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It’s no secret how Oklahoma has dominated Bedlam. The Sooners lead the series with a 90-18-7 all-time record.
Oklahoma State’s winningest coach, Mike Gundy, owns just a 2-14 mark against OU. In fact, Gundy is just 1-4 in the five occasions his team has entered with the higher-ranked team.
That’s set to be the case again on Saturday with Oklahoma State at No. 7 and Oklahoma at No. 10 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings.
Oklahoma currently possesses a six-game winning streak in Bedlam entering this weekend, but the Sooners say that doesn’t matter much.
“The success of teams of past, you know, it’s good for trash talk, it’s good for tweets and stuff like that, but it doesn’t have an impact on this game at all. We respect our rivals as kind of the same way we treat the Big 12 championship. We’re not defending champs. We’ve got to go out there and earn it and it’s the same thing with this rivalry. We’re not riding on the success of the past. We’ve got to go out there and earn the win, because they’re a good team and so that’s what we’re going to have to do this weekend,” tight end and H-back Jeremiah Hall said.
Senior safety Pat Fields said defensive coordinator Alex Grinch has shared a message from a book he’s reading with the defense.
“It says that you have to set your past on fire, because at best it’s a distraction and at worst it’s a burden. Meaning if you’re holding onto like the last play that you maybe got beat, then it’s like a burden to your confidence. Or, if you’re holding onto like the play before where you had a good play, at best it’s a distraction. So, that’s something that we’ve been focused on a lot as a defense just setting our past on fire and being really present in the moment,” Fields said.
That’s the approach Fields and his defensive teammates are taking with Oklahoma State.
“I think it’s kind of like the same thing that we’re applying to this week, because obviously I’ve had some success playing Oklahoma State. I don’t think they’re the same team. Well, for a fact they’re not the same team that I played in the previous years. I think just looking at their players across the board. Their quarterback particularly. He’s having one of his best years, really his best year in college. He’s grown a lot as a player, making a lot of really good throws. Same thing with their offensive line. Running back is a tremendous player. One of the premiere running backs in college football. So, I don’t even think we’re expecting to see the same team that we have in previous years. We’re kind of just approaching it from we’ve got to go take it against a very great team, one of the top teams in the country,” Fields said.
Redshirt senior defensive lineman Isaiah Thomas didn’t feel previous seasons’ results help Oklahoma much on Saturday either.
“I think you can’t really dwell on what you’ve done in the past in any particular situation because every year every team is different on both sides of the ball for us and for them, so you really can’t bring up what you did in the past. You’ve got to focus on what’s going on in the moment, because every year you have different players and possibly even different coaches. You can’t rely on what you did in the past to help you with what you’re doing in the present, because what you did previously does nothing for you. If you rely on that, you know, you won’t have the outcome that you want, because if you just focus on what you have right now and the process into going into the game, then usually you’ll get the results that you want,” Thomas said.
If there is any positive psychological advantage to be gained, then it’s safe to say it’s on the side of the Sooners. Thomas said there’s confidence Oklahoma can carry in from past Bedlam successes, but that the Sooners need to be careful with how they use it.
“I would definitely say it helps with the confidence level, because I mean anything that can help you boost your confidence in any situation, I don’t see why not to use it. But, don’t let it, you know, override what you have to actually go out there and do, because you can have all the confidence and all the sayings and quotes in the world but I mean if you don’t actually go out there and do it, all that does nothing for you. If it distracts you, it diminishes you. You just have to use what you can use to motivate you and impact you in a positive way,” Thomas said.
Oklahoma head football coach Lincoln Riley said past Bedlam success hasn’t been a focal point this week.
“Yeah, I mean, I think it just is what you make of it. You know, I think we can take a confidence that we’ve played well and been able to play well in this game historically. But the flip side of that is if we think that alone is going to allow this team to do that, then we’ll be mistaken. You’ve got to—a lot of respect for this opponent, and you’ve got to prepare at a high level. You’ve got to play at a high level. You’ve got to do it in a road venue. You have to handle all that well. The past teams have been able to do it, but this team has got to go do it. And we’ve got to prepare that way. We’ve got to play that way on Saturday. So, as far as like how much time we spend on it, talk about it, honestly not a whole lot. We try to keep it more about here and now because ultimately that’s what’s going to get it done,” Riley said.
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By: Josh Helmer
Title: Oklahoma Soooners not hanging its hat on past Bedlam success
Sourced From: soonerswire.usatoday.com/2021/11/25/oklahoma-sooners-football-oklahoma-state-cowboys-lincoln-riley-alex-grinch-jeremiah-hall-pat-fields-isaiah-thomas/
Published Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2021 20:00:52 +0000
