Top 5 rivalries that were ruined by college football realignment

3. Oklahoma-Oklahoma State

This is a projection of course, but when the latest round of college football realignment takes effect, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma might not play in the Bedlam series anymore.

As we saw with Texas-Texas A&M, just because fans and most observers want the game played doesn’t mean that it’s going to be played. People on both sides have talked about wanting Bedlam to continue but with both programs scheduled out to 2026, getting the matchup on the schedule isn’t going to be easy.

College football teams are also pretty loathed to schedule two big-time non-conference matchups in a given year. So that would limit scheduling for both teams. Oklahoma is going to be playing in the SEC and will usually have one marquee non-conference game such as Nebraska this fall.

But adding two to the schedule is hard to see happening every year. That’s why these games tend to quit being played. BYU and Utah have maintained their rivalry but the Cougars aren’t in a conference which helps.

Oklahoma has dominated the series historically with 90 wins in 116 games. The Cowboys have won just five Bedlam games dating back to 1976, but one of those wins came last season. Oklahoma State has won three times since 2011 with two of those wins leading to either a conference championship or a berth in the championship game.

It’s been a fun rivalry to see develop as Oklahoma State improved and now, it’s just another great series that will be stopped due to realignment.