College football has lost something special with Bedlam’s disappearance from the annual schedule. Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt isn’t staying quiet about it, declaring the Oklahoma-Oklahoma State rivalry one of five matchups that desperately need to return to college football’s regular calendar.
The once-heated annual clash between in-state rivals went missing after conference realignment sent Oklahoma to the SEC. The iconic series that began in 1904 now sits in limbo with no future games scheduled, despite its 118 meetings and deep-rooted importance to the sport’s fabric and identity.
Joel Klatt Says Losing Bedlam Hurts the Sport, Calls on College Football to Fix It
On a recent episode of “The Joel Klatt Show,” the Fox Sports analyst ranked Bedlam among his top five college football rivalries that need to be played annually. Klatt expressed clear frustration about the current situation, placing Oklahoma-Oklahoma State among other discontinued classics like Colorado-Nebraska and the Backyard Brawl.
“You talk about no love lost in particular after the conference realignment, I want Bedlam. I want Bedlam every year. Nothing is scheduled right now,” Klatt stated. “In December, Joe Castiglione, the athletic director at Oklahoma, said it wouldn’t be until well into the 2030s that we’re gonna get this matchup.”
Klatt didn’t mince words about the situation, adding, “We should be better than that in college football. Don’t we want to see all of these games? These games are a part of the fabric of the sport.”
The broadcaster’s plea comes as many traditional rivalries have fallen victim to conference realignment and scheduling conflicts. Oklahoma’s move to the SEC effectively ended the annual Bedlam series, with Oklahoma State showing little interest in continuing the rivalry as a non-conference game.
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy has proposed a potential solution: an annual spring game between the programs. This exhibition format would allow the teams to continue the rivalry while raising funds for NIL programs, though the proposal faces numerous regulatory hurdles.
The Sooners hold a commanding 91-20-7 lead in the all-time series, but Oklahoma State won the final meeting in 2023 with a 27-24 win. That dramatic finale only underscored what fans will be missing going forward.
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Klatt’s comments reflect a growing sentiment that college football’s structure needs an overhaul. He suggested that individual schools and conferences operating in “silos” has harmed the sport’s traditions, arguing for a more centralized approach to scheduling.
“It could be better,” Klatt emphasized while discussing the current state of college football scheduling. “There are so many games, valuable games that we’re missing out on. There’s so much valuable inventory just in terms of the way we make the schedule that we’re missing out on.”
For Oklahoma and Oklahoma State fans, the rivalry’s hiatus represents more than just missing a game; it’s the loss of an annual tradition that defined autumns across the state for generations. The earliest possible return appears to be nearly a decade away, leaving a noticeable void in college football’s landscape.
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