ESPN College GameDay crew says 'it's ridiculous' Bedlam is ending

The Oklahoma–Oklahoma State rivalry will be paused at the conclusion of the 2023 season. With the Sooners set to join the SEC, Bedlam is ending, at least for now.

The ESPN College GameDay crew discussed the rivalry coming to an end during Saturday morning’s show, with host Rece Davis calling it “ridiculous.”

“They’re going to blame realignment, but that’s ridiculous,” Davis said. “If you want to play, play. Nobody’s stopping from them playing. It’s just pettiness, really.”

ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit didn’t go as far as to call the decision petty, but he does hate to see the rivalry come to at least a temporary end. The two teams have faced off every year, without interruption, since 1910.

“I don’t know enough about the pettiness of that. It is something where ADs, when it comes to scheduling, they’re trying to get this under control. They’re looking ahead to the future,” Herbstreit said. “But I love to see what Oregon and Oregon State’s doing. You’d love to see that become the new precedent. You lose the rivalry as far as conference play, but you still find a way to keep it going for the fans and the players.”

Oregon and Oregon State are also set to be in different conferences, with Oregon leaving for the Big Ten. But that rivalry is set to continue.

Fellow ESPN analyst Pat McAfee added that Bedlam ending might be good for the Cowboys. Oklahoma owns a 91-19-7 advantage in the series.

“Yea, there’s still out of conference games happening. If you want to make the magic happen for Oklahomans… go ahead and make it happen,” McAfee said. “Now I don’t want to be the bearer of bad news – Oklahoma State might be happy that this rivalry is over – 91-19-7 Oklahoma is in the Bedlam rivalry.”

Mike Gundy calls ending of Bedlam rivalry a ‘one-sided deal’

The ESPN College GameDay crew isn’t the only group that is sad to see Bedlam ending. Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy spoke about the rivalry going on hold this summer and blamed Oklahoma for that occurring.

Gundy said to Action Network’s Brett McMurphy in July that when Oklahoma left for the SEC, the Sooners also decided to end the rivalry.

“When Oklahoma decided to leave the Big 12 they chose to end Bedlam. It’s a one-sided deal,” he said. “People were trying to decide what happened and what needs to happen to make it go on. They kept pushing Oklahoma State into it. We didn’t have jack to do with that. They left the conference, Bedlam goes with it.”