No one's sure why Stoops' Sooners struggle in Stillwater

By George Schroeder

Published: November 24, 2006

Y ou'll find this hard to believe, perhaps. But Trent Smith insists he has nothing against Stillwater. Friends and family live there; the former Sooner knows it's a fine town.

But…

"It's just a weird place to play," Smith said. "I never feel good when I'm there."

What Sooner does?

Maybe it all started when Bob Simmons faced off against Howard Schnellenberger, then John Blake. Taking advantage of OU's decline, Bedlam became seriously competitive. Bob Stoops' arrival in 1999 sent OU skyrocketing upward again, but Bedlam didn't slide back down.

As defined by former OU quarterback Jason White, Bedlam is "a close game that comes down to the last few seconds." But here's the thing: With one exception in the last eight years, that's been true only in Stillwater.

OU is 5-2 against OSU under Stoops. But wins and losses don't reflect how Boone Pickens Stadium has become a house of Sooner horrors.

In Norman, the average score is OU 37.6, OSU 11.5 — and that includes the Cowboys' 16-13 win in 2001. The other three games have been Sooner routs.

In Stillwater, OU is 2-1. But the average score is OSU 26.7, OU 26.0.

And no one's sure why that is.

"I can't put a finger on it," said Smith, who played twice in Stillwater — winning 12-7 in 2000, losing 38-28 in 2002. "There's really no explanation. There's just something about Stillwater."

Former OSU offensive lineman Sam Mayes agrees. For some reason, he says, "the home-field advantage is major in Bedlam." In most years, Mayes said, that means Bedlam is a potential blowout in Norman, and a potential upset in Stillwater.

"Add 20 percent to whichever team (is playing at home)," Mayes said.

Smith, Mayes and others don't agree on much. But they've got similar ideas on why, in Stillwater, OU-OSU is Bedlam.

The walls surrounding the playing field at Boone Pickens Stadium loom perilously close. Sometimes, players running full-speed out of bounds feel they're about to slam into the wall; although that's fairly unusual, the illusion takes some getting used to, several Sooners said. And the Cowboys? They're used to it.

But it's not so much the architecture as what's behind it: the seats, which are filled with fans wearing bright orange. They're perched right on top of the field.

It gets better — or worse, if you're a Sooner. Many of the choice seats behind the visitors' bench are part of the OSU student section. And the students get especially revved up for OU; some started camping out almost a month ago for Bedlam ticket validation.

From there, they're close enough to deliver a road experience the Sooners say is unlike any other.

"The fans, they're so close, they're right on top of you," OU cornerback Marcus Walker said. "And they make a lot of noise."

Walker says the students do their homework, too.

"They know everything about everybody," he said, shaking his head.

And for visitors — especially Sooners — that's not a good thing. Not at all.

For the Cowboys?

"It's just a great place to play," Mayes said. "Our student body definitely gets after it. They're loud, and they're right there in your face."

At least, that's how Smith feels when he plays east-west, not north-south. Boone Pickens Stadium is one of very few stadiums oriented that direction, rather than north-south.

Often in the fourth quarter, one team's receivers are looking back into the sun, while the other's defensive backs are doing the same.

"It's going the wrong direction," Smith said.

It takes some getting used to, the Sooners said. Mayes' reply?

"If you're looking that closely, you're looking for an excuse to lose," Mayes said.

It's no secret OSU fans want to beat OU more than any other team.

OSU offensive lineman Corey Hilliard is a senior now. As a freshman in 2003, he was quickly taught Bedlam's importance by fellow students.

"Every time you go around campus, they tell you, ‘Just beat OU,'" Hilliard said then. "They don't care if we lose all our games as long as we beat OU.

"That's all that matters. You know how big it is when they say that."

And when OSU hosts Bedlam, it's even bigger. Cowboys defensive end Nathan Peterson said the campus has a "different feel" for OU week.

"It's the biggest rivalry this school has," Peterson said. "It's the biggest game of the year. It's the game everyone looks forward to. Everyone is driving around with orange flags on their cars. … It's a wild, college atmosphere. Our fans are great.

"That's why we do so well."

Added OU's Walker: "I guess that's what you call home-field advantage."