Feliz Dia De Los Muertos fanaticos de los Vacqueros! The Day of the Dead is celebrated every year on November 1st and 2nd, mainly in Mexico, where it originated, but also in cities like Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and in San Antonio, Texas, my second home and where I claim main residency. 

The most recent Oklahoma State Cowboy, from San Antonio, that I can recall, is fan favorite and recent homecoming returnee, Ramon Richards. Man, was he fun to watch, celebrate, and yell at. The San Antonio native, cornerback, Ramon Richards, had a knack for somehow getting beat once or twice a game, but, when he did get beat, he would make up for it with a big play, deflection or an interception that would end up deciding the game. He was, essentially, Oklahoma State’s Manu Ginobili and remains one of my favorite Pokes of all time. 

Yesterday, I gave you five games that defined why the Oklahoma State Cowboys earned the Cardiac Cowboys nickname. Unsurprisingly enough, Ramon Richards was a part of a handful of these games. After putting together the game list, I felt I was leaving off a few instances that also helped coined the term and I would be remiss if I didn’t add them here, as promised. 

October 5, 2013 – Kansas State 29, Oklahoma State 33

This Wildcat – Cowboy game ended up being back and forth for the entire duration. Oklahoma State led at halftime, 17-14, but the Wildcats kept pace through the third quarter. The Cowboys led 23-21 at the beginning of the fourth, in Stillwater. The Purple Cats took charge at the middle of the fourth quarter, taking the lead with an added two point try, taking the lead 29-23, with only 6:09 to play. Quarterback, J.W. Walsh, would engineer a six-play, 75-yard drive to vault the Pokes on a 30-29 lead with only 4:40 left to play. The Pokes would make it a four point lead with 2:24 left to play and the Wildcats would never lead again. 

October 8, 2016 – Iowa State 31, Oklahoma State 38

If my memory serves me correctly, I remember there being a distinctive rain delay towards halftime of the October 8, 2016 matchup between the Cowboys and the Cyclones. Iowa State was going in at half up 17-14. The rain/lightning was significant enough that it delayed the game, making it a game Oklahoma State had to turn the lights on for. I went to the game alone and sat by myself. During the break, when you could still leave the stadium and get back in, I left and went to College Bar to outlast the weather, strategized with fellow fans on how the Cowboys should proceed in the second half, and downed no less than 3 ‘Made-In-Oklahoma IPAs. Upon returning to Boone Pickens Stadium, Gundy and Pokes drafted up a second half game plan that would see them down 31-21 in the third, but rebound in the fourth. At one point, the Gundy led Pokes were down by 17 but managed to have a 17 point fourth quarter to win the game 38-31. A very long day but very well worth being in attendance. 

November 17, 2018 – West Virginia 41, Oklahoma State 45

The, at the time, number nine, West Virginia Mountaineers arrive in Stillwater to face an Oklahoma State, who, at the time, was ranked 21st. The Mountaineers jumped out to a 31-14 lead at half and it seemed like Oklahoma State would need to beat TCU the following week to remain bowl eligible (Spoiler – they lost in Fort Worth the next week). Instead, and almost miraculously, the Cowboys posted 31 to directional Virginia’s 10, in the second half, and came out victors, 45-41. Oklahoma State was now bowl eligible and beat Mizzou in the Autozone Liberty Bowl on New Years Eve 2018.

September 18, 2021 – Oklahoma State 21, Boise State 20

I remember getting on the plane in Tulsa this 2021 September. Covid damn near cancelled the game, though away I went, mask in hand. Again, friend, Billy Locke, and I were attending yet another Cowboys road game. By this time, as fans on the road, we were battle tested, double queen bed sharing vagrant hotelroommates, and shot sharing, obscenity yelling brothers in orange. Locke and I have traveled to several Oklahoma State road dates. We have celebrated, we have mourned, driven home with Should’ve Been A Cowboy on repeat, and driven hours home in complete silence, not believing we just spent a car payment to, in some instances, watch Oklahoma State not score a single point. 

That wasn’t the case here. We were flying to meet friend of the aforementioned Tyler Jones’ Jones Report Podcast and multi-time guest, Boise native, Bryan Nolen. 

We got the Boise grand tour that weekend. It was highlighted by the Rocci Johnson Band at Humpin’ Hannah’s Bar, in downtown Boise, Idaho. If you know, you know. 

Oklahoma State, that year, seemed to play down to their opponents’ level, though no discredit to the blue horses from Boise. The Broncos and the blue turf gave Oklahoma State all they wanted and, if not a field goal block by Oklahoma State’s Jason Taylor II, Boise State probably wins that game. The Cowboys come out on top 21-20 by the skin of Pistol Pete’s teeth. I cannot wait to go back to the Smurf Turf for another game. 10/10 venue, city, and football program. 

November 27, 2021 – Oklahoma 33, Oklahoma State 37

2021 saw rumors of the now ever-changing college football landscape. That November, Sooner and Cowboys fans, alike, didn’t know if this would be the final Bedlam, at least for an extended period of time. That said, the bragging rights were on the line. I still don’t know if I enjoyed 2021 Bedlam or the, subsequent victory in Stillwater, 2023 final Bedlam more. 2023 was the final Bedlam, yes, but the 2021 Bedlam had more iconic moments and aftermath. Rumors were flying that, Sooner coach at the time, Lincoln Riley was leaving for another program, maybe LSU. He didn’t leave for the SEC, though, and instead left inside the Trojan Horse, headed west for California. Caleb Williams, OU’s new shiny Red River winning quarterback, who banned Spencer Rattler to the shadow realm of OU’s Toy Story Andy line of “I don’t wanna play with you anymore” category, alongside the likes of Paul Thompson and now Jackson Arnold, started the game against the Pokes. 

Bedlam 2021 remained close until OU’s final possession. Oklahoma State running back, Jaylen Warren, cemented the Cowboys final point total, 37, with a one-yard touchdown run, with 8:54 to play. The, Jim Knowles led, Poke defense was able to handle the remaining almost nine minutes. It was capped by a play and a call that will live forever in Oklahoma State infamy. 

The Sooners had fourth and ten, from Oklahoma State’s 24-yard line, with eight seconds remaining. They had driven down the field very quickly, and, like a lot of Cowboy fans, I expected cliched Sooner Magic to happen again. Defensive end, Collin Oliver, decided he’d had none of it and trips up Sooner QB, Caleb Williams, in the backfield, to give the Pokes a turnover on downs and a 2021 Bedlam win. Cowboy Radio Network lead, Dave Hunziker, drops a historical highlight line after Oliver’s sack, giving the broadcast an absolute all-time rhetorical “Where’s That Sooner Magic Now, Baby?” bar. 

When the clock hit zero, Cowboy fans rushed the field, while the big board presented a “The Best In Oklahoma” graphic. That post-game Bedlam win image currently hangs, on canvas, in my house and I never turn down listening to Hunziker’s final call. 

Again, Feliz Dia De Los Muertos and thanks for sticking around. 

Until next time.