Dillon Gabriel Carries Oklahoma Over Texas in Red River Instant Classic

Dillon Gabriel led the Sooners to a game-winning touchdown with 15 seconds left in a wild back-and-forth game that saw Oklahoma prevail.

DALLAS -- With a traditional Hawaiian Lei around his neck, Dillon Gabriel briefly takes his mind to his home state when asked to imagine what it’s like five time zones away. What was it like in Honolulu as Gabriel led his Sooners 75 yards down the field on five plays, or when he found Nic Anderson as wide open as any receiver was all day in the corner of the end zone for a go-ahead score over hated rival Texas?

“I got a lot of fans back home who just love me and are very supportive of my dreams and aspirations,” Gabriel said. “There's three things I represent: That’s the name of the front of my jersey, the name on my back, and the state of Hawaii just because that’s what made me. I hold it heavy because I love that place. I love everything it represents. That’s love, humility, and respect.”

As Gabriel began to choke up, wideout Jalil Farooq put an arm around the QB who has etched his name in Red River lore leading a drive that nobody who saw it will ever forget. Gabriel got a call from Baker Mayfield—another another Sooner signal-caller who made magic on this field—the night before the game. Both of them were transfers in just like nearly every Oklahoma winning starting QB since 2014. The Red River Rivalry seems to always deliver, and it certainly did on Saturday as OU won, 34–30, in an instant classic. 

Gabriel accounted for 398 total yards in Oklahoma’s season-defining victory on Saturday :: Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports

This is a substantially different game without one player: Gabriel, whose 285 passing yards and 113 yards on the ground spurred Oklahoma to this monumental victory, saving his best for last on a back-breaking final drive that ended with a three-yard touchdown pass to Anderson for the game-winning score. Gabriel scampered around and avoided pressure on the play as the last of his many Houdini escapes on the day. There’s a bit of irony in the fact that Gabriel did so much on the ground as a dual threat today, often pulling the ball to run into open space. Gabriel didn’t get his chance to play in this game last year due to injury, and the embarrassing 49–0 blowout was largely due to the fact that OU basically couldn’t field a competent quarterback to either throw or run.

“Really thankful for them and happy for them in that moment to get a chance to pick their pride back,” head coach Brent Venables said. “You know, that was a tough moment a year ago. Just really happy for them that they could have a moment like that because they deserved it and they’ve worked for it. It's just a moment and they celebrate hard, don’t celebrate long. We got to get back to work, but really just proud of all the people that have been a part of that.”

Both teams came into this game feeling like different and better versions of last year’s units: Texas’s mental and physical toughness, particularly in the trenches, seemed to put them on another level. Against Rice, Alabama, Wyoming, and Kansas, relatively slow starts gave way to explosive second halves that left little doubt who was better in the end. But today was different, and almost from the very beginning, Oklahoma proved an even match almost from the very beginning of the game.

After an opening drive interception into triple coverage by Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, the Sooners opened the scoring on a short drive. What followed was a first quarter featuring several special teams mistakes that you couldn’t script if you tried, and portended an early horror show for the Sooners. Texas converted a fake punt with basically nobody home to one side of the formation and blocked an Oklahoma punt in which a protection miscue allowed a free rusher to come right up the middle. The Sooners ran a nice fake field goal in a situation where a Texas celebration penalty gave them extra room, but it got called back for a forward lateral. On the next punt, Oklahoma shanked a kick and had a penalty on the same play.

But despite the miscues, the Sooners’ big plays were what kept them in the game and gave them a small lead heading into halftime. Two bombs to Faroo of 43 and 34 yards were key.

“I knew at a certain point big plays were gonna need to be made, and chunk plays, the things we talked about in the explosive play battle,” Gabriel said. “Being able to have the ability for things to clear out and use my legs is something that needs to happen, so I'm glad it did, you know. I'll continue to keep it simple. It’s finding ways to win. If it's using my legs, if it’s throwing the ball, if it’s handing the ball off. Whatever way to win is really my main focus and just everyone coming together collectively.”

Texas’s defense did enough to keep giving its offense chances in the second half. Two three-and-outs and another short five-play drive served as evidence that the Horns can continue to answer the bell on that side of the ball and play complementary football, while Oklahoma’s defense largely stoned Texas up front for most of the game. The best example of that was a crucial goal line stand early in the fourth quarter that saw the Sooners deny the Longhorns four times from the 1-yard line.

“It’s called lining up and trying to whip the man in front of you and then getting off blocks and tackle the ball, get some hats to the ball so they didn't fall forward,” defensive coordinator Ted Roof said. “And that was a big deal because we had some guys getting off blocks, you know, gang tackling that kept him from falling forward that allowed us to have a great goal line stand.”

Oklahoma’s special teams continued its missteps when kicker Zach Shmitt came up short on a 44-yard field goal attempt in the fourth quarter. Texas thought it had the game after a 46-yarder of their own, but left too much time on the clock for Gabriel and the Sooners. Five plays and 75 yards later, Gabriel made magic once more, and the Sooners prevailed. It’s a game that truly had just about everything. The above doesn’t even include a tip drill interception, or a Hail Mary attempt that came tantalizingly close to being completed by Texas at the very end.

Gabriel came here for this moment all the way from Hawaii by way of Orlando for his first stop at UCF. When it was over, the golden hat paired nicely with the flowers around his neck.