Dillon Gabriel puts Oklahoma on the board first as he keeps it for a 9-yard touchdown.
DALLAS — \u2014 Dillon Gabriel<\/a> knew he couldn\u2019t take a sack as the pocket collapsed around him in the closing seconds of his Red River rivalry debut, the kind of big game he went to Oklahoma to play.
Then he saw Nic Anderson<\/a> in the back of the end zone.
\u201cThe rest is history,\u201d Gabriel said.
Gabriel appeared to do a jump step and connected with Anderson for a 3-yard touchdown with 15 seconds left as 12th-ranked Oklahoma won a battle of unbeatens 34-30 over No. 3 Texas on Saturday in their last matchup at the State Fair of Texas as Big 12 members before moving to the Southeastern Conference.
\u201cJust proud of everyone coming together, controlling the chaos,\u201d Gabriel said. \u201cIt\u2019s something you dream of as a little kid.\u201d
With the SEC commissioner in attendance, but not the Big 12\u2019s, the Sooners (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) and Longhorns played a classic that must have made Greg Sankey thrilled with his new acquisitions.
Gabriel completed 23 of 38 passes for 285 yards and ran 14 times for 113 yards and a score. The left-handed quarterback from Hawaii, who wore a customary lei on the field after the game, had transferred from UCF before last season, but missed the Sooners\u2019 49-0 loss to Texas last October because of a concussion the previous week.
\u201cHe\u2019s the calmest guy I\u2019ve ever been around at the quarterback position,\u201d Sooners coach Brent Venables said. \u201cHe was fearless. I don\u2019t put any limits on what Dillon can do. He\u2019s playing as confident as anybody on our team right now.\u201d
The Longhorns (5-1, 2-1) had erased a 10-point deficit and taken a 30-27 lead on Bert Auburn\u2019s third field goal, a 45-yarder with 1:17 left. Oklahoma then went 75 yards in five plays, including Gabriel\u2019s passes of 11 and 28 yards to Drake Stoops<\/a>, the senior receiver and son of the former Sooners coach.
\u201cWe didn\u2019t play our best football today. Our inability to corral the quarterback \u2026 hurt us, especially in the second half,\u201d Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. \u201cThe promising thing is we know we can play better than we did today. And we will.\u201d
They could play the Sooners again, if both make it to the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 2.
Quinn Ewers<\/a> was responsible for all three Texas turnovers, with two interceptions and a fumble, but completed 31 of 37 passes for 346 yards. His final throw from near midfield was knocked down near the goal line as time expired.
\u201cJust didn\u2019t start out how I wanted to. It\u2019s always tough whenever you throw interceptions on the first two drives,\u201d Ewers said. \u201cI liked the way we bounced back.\u201d
Jonathon Brooks<\/a>, held out the end zone on three consecutive plays after Texas got to the 1 on its previous drive, tied the game at 27-27 on a 29-yard TD run with 6:10 left. Brooks finished with 129 yards rushing, his fourth consecutive 100-yard game.
The Longhorns had gone for it on fourth down, but Xavier Worthy<\/a> was hit immediately short of the goal line after a quick pass from Ewers. Oklahoma then drove 72 yards before Zach Schmit\u2019s 45-yard field goal attempt came up short.
For Sankey, it was his first trip to one of college football\u2019s most storied rivalries.<\/a> Mayfield, with Tampa Bay in its open date of this NFL season, and actor and Texas superfan Matthew McConaughey were also present.
Ewers, who had four TD passes in last year\u2019s romp over the Sooners, threw his interceptions on the first two drives. But the game was tied 7-7 after a wild sequence that included those two picks and blocked punt recovered for a touchdown by Texas\u2019 Malik Muhammad<\/a>.
MUCH BETTER MEMORY
Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman<\/a> told teammates that he remembered the feeling of walking out of the Cotton Bowl Stadium after last year\u2019s game. This is a much better memory.
\u201cThe older guys, we experienced that,\u201d said Stutsman, who had nine tackles. \u201cEvery single day, when you go to bed, you think about that. There\u2019s only so much you can do. Every single extra set you do in the weight room is for a game like this.\u201d
THE TAKEAWAY
Oklahoma: The way Gabriel performed reinforced what so many thought about last year\u2019s game, it would have been a much different outcome had he not missed it because of a concussion. Instead, that became the biggest shutout loss ever for the Sooners, who limped to a 6-7 season in Year 1 under Venables. It was Oklahoma\u2019s first losing season since 1998.
Venables has the Sooners back in College Football Playoff contention again.
Texas: There has been a growing sentiment that the Longhorns could be the No. 1 team, instead of two-time defending national champion Georgia. Well, that question has been answered for now, and they won\u2019t yet make it back to the top of the AP poll for the first time since 2008.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Texas will drop a few spots in the new AP Top 25, and Oklahoma will move up and likely ahead of the Longhorns when the new poll comes out Sunday. But both should be among the top 10 teams.
UP NEXT Oklahoma has an open date before hosting Big 12 newcomer UCF on Oct. 21.
Texas is off next weekend before going to Houston on Oct. 21. It will be the first meeting between the former Southwest Conference rivals since 2002.
—-
AP college football: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/college-football and https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/ap-top-25-college-football-poll<\/a><\/p>\n