Published: November 26, 2008 01:28 am         

Bedlam '88 was the best game in series history

By Bruce Campbell

Staff writer



Want to start an argument?

Pick the 10 best OU-OSU games ever played.

Here’s my favorites.

1. 1988: OU 31, OSU 28 — A true offensive shootout with Heisman Trophy winner Barry Sanders running for 215 yards for the Cowboys and Mike Gaddis running for 213 yards for the Sooners.

OSU rallied from a 24-14 halftime deficit to take a 28-24 lead with 8:45 remaining.

The Sooners answered with an 80-yard touchdown drive, capped by an 18-yard scoring run by Charles Thompson with 2:33 left.

The game would end with heartbreak for the Cowboys.

First, OSU’s Garrett Limbrick was called for a controversial unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the sideline after jawing with OU’s Richard Dillon.

Instead of fourth and inches from the Sooner 19, the Cowboys had a fourth and 15 from the 34.

OSU quarterback Mike Gundy heaved a pass into the end zone that went off the hands of Cowboys receiver Brent Parker, denying the 14th-ranked Pokes a chance to beat the No. 8 Sooners for the first time since 1976.

2. 2001: OSU 16, OU 13 — The Cowboys, a 27-point underdog, knocked the Sooners out of the national and Big 12 Conference championship picture on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Josh Fields to Rashaun Woods with 1:36 remaining.

T.D. Bryant set up the score with a spectacular catch at the OU 14 with Sooners All-American safety Roy Williams all over him. The winning drive covered 65 yards on six plays.

The Cowboys, who came into the game 3-7, had overcome a 13-7 deficit with 10 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.

3. 2004: OU 38, OSU 35 — Jason Ricks missed a 49-yard field goal with 15 seconds left that would have sent the game into overtime.

Adrian Peterson ran for a career-high 249 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown run. Jason White threw for 221 yards and three touchdowns for the Sooners.

OSU’s Donovan Woods threw for 207 yards and one score, while Vernand Morency ran for 93 yards and two touchdowns.

4. 1983: OU 21, OSU 20 — The Sooners overcame a 20-3 deficit in the last nine minutes, thanks to a little good fortune.

OU kicker Tim Lashar went for an onside kick after the Big Red cut the lead to 20-18 with 2:50 left.

The ball bounced off the facemask of OSU’s Chris Rockins and into the hands of OU’s Scott Case. That set up Lashar’s game-winning 46-yard field goal with 1:14 remaining.

The Sooners, playing without star tailback Marcus Dupree, who quit the team earlier in the week, overcame six lost fumbles, an interception and 145 yards in penalties.

5. 1969: OU 28, OSU 27 — Heisman Trophy winner Steve Owens ran for 261 yards on 55 carries but the Sooners’ needed an Albert Qualls sack of OSU quarterback Robert Cutberth on a 2-point conversion with 1:15 left to escape the Cowboys.

6. 1965: OSU 17, OU 16 — The Cowboys ended 19 years of Bedlam frustration with a victory over the Sooners.

Charlie Durkee kicked a 35-yard field goal with 1:41 left for OSU’s first win over the Sooners since 1945. Ron Shotts missed a field goal at the gun for OU.

7. 1966: OSU 15, OU 14 — The Cowboys stopped a 2-point conversion pass from Bob Warmack to Shotts in the final minute for their first victory over OU at Stillwater in 24 years.

8. 1984: OU 24, OSU 14 — This game was for a share of the Big Eight Conference championship and a trip to the Orange Bowl.

The Cowboys came into the game ranked No. 3. OU was No. 2.

OSU took a 14-7 lead on a 72-yard touchdown pass from Rusty Hilger to Malcom Lewis on the third play of the second half. The Cowboys tied the game at halftime 7-7 when Hilger threw a 1-yard TD pass to Jamie Lewis with no time left.

However, the Cowboys did not reach OU territory for the rest of the second half.

OU’s Spencer Tillman scored on runs of 3 and 20 yards the second half.

9. 1985: OU 13, OSU 0 — The “Ice Bowl’’ was played at night in sub-zero temperatures on an ice- and snow-covered Lewis Field.

Tim Lashar kicked field goals of 27 and 30 yards for the Sooners. Jamelle Holieway was 4 of 5 passing for 54 yards and ran for 51 yards. The Sooners held the Cowboys to 131 yards in total offense.

10. 1976: OSU 31, OU 24 — The Cowboys overcame a 21-13 halftime deficit to record their only win against OU coach Barry Switzer.

Future Enid High assistant coach Charlie Weatherbie hit Ricky Taylor on a 5-yard touchdown pass in the fourth quarter for the go-ahead score.

Terry Miller ran for 159 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

The win would allow OSU to finish in a three-way tie with OU and Colorado for the Big Eight championship.