Oklahoma running back Brennan Clay (24) is tackled by Oklahoma State linebacker Ryan Simmons (52) in the second quarter of an NCAA college football game in Stillwater, Okla., Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013. Oklahoma won 33-24.STILLWATER, Okla. – Oklahoma’s players scoffed at the notion earlier this week that they had been reduced to the role of spoiler against rival Oklahoma State.
Led by quarterback Blake Bell’s remarkable performance in a relief role, the No. 18 Sooners lived up to their words – continuing their mastery of the rival Cowboys with a 33-24 win on Saturday.
The win set off a frenzied celebration in a frigid Boone Pickens Stadium for visiting Oklahoma (10-2, 7-2 Big 12 Conference), while leaving No. 6 Oklahoma State once again suffering a bitter defeat at the hands of its fiercest rival.
This level of disappointment was higher than most for the Cowboys (10-2, 7-2), whose hopes of a second Big 12 championship and BCS bowl game berth in three years were lost after Bell found Jalen Saunders for a 7-yard touchdown with 19 seconds remaining.
“You just love it to see a guy who’s a competitor like that, who’s been sitting on the bench all game, to come in and play so well,” Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops said of Bell. “He played great.”