It’s been a historically bad start to the football season in Stillwater, Okla.

That doesn’t mean Oklahoma State Cowboys fans aren’t having a good time.

You’ve likely read or seen this story, a sibling bets the other $10 that they wouldn’t go up to the student section and wave his shirt around his head.

Trent Eaton took that bet, and his bravery attracted others. Two more, and then five.

And then a few more, and then a lot more — and, suddenly, Section 231 was a party.

Suddenly, Section 231 and the “shirtless dudes” at the Oklahoma State-Houston game were making national headlines.

Most of my adventures in Stillwater over the years were back in my college days when I went to the University of Oklahoma. I’d visit the guy who took that photo (above) and we’d end up at Tumbleweeds or at a house party, and it would get pretty crazy.

During my first visit ever at OSU, I recall being inside Drummond Hall. It was 1987, and there was some kind of party happening there — and this was a Gen X party. It wasn’t punch and cookies.

Rules? What rules?

And that just got me to thinking: I’ve never NOT had a good time in Stillwater.

Kudos to Section 231 and one guy who decided a good time was warranted, a dude who realized you never turn down a bet from your sibling.

Kudos to Cowboys fans for staying “loyal and true.”

Be sure to listen to the new ‘Oklahoma Memo’ podcast, Bedlam Buds. You can find it wherever you get your podcasts!

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We’ll be 80s for the rest of the week — but we start to see 70s on the extended forecast!

🌡️ Tuesday's high in OKC 85°
🌡️ Tuesday’s high in Tulsa 86°

By Graycen Wheeler & Abigail Siatkowski, KOSU
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Oklahoma voters in 27 counties will cast ballots on a variety of proposals Tuesday.

Residents are tasked with deciding on funding questions, from sales tax changes to school bonds. Though most measures can pass with 50% approval, school bonds need to earn a thumbs-up from at least 60% of voters.

Below are some of the races KOSU is watching. To find your polling location and hours, head to the Oklahoma Voter Portal.

Oklahoma City voters will decide on a $2.7 billion municipal bond package — the biggest in the city’s history.

The bond is divided into 11 propositions, with over half the funding centered around street improvements. Unlike a school bond, it will only need a simple majority to pass.

For more information, check out KOSU’s recent reporting on the bond.

Voters in Carnegie will have the chance to vote on two local issues.

One proposition asks voters to decide whether to redirect a current 1% sales tax from the Carnegie Tri-County Municipal Hospital to streets. The hospital posted a letter on Facebook encouraging residents to vote against the proposal in order to help maintain operations.

Mayor Cody Dupler, however, wrote he believes approving the transfer is the only way to fund street improvements. He added that, according to a survey he conducted, streets are the biggest concern of the town’s residents. Approving the measure would result in a 400% increase in street funding. That same dollar amount is less than 1% of the hospital's annual revenue, he calculated.

Voters within the town’s school district will also vote on a $4 million bond to fund a new Wildcat Wellness Center. If approved, the renovations would create new locker rooms and a workout space, plus updated HVAC. It will not increase property tax rates.

Pawhuska is considering a new representation system for its five-member city council.

Currently, Pawhuska is divided into four wards, and each ward has a councilmember who lives within its boundaries. There is also a fifth member at large, who can live anywhere in Pawhuska. All registered voters in Pawhuska can cast ballots for all five council members, regardless of which ward they live in.

If voters approve Tuesday’s proposition, the city council wards would disappear. All five members could live anywhere in Pawhuska and would be elected by the entire city.

This proposition came forward as a ballot initiative, which means community members submitted the question and collected enough signatures to put it on the ballot.

Pawnee County voters will consider three propositions that would increase sales tax slightly to pay for county services.

The first proposition would create a sales tax to fund facilities, equipment and maintenance for the Pawnee County Fairgrounds. The second would build, improve and maintain county bridges with a new two-tenths percent sales tax. And the third proposition would use a new one-tenth percent sales tax to maintain and operate the county jail.

If voters approve all three questions, the county’s sales tax rate would increase from the current 1.6% to 2.0%. That means shoppers would pay an additional 4 cents for every $10 they spend in Pawnee County next year through 2036.

Little Axe is a rural school district that covers parts of eastern Norman, far southeastern Oklahoma City and Pink. Its residents will consider two bond propositions.

If voters approve a $57 million bond series, Little Axe will build a new high school and convert the existing high school to a facility for 4th- and 5th-grade students.

In a letter to community members, District Superintendent Jay Thomas said the new school, which the district hopes to complete before the start of the 2027 school year, would alleviate crowding in the growing district and provide access to more and better athletic facilities.

The school district would use property taxes to pay back the bond over 20 years. Thomas emphasized that property tax rates to repay the bonds would not exceed the rates voters approved in 2016 to pay back a bond for a new safe room. Community members haven’t actually been paying those full tax rates because housing growth allowed the district to pay off the 2016 bond using a lower rate spread across more property owners.

