teams losing two straight Bedlams, that before the 2003 Bedlam game, The Oklahoman’s pregame visual was a drawing of Stoops, with orange kryptonite draped around his neck.

Since then, Stoops has lost some of his superman status. But his domination of Bedlam has been absolute. The Sooners have won seven straight in the series, and though all the games in Stillwater have been close, OU has restored order to the rivalry.

Sometimes we forget how one-sided this series has been over the years. OU leads 81-16-7, and here’s how one-sided it has been. If Stoops loses Saturday night, he will become the first Sooner coach to suffer three Bedlam losses.

Here are the Bedlam records of OU coaches.

Stoops 9-2, John Blake 1-2, Howard Schnellenberger 0-1, Gary Gibbs 5-0-1, Barry Switzer 15-1, Chuck Fairbanks 6-0, Jim Mackenzie 0-1, Gomer Jones 1-1, Bud Wilkinson 17-0, Jim Tatum 1-0, Snorter Luster 2-2-1, Tom Stidham 4-0, Biff Jones 2-0, Lewie Hardage 0-2-1, Ad Lindsey 1-2-2,  Bennie Owen 16-2-2, Fred Ewing 1-0.

So, who has been the most successful OSU coach in Bedlam? Pappy Waldorf, who went 3-0-2 from 1929-33. I wrote in my Friday Oklahoman column that Waldorf was OSU’s greatest coach ever, and I stand by that. Waldorf was 34-10-7 in five seasons in Stillwater, and Waldorf was a great coach elsewhere.