This isn’t my list in order but just some of the more notable games:

2023 Bedlam
2001 Bedlam
2021 Bedlam
2002 Bedlam
2008 Mizzou
2026 Oregon
2011 Stanford
2011 Bedlam
2014 Bedlam
2002 Nebraska
2018 Texas
2009 Georgia
2021 Notre Dame

The University of Houston got its start in 1927 as a juco that would train future teachers. By 1933, the college became eligible to become a university and did so in 1934. Since then, the university operates the University of Houston System and other enterprises that include the UH Observatory, Advanced Manufacturing Institute, Subsea Institute, among others. The football program stated in 1946 and started playing in the Lone Star Conference. They subsequently joined the Missouri Valley Conference. They joined the Southwest Conference in 1976 until it broke up in 1996, and became a charter member of Conference USA. They received an invitation to join the Big East before realignment changed them to the AAC, which they stayed until 2023, where they now play in the Big 12.

If you didn't know anything else about Houston, you'd be sorely lacking on history. The coaches won at this school include Kevin Sumlin, Art Briles, Tom Herman, Dana Holgerson (who came here after West Virigina), and Bill Yeoman, the innovator who founded the Veer option offense. The latter is also the winningest coach in Houston Cougar's football history.

The Cougars are no strangers to the polls, ranking as high as #5 at the end of the 1979 season. They have been to 31 bowl games, winning 14 of them (.452), with their last string of wins against Auburn, Lousiana, and LSU in the Texas Bowl, 38-35. Their record in the Big 12 is 17-19, being 5-1 headed into this contest. Their first two years in the Big 12 were abysmal, ending in 4-8 for consecutive years. Last year, they went 9-3. UH is 1-1 against OSU, the last matchup ending in a 39-17 thrashing where Sam Jackson threw for 84 yards and 1 interception.

Houston's conference rivals are Texas Tech and Baylor, to which they play almost every year. Rice is their OOC, much like Tulsa is for us, and play about as regular as possible. As it stands, Houston averages 40 PPG with 162 first downs, a 62.67% 3rd down efficiency, with a balance attack 1511 passing yards and 1380 rushing yards. The Pokes are a little more pass-heavy but I'd argue our competition was a lot harder. 1612 passing yards, 995 rushing yards, 132 first downs, 33.90 3rd down efficiency, and a helluva kicker. OSU has 9 sacks and 4 interceptions heading into this game. Houston has 12 sacks and 5 interceptions. OSU also has played one game less at 4-1.

This is the first time these two teams have played each other as ranked opponents. Houston is -3.5 against us.

Go Pokes!

Nestled in Orange County, Florida, UCF serves 70k students across its undergrad and post-graduate programs. Its currently rivalries are with USF and Cincinnati. Against OSU, they're are 2-0 (destroying us 45-3 in 2023 and barely beating us in 2025 at 17-14).

UCF joined the Big 12 in 2023. Their rise to DI p4 is actually pretty impressive. Starting in 1979 in D3, they quickly moved up the ranks and by 2002, they were in the MAC. Then, they bounce from Mac to C-USA to American before getting into the B12 (which we knew that the commisioners were looking into expanding and UCF made the most sense considering what was available). Since joining the Big 12, they are 15-22. They're currently led by Scott Frost with OC Steve Cooper and DC Alex Grinch, the same DC that lost the '21 Bedlam.

The Knights currently play at Acrisure Bounce House - the history is that the stadium "bounces" when people are jumping in unison. That's cool and... kind of scary. Before the current stadium, they played at the Citrus Bowl (aka Camping World Stadium).

UCF claims two national championships: 2017, which is a non-consensus title, and one in Volleyball in 1978.

Coaching history: Beside Frost and Malzahn, Josh Heupel of OU fame (2000 Natty), and Lou Saban, who has a pretty extensive coaching tree with people like Herm Edwards, Tony Dungy, Marty Schottenheimer, Bill Cower, and Mike McCarthy. What pedigree!

Another fun fact: they are 8-1 in their "Space Game", which is a celebration of their close proximity to NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

OSU to host UCF.

UCF Wiki

What has been your favorite UCF matchup thus far?

With the SCFA being proposed and the Senate passing it, if the cap is moved to 20 schools per conference, how does this play out for Oklahoma State?

Us OkState fans been in the slums 2 long hard years… we finally back in the T25 and now we got to wait a week. Stay strong fellow Pokes 10 more days 😭

Bye week madness is upon us!

Some thoughts to consider: When was the last time you were this excited about conference play? Was it the 2nd year of Ollie and friends? Was it before when we still had Spencer Sanders? Maybe R2W? Whenever that last was, you cannot deny the energy returning to Stillwater. 3-1 with a terrific against powerhouse Oregon and a dominant win over WVU.

