Bedlam considered among best revenge games of 2022

The second half of Bedlam and the 24 hours that followed offered a surreal feeling surrounding the Oklahoma Sooners football program.

After they were gifted nine points on a safety and a special teams touchdown, the Oklahoma Sooners’ offense fell flat and was held scoreless in the second half of the most important game of the year. Less than 24 hours after the game went final, Lincoln Riley was officially introduced as the head coach at USC.

Though Riley would never admit to being distracted, this L.A. Times report discovered that his representation had been in contact with USC for months prior to taking the job. How could that not weigh heavily on your mind?

It was a disappointing loss and a disappointing end to a season in which Oklahoma was contending for a College Football Playoff berth.

A new season approaches and armed with a new head coach and offensive coordinator, the Oklahoma Sooners have an opportunity to enact revenge on their in-state rivals Oklahoma State.

Chip Patterson of CBS Sports took a look at the best revenge games on the 2022 schedule and this year’s Bedlam matchup was ranked No. 3. Oklahoma at Nebraska was also an honorable mention, but here’s what Patterson had to say about Oklahoma’s matchup with the Cowboys.

This is the first of two selections that take on the same storyline, with 2021 throwing us curveballs in a couple of the sport’s biggest rivalry games. We get excited for Bedlam every year, and while the games have provided some thrilling action the results have mostly been one-sided for the Sooners. Oklahoma entered last year’s game having won six straight and 16 of the last 18 meetings dating back to 2003. Oklahoma State’s thrilling 37-33 win was sealed not with a game-winning touchdown but a game-winning sack, fitting for a defense that had been stellar all season for the Cowboys. If Oklahoma had made almost any other hire to replace Lincoln Riley the revenge angle might not have been as strong, but Brent Venables…