Oklahoma
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel Puts Oklahoma In College Football Playoff Contention
Oklahoma quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) celebrates the game winning touchdown with teammate Caleb … [+]
After the 2021 season, quarterback Dillon Gabriel announced he was transferring from the University of Central Florida, where he had started for three years. There was no shortage of suitors even though Gabriel had sustained a fractured clavicle that September and missed the remainder of the season.
That December, Gabriel said he would play for UCLA. But just over two weeks later, he changed his mind and committed to Oklahoma, reuniting with Sooners offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby, who had the same role at UCF when Gabriel was there.
Gabriel’s first season at Oklahoma didn’t go as planned, as the Sooners went 6-7, their first time under .500 since 1998. But this year, Oklahoma is back among college football’s elite programs.
OU (6-0) is ranked fifth in the Associated Press poll following Saturday’s 34-30 victory over Texas in the annual Red River rivalry game. Texas (5-1) was third in the AP poll but fell to ninth after the loss.
The Sooners trailed by three points and had no timeouts when they regained possession with 1:17 remaining. They had blown a 10-point lead and hadn’t scored on their past four drives. But then Gabriel led the Sooners down the field, culminating in a three-yard touchdown pass with 15 seconds left. Texas got the ball back and completed two passes, but it couldn’t connect on a Hail Mary as time expired.
Gabriel completed 23-of-38 passes for 285 yards and ran for 113 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. It was a much different scene from last year when Oklahoma lost, 49-0, to Texas in a game that Gabriel sat out.
Brent Venables, Oklahoma’s second-year coach, told reporters after Saturday’s game that “last year was an embarrassment” and “my hands are all over that,” but he praised his team for their performance in this year’s game, especially Gabriel.
“He’s the calmest guy I’ve ever been around at the quarterback position,” Venables said. “He’s got great belief in the players around him, he’s 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.”
Gabriel, a native of Hawaii, was the 20th-best pro-style quarterback in the high school Class of 2019, according to 247Sports. As a true freshman at UCF, he won the starting job, completing 59.3% of his passes for 3,653 yards, 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. The Knights went 10-3 and ended the year 24th in the AP poll, their third consecutive top 25 finish.
The next year, in a COVID-shortened season, UCF went 6-4 but Gabriel’s numbers were better as he completed 60% of his passes for 3,570 yards, 32 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
After that season, UCF hired former Auburn coach Gus Malzahn as coach, replacing Josh Heupel, who left for Tennessee. Despite the coaching change, Gabriel remained with the Knights and led them to two consecutive victories to start the season before sustaining an injury in the third game. He never played again for UCF as he transferred to Oklahoma, a program that has become known in recent years for its star quarterbacks.
Baker Mayfield won the Heisman Trophy in 2017, while Kyler Murray won the award a year later and Jalen Hurts finished second in 2019. Mayfield and Murray were No. 1 overall selections in the NFL draft, while Hurts was a second round pick and finished second in the NFL Most Valuable Player award voting last year.
No one was mentioning Gabriel as a worthy successor to those players last year when OU finished 6-7 and lost four of its final five games. Not that Gabriel had a bad season. He completed 62.7% of his passes for 3,168 yards, 25 touchdowns and six interceptions and ran for 315 yards and six touchdowns. It’s just that the bar was set so high.
This year, Gabriel is in the Heisman conversation. He has completed 72.3% of his passes for 1,878 yards, 16 touchdowns and just two interceptions and run for 208 yards and five touchdowns. And fickle Oklahoma fans are no longer clamoring for Gabriel to be replaced by Jackson Arnold, a true freshman and the No. 8 overall recruit in the high school Class of 2023, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.
After a bye this weekend, Oklahoma returns to action on Oct. 21 against UCF, Gabriel’s former team. The Sooners will be favorites in their remaining six games and face only one ranked opponent (No. 23 Kansas) the rest of the way.
If OU can win all of those games, it will finish the regular season undefeated for the first time since 2004 and advance to the Big 12 Championship game in its final season in the league. The Sooners could again face Texas in the conference title game in a matchup of two teams that are heading to the Southeastern Conference next year.
It is quite a turnaround for Gabriel and Venables, a longtime defensive coordinator at Oklahoma and Clemson who struggled last year in his first year as a head coach. The Sooners are in position to make the College Football Playoff for the fifth time in the 10-year history of the postseason format but first time since the 2019 season.
“There’s no limits on what this team can do, and no excuses, either,” Venables told reporters after Saturday’s game. “We’ve got everything that we need. We’re certainly not there. There’s plenty we’ll have to improve and get better at, but, boy, I’m just really thankful for our players and their effort. They were nothing short of amazing today.”