OSU is now 19-12 against teams coming out of the bye week in the last 21 years. Historically, its probably worse but I didn't want to dig that far back (unless there is a request). Some notable wins include the 2011 Oklahoma beatdown and eventual Fiesta Bowl victory. The 2014 Kick heard round the world where Tyreek takes off with a kickoff return for a touchdown against the OU. The 2018 "Are you not entertained" Gundy victory over Texas.

Which ones do you remember?

There are multiple sources claiming that university leadership may be considering firing Athletic Director Chad Weiberg.

Personally, I am very disappointed to hear this, unless there is some deeper yet-to-be-revealed scandal he's involved with.

So i have a solid group chat of friends from high school (20+ year friendships). It’s evenly split betwixt OSU grads and Sooner Fans. For the past several years we’ve texted about football nearly every Saturday. Even the last two years. It’s been oddly quiet the past 3-4 weeks for some reason…

Anyone else having the same issues on their Bedlam-based group chats?

Hosting UCF - Immediate pre matchup - @Houston
++ for OSU (off bye week)

@Houston - Immediate pre matchup - @Kansas State
+ for OSU

Hosting Colorado - Immediate pre matchup - Hosting Utah
+ for OSU

@Iowa State - Immediate pre matchup - @Arizona
+ for OSU

@Kansas State - Immediate pre matchup - @Colorado
Neutral

Hosting Texas Tech - Immediate pre matchup - Hosting West Virginia
+ for Texas Tech

@Arizona State - Immediate pre matchup - @UCF
Neutral (travel equaling tough opponent)

Hosting Kansas Immediate pre matchup - @BYU
+for OSU

I hope he doesn’t leave early and 3.5m a year probably won’t. But Mestemaker last night against WVU was insane. His deep ball accuracy looks better than a lot of NFL QBs. I can’t imagine draft scouts and looking and saying Arch Manning is our guy when you see this kid dropping dimes all over.

Keep me grounded if it feels like an overstep.

Go Pokes!

The thread has some info on some places to eat. Be safe!

The thread has some info on some places to eat. Be safe!

Some fun facts about WVU! Dana Holgerson left OSU to coach the Mountaineers in 2011 and won the Big East title. This is Rich Rod's second tenure at West Virginia (fourth actually, between other gigs and responsibilities within WVU early in his career) and 8th year as WVU's head coach. West Virginia is also his Alma Mater.

So, the question is: are we going to hiccup like we did with Arizona in 2012 when we blasted Savannah State to the moon? That was, coincidentally, Rich Rod’s first season with Arizona when we lost 38-59. Lunt threw 3 interceptions in the loss that Gundy characterized as “undisciplined”. Our record against WVU is 9-3, all coming from Gundy era football.

Most of us probably remember Rich Rod’s tenure at Michigan that was anything but glorious. But reading through the guy’s background, he’s a proven winner. Multiple conference championships with different teams (Glenville State @ NAIA, 4 Big East, One ASUN [FCS] + 1 CUSA with Jacksonville State, and Pac12 South with Arizona). With a plethora of experience under his belt, this will be a tough game. 

While we did not play WVU last year and that West Virginia team went 4-8, we had overlapping opponents: they beat Houston by 10 (we lost by 22), lost to Kansas by 31 (we lost by 17), lost to Tech by 49 (we lost by 42). Lastly, they lost to UCF by 32 (we lost by 3). By looking at this, it would seem Gundy Meacham's team was better than Rich Rod's but there really isn't a way to directly compare.  

Last year, we faced UT-Martin and won 27-7. But if you watched it, you know that the game was a lot closer than that. WVU played them this year and smoked them 52-7. UT-Martin also plays in the same conference as Murray State (Missouri Valley) and we obliterated them, 59-0. ESPN has us tapped at 40.3% to win with the spread at +1.5. 

All this to say there is no direct comparison between the two teams that we can draw from because they weren't scheduled. This is Rich Rod’s second year (8th if you counted continuously) and Morris’ first. A real litmus test for the Cowboys, unless it was actually Oregon and we just proved ourselves to be world beaters. However, let's not get ahead just yet. 

What I've gathered thus far: Michael Hawkins is their offense. Cam Cook has 300 yards and 3 TDs (averaging 100/1 per game) but Hawkins accounts for 69% of their IDs (11 - 5 passing, 6 running). Against Virginia, he threw for 2 and ran for 3. The key to the game is shutting down Hawkins by neutralizing the run threat. Force him to pass - OSU’s defense has been stellar thus far. 

What do you guys think? 

How we feeling about the Pokes now that we're 2-1 heading into conference play? Good? Bad? Ugly?

What a win yesterday, right? It was almost like the high flyers of the early 2010s!

Go Pokes!