Little Axe voters will also consider a separate $1 million 5-year school bond that covers transportation.

Noble will vote on whether to approve a 25-year franchise agreement with OG+E. Nearby, in Norman, voters narrowly rejected a similar agreement in 2023 and again in 2024.

Four years in the making. One event that will change everything.

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On Bedlam Buds, Ryan and Jeremy say Sooners must fix run game and philosophy fast; Cowboys’ margin for error is “one mistake and the drive is over.”

Oklahoma’s 23–6 loss to Texas wasn’t just a bad day at the Cotton Bowl — it was a neon sign about the Sooners’ biggest problem: there’s no offensive identity. That was the central takeaway from this week’s Bedlam Buds podcast, where hosts Ryan “Boomer Sooner” Welton and Jeremy “Go Pokes” Cook spent most of the episode dissecting OU’s stalled offense and Oklahoma State’s path to anything resembling momentum.

Looking ahead, the hosts framed this week as a mentality test for OU on the road. South Carolina is 3–3 and just made a staff change up front, but Columbia is still a difficult place to play. “This is about bounce-back habits,” Cook said. “Don’t let one loss turn into two or three.” Welton’s early feel: a low-scoring grinder that OU can win, but only if the offense finds a couple of staple runs and sticks to them.

If OU’s problem is identity, OSU’s is fragility. Cook described the Cowboys’ offense as “one mistake and the drive is over” — a hold, a false start, a dropped ball, and it’s effectively done. With injuries and transfers thinning the depth chart, OSU has been forced into improvisation, including using wide receiver Sam Jackson V at quarterback.

Results aside, the hosts praised Jackson’s willingness to flip positions for the team, calling it the kind of leadership the next staff will need to rebuild around. “Play for the name on the front and they’ll remember the name on the back,” Cook said.

The most viral moment in Stillwater didn’t come between the lines. An upper-deck wave of shirtless fans hijacked national attention and, for a day, gave the program a cultural spark.

OSU draws 5–1 Cincinnati under the lights for Homecoming. Neither host predicted a Cowboys win outright, but both pointed out this is exactly the type of game that can flip on emotion and trick plays — especially at night. “With nothing to lose, let it fly,” Cook said, noting the Cowboys have already dialed up gadget looks this season and should keep pressing that advantage.

While a national firing elsewhere made headlines, Bedlam Buds focused its coaching talk on Oklahoma’s two programs. The hosts reiterated that portal/NIL realities mean turnarounds no longer need three years; Year 1 should show visible improvement with the right hires and coordinator fits. For OSU, they argued the next coach must deliver a clear offensive vision and pair it with a coordinator who can stabilize the defense. For OU, they said any big-picture decisions are downstream from one question: can this staff define who the Sooners are on offense, now?

Bedlam Buds closes with quick MLB picks — both hosts leaning Dodgers vs. Blue Jays — but the show’s heartbeat is Oklahoma football: a Sooners team that must find itself on offense, and a Cowboys program that needs one clean game to believe again.

A hand-curated list of the best journalism from across the state:

• OKC mall evacuated due to a bomb threat, police say (KOCO)

• Walters’ former chief of staff out at Oklahoma State Department of Education (Oklahoma Voice)

• Law may need ‘tweaking’ after Oklahoma inmate files for sentencing relief, officials say (Oklahoma Voice)

• Drummond takes Mulready to task over homeowners rates (Oklahoma Watch)

• Oklahoma teacher certificates reinstated amid new State Department of Education leadership (KOCO)

• Less help for Oklahoma homeless youth unless they’re sleeping in a shelter or outside (The Frontier)

• Educators say Oklahoma’s school cellphone ban has been a ‘game changer’ (Oklahoma Voice)

• Hugo tiger preserve closing after fatal attack (KTEN)

• What happened to these EV charging stations? The Tulsa-based company won't say (2 News Oklahoma)

• Funding for film incentives, programs is part of OKC bond issue vote (The Oklahoman)

• OKC's chef Andrew Black to close Black Walnut restaurant; here's what he has coming next (The Oklahoman)

• Native students speak up as tribes take social media giants to federal court (Gaylord News)

• Big crowd attends community conversation with Tulsa Mayor Monroe Nichols (Tulsa World)

• Native American Day celebration draws crowd: 'We have to work together' (Tulsa World)

• Ardmore Airpark completes $25 million upgrade (KTEN)

• 'Bring Them Home' tells the story of bison restoration. Here's where you can see it in Oklahoma (KOSU)

• How the 'Save Our Bacon Act' impacts Oklahoma farmers (News On 6)

• John Mateer back to practicing 'full-go' ahead of OU football game at South Carolina (The Oklahoman)

The ‘Oklahoma Memo’ mission is simple: Reignite the daily news habit by connecting Oklahomans and those who love Oklahoma to quality sources of news and vetted information.

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