The Oklahoma Sooners were able to beat the Texas Longhorns, 34-30, behind a Heisman-caliber performance from quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who didn't play in the Red River Showdown last season. That game was a 49-0 Texas victory, so he clearly took it upon himself to turn the tides.
As college football heads into October and the bulk of conference play, the Sooners now seem like College Football Playoff contenders with this win. But how did they elevate to get the big win in Dallas on Saturday?
Here are three major reasons why Oklahoma was able to beat their Red River rival in the final matchup before both programs head to the SEC.
3. Jalil Farooq
While Gabriel was amazing in this game, some credit deserves to go to another Sooners playmaker. Jalil Farooq was able to lead both teams in receiving yards on Saturday. A lot of what Farooq did was beating opposing defenders downfield on routes, getting behind the defense and consistently creating chunk plays for the Oklahoma offense.
In a game where the Sooners needed offense to keep the pace, Farooq was able to provide a major spark as he went for 130 receiving yards against the Longhorns. He was able to make one amazing catch after another as he accrued 45% of the team's receiving yards on the day.
2. Extremely poor offensive start for the Longhorns
In a game that ended up being decided by four points, Texas played extremely poorly to start this one. Yes, the Sooners had their special teams issues to start this game but the Longhorns issues were more prevalent.
The opening drive for the Longhorns started out with an interception on the second play of the game with an ill-advised throw from Quinn Ewers. Gentry Williams took advantage by jumping the route and making the play to put OU in great starting field position. Williams then doubled up on that with another pick on the next drive, this one deep in the red zone to prevent a Texas score.
Ewers and Texas indeed settled down as the game went on. However, the poor, turnover-filled start for the Longhorns -- which the Sooners took full advantage of -- allowed Oklahoma to set the tone and, in a close game, wasting possessions loomed large.
1. Dillon Gabriel
The biggest reason the Sooners won this game was Dillon Gabriel. The QB ended up having nearly 400 scrimmage yards as he threw for 285 and rushed for 113, totaling two scores on the day. He elevated himself from a longshot in the Heisman race to perhaps one of the frontrunners going into the second half of the season.
Though he was great throughout the win, he also provided the late-game heroics with a last-minute touchdown pass to Nic Anderson that gave Oklahoma the victory. Gabriel had previously put up big numbers against lesser competition, but producing overall and in the clutch as he did on Saturday was a massive leap for the senior.
