More than just football

It's inevitable.

Anymore, whenever the Bedlam series comes up in conversation, the first thing is always the same thing ­— 27-0.

The Sooners' football dominance always seems to overshadow the fact that Bedlam is not just the last game of the football season. It is, indeed, a series.

OSU football draws tens of thousands of spectators to watch games against teams like Grambling State, but it's the athletes who compete in front of dozens who have brought Oklahoma State that magical number of 49 national championships.

Since 2001, OSU has won six NCAA titles in four sports. While that total only bests the Sooners by a single championship, all of Oklahoma State's wins have come in sports where they face the Sooners at least once a year. OU's men's gymnastics team has won all five titles for the Sooners during that span.

So far in 2009-2010,  OSU has gone 4-5-1 in regular season Bedlam matchups where the teams competed head to head. Home field advantage has seemed to be the deciding factor for the most part, with the OU women's basketball team's 77-66 victory in Stillwater on Feb. 6 standing as the only road win for either school.

The next time 27-0 comes up, think about Anna Whiddon's one-hit shutout of the Sooners on Saturday to end a 15-game Bedlam losing streak or the wrestling team's historic turnaround at the Big 12 Championship later that evening.
Hopefully, that will provide some perspective.