Oklahoma Sooners quarterback Dillon Gabriel had his biggest moment as a Sooner when he led Oklahoma down the field to score the game-winning touchdown to beat the Texas Longhorns in the Red River Rivalry game.
The Sooners won 34-30 and orchestrated several successful offensive drives off of the arm and legs of Gabriel. Gabriel finished 23 for 38 passing with 285 yards while also rushing for 113 yards and a touchdown. His sole passing touchdown came at the end of the game to give the Sooners the victory.
Gabriel’s play in this game will cement his legacy in the annals of Oklahoma history forever. However, the quarterback didn’t begin his career at Oklahoma, making his buy-in on such a historic rivalry that much more impressive. Gabriel’s college career started at new Big 12 member UCF, which the Sooners will face this weekend.
Why Did Dillon Gabriel Leave UCF?
Gabriel has yet to give an outright reason for why he chose to leave UCF. However, after a few seasons as one of the most prolific passers in college football, Gabriel broke his collarbone in Week 3 of the 2021 season. Thus, he might have left in search of a fresh start in an offense that he was comfortable with.
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Even so, the Sooners weren’t Gabriel’s first choice. In fact, he was fully committed to UCLA to play for Chip Kelly, who could help Gabriel pursue his NFL dreams.
After a tumultuous offseason for the Sooners that involved Lincoln Riley leaving to take the USC job, Oklahoma hired Brent Venables to be the team’s head coach. Venables brought on Jeff Lebby to serve as his offensive coordinator, who was at UCF with Gabriel in the same role from 2018 to 2019.
The same day that Caleb Williams announced he would transfer from the university, Lebby immediately contacted Gabriel and asked him to come to Oklahoma. Just 18 days after Gabriel had committed to the Bruins, he reversed course and switched focus from Los Angeles to Norman to reunite with his former play-caller.
Gabriel is in his second season as Oklahoma’s starting QB. He has helped Oklahoma start undefeated and is currently tied for second place in the Heisman odds with Michigan quarterback J.J. McCarthy, per DraftKings (+1000).
Gabriel could finish his college career as one of the most productive passers in college football history. He sits 20th all-time as of the time of this article, with 13,083 passing yards. This season, Gabriel has averaged 313 passing yards per game. At that rate, he should put up over 3,500 yards passing. If he does, Gabriel could surpass Ty Detmer (15,031) for fifth all-time in passing yards.