Dillon Gabriel delivers in the biggest moment of his career, beating Texas on last-minute drive

DALLAS — Dillon Gabriel looked up at the clock in the south end zone of the Cotton Bowl. Just one minute and 17 seconds remained with No. 12 OU trailing No. 3 Texas 30-27. This was it, this was his moment. The reason he came to Oklahoma. 

What happened next only a few could have predicted, even Gabriel himself. 

“Uh, sorry, I’m kind of blanking,” Gabriel said in his postgame interview, as he tried to recall the final drive.

Here’s what happened.

An 11-yard completion over the middle to Drake Stoops. 1:11. A 16-yard completion to Jalil Farooq — the Sooners are now across the 50. 1:02. A Gabriel scramble and completion to Stoops for 28 yards down to the Texas 19-yard-line. OU is in business. 52 seconds. Nic Anderson draws a pass interference taking the ball to the 6. Are they really about to do this? 42 seconds. Gabriel with a three-yard run with no way to stop the clock. It’s now or never. 21 seconds. 

Fearless, Gabriel doesn’t panic with little time to make a play. The pocket collapses around him, but his eyes stay in the end zone where he sees Anderson come open in the back corner, right above the ‘O’ in Oklahoma. Gabriel delivers. Touchdown.

15 seconds. Scoreboard: OU 34, Texas 30. 

“He’s the calmest guy I’ve ever been around at the quarterback position,” Brent Venables said. “He’s got great belief in the players around him. Incredibly humble. You don’t see him ever tooting his own horn. He’s always trying to compliment and call someone else up. But he’s prepared. He’s worked really, really hard. He’s been one of the most consistent players in our program, from a leadership standpoint and showing up every day with the right mindset and bringing out the best in his teammates.

“He was fearless. I don’t put any limits on what Dillon can do. He’s playing as confident as anybody on our team right now… He’s just a guy that’s gonna find a way to get it done.”

On one of college football’s biggest stages, Gabriel got it done. He delivered.  

“I’m a big believer in God bringing everything full circle,” said Gabriel, who didn’t play in last year’s 49-0 loss to Texas due to a concussion. “I think just in general, you step away from the game, puts in perspective of how beautiful it is. How gracious it is. You can never take that for granted. It was a totally different feeling. This is Team 129, and this is what we’re all about.”

Gabriel’s performance Saturday cemented himself among some of the great OU quarterbacks, etching his name in Sooner lore and Cotton Bowl history. He was 23-of-38 passing for 285 yards and one touchdown, while also rushing for a career-high 113 yards and one touchdown. His 398 total yards is the most by an Oklahoma quarterback since Baker Mayfield in 2016.

On Friday night, Mayfield called Gabriel and offered him some advice before the biggest game of his career. Mayfield told Gabriel, “do whatever it takes.”

Gabriel did exactly that on Saturday.

“Gutsy. I think he’s tough as nails. A gutsy guy,” Baker Mayfield told SoonerScoop on the field after the game. “Just how cool, calm, collected he was on the last drive when the stadium is about as loud as it could be, he drives them right down the field and makes it look easy. Unreal. That was awesome.”

It was Gabriel’s guts, poise and confidence that was most impressive. He and Oklahoma out-played the No. 3 Longhorns most of the day, and when their backs were against the wall, time and again, they responded. 

“This is our moment,” Gabriel said. “You know, I’m a big team guy. This is what we’ve worked for, you know, the offseason training next to these three guys and coach pushing us. This is a team effort. That’s what it was. I always say that there’s no without a block and there’s no pitch without a catch. So just everyone make plays and finds a way to win. That’s all that matters. I always say, it’s a W or L, and we  just want to find ways to get W’s and keep getting better.”

Coming into Saturday, Gabriel still had many doubters, both nationally and locally, despite his hot start to the season. Never had he played in a game this big. And never had he beaten a top 10 team in his career. 

But Gabriel is used to being doubted. There were many fans and media that wanted to see five-star freshman Jackson Arnold this season. In fact, one of the biggest narratives entering the season was when would Arnold replace Gabriel. And entering Saturday, there was still a large portion of the fanbase Gabriel had yet to win over. 

It’s likely safe to say now he’s won them over. And maybe nationally, too, firmly putting himself in the Heisman Trophy race.

“I’ve been saying it and I’m going to keep saying it,” said Jalil Farooq, who had five receptions for 130 yards. “He deserves the Heisman this year.” 

Moments after the game, Gabriel and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby shared a long embrace on the field. Lebby, his arms wrapped around his quarterback, told him, “This is why you came here.” For both of them, with Gabriel following Lebby from UCF to Oklahoma, Saturday was a culmination of all their hard work paying off.

“It means everything. That’s what it’s all about to me,” Lebby said. “He’s a guy that has continued to just stick to the plan and understands what it means to be the quarterback here and wants to fight his butt off to put us in positions to win football games and chase championships. He’s doing that right now. We’ve gotta continue to get better. But just so happy for him.”

From here, the pressure will only increase for Gabriel. The expectations just got a lot higher, with winning the Big 12 and reaching the College Football Playoff now being clearly in the picture. The Sooners hold their own destiny. And for Oklahoma to reach those goals, Gabriel will have to continue to play at the level he’s playing, like the great quarterbacks that came before him.

But for now, Gabriel deserves to soak this one in. He deserves his flowers, waiting his entire career for a moment as big as Saturday.

As he walked off the field and into the tunnel, draped in his Hawaiian leis, he was visibly emotional, blowing kisses to the crowd as they chanted his name.

He had finally become a Sooner legend.

“This is what OU football is all about,” Gabriel told Rowe on ABC. “This is why I came here… I’m all about OU football. I love this place. Let’s go.” 

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