Oklahoma
Alabama's upset loss to Oklahoma completes wild day in college football as rankings could look a lot different
Entering Saturday night, all No. 7 Alabama needed was a win against unranked Oklahoma to remain very safe in the College Football Playoff bracket.
Earlier in the day, No. 5 Indiana was blown out, No. 4 Penn State barely squeaked by Minnesota, and No. 9 Ole Miss and No. 14 BYU both lost.
But, the Crimson Tide could not get the job done, as Oklahoma dominated to a 24-3 victory.
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Defensive end R Mason Thomas of the Oklahoma Sooners gets his hands in the face of quarterback Jalen Milroe of the Alabama Crimson Tide at Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium on Nov. 23, 2024, in Norman, Oklahoma. (Brian Bahr/Getty Images)
Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, who had been one of the nation’s best players, had his worst game of the season. He completed 11 of 26 passes for 164 yards with three interceptions and gained just seven yards on 15 carries for Alabama (8-3, 4-3). The Sooners held Alabama to 234 yards. He went just 2-for-7 for 62 yards before the half.
True freshman Xavier Robinson ran for career highs of 107 yards and two touchdowns as Oklahoma became bowl eligible and took coach Brent Venables off the hot seat.
The Sooners’ victory resulted in yet another edition of fans storming the field too early, but at least this one was practically over anyway, unlike the BYU-Arizona State game.
Oklahoma students and fans rush the field after they efeated Alabama, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Norman. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
APPALACHIAN STATE FANS PELT JAMES MADISON PLAYERS WITH SNOWBALLS BEFORE GAME
Ole Miss and Alabama, both in the bracket prediction last week, now have three losses on the season. This leaves the door wide open for 9-2 teams like Clemson and Iowa State, who had been ranked 17th and 22nd in the nation, respectively.
And now, Indiana’s college football playoff hopes, right after their undefeated season ending, may not look all that over. No. 10 Georgia and No. 11 Tennessee figure to move up a few spots with three teams ahead of them in the rankings all losing.
Although, it’s certainly not out of the question that Alabama could be on the outside looking in.
Oklahoma spirit team member celebrates after a touchdown against Alabama, Saturday, Nov. 23, 2024, in Norman. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
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The next rankings will come out on Tuesday, and it should be very exciting to see what the committee has in store.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
No. 7 Alabama football should have defeated unranked Oklahoma. But the Crimson Tide didn’t.
Oklahoma had only won one SEC game all season. It wasn’t even bowl eligible before Saturday.
Then, the Alabama offense failed to score a touchdown and sputtered for much of the night. The Crimson Tide defense couldn’t stop Oklahoma’s rushing attack when the game was still close.
Alabama turned the ball over three times, with three Jalen Milroe interceptions.
As a result, the Crimson Tide fell 24-3 to the Sooners on Saturday at Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman, Oklahoma.
“There is no excuse,” linebacker Jihaad Campbell said. “None. Everybody saw it. Whoever was watching the game. We lost, and we’ve got to take it on the chin and keep learning from that.”
Alabama (8-3, 4-3 SEC) gave up 325 yards, with 257 yards, on the ground to Oklahoma and two touchdowns. Oklahoma (6-5, 2-5) had the nation’s 90th ranked scoring offense entering the game.
“Our job was to out-execute those guys, and we fell short tonight,” Campbell said.
Meanwhile, the Alabama offense tallied only 234 yards, with 164 through the air and 70 on the ground, to score only a field goal.
Milroe, who gashed LSU on the ground two weeks ago, couldn’t get anything going with his legs with only seven yards on 15 carries.
“They had a great game plan for us,” offensive lineman Tyler Booker said. “We’ve just got to get a hat on a hat. We have to execute better.”
The Alabama players who took part in interviews postgame showed a clear and intentional interest in moving on quickly from the result and performance in Norman.
“So what? Now what?” Booker said. “Can’t do anything about what just happened. What we can do is make sure we prepare our tails off.”
Next up is a matchup with Auburn in the Iron Bowl at Bryant-Denny Stadium to close out the regular season. Alabama won’t make the SEC Championship Game, but it might not yet be eliminated from the playoff just yet. The Allstate playoff predictor on Saturday night gave the Crimson Tide a 31% chance to still make the postseason.
“Got a big game next week,” Booker said. “Got to put all of our focus and energy there. Can’t do anything about what just happened. We’ve got to put all of our focus and energy into next week.”
Nick Kelly is an Alabama beat writer for AL.com and the Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X and Instagram.
NORMAN, Okla.–– Alabama has one final road test to pass in the regular season if it wants to compete for an SEC title and make it back to the College Football Playoff.
The No. 7 Crimson Tide plays at Oklahoma on Saturday night in the first matchup as conference foes in the SEC. BamaCentral will have coverage all night from Norman. Follow along for updates.
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(latest updates at the top)
Who: Alabama (8-2, 4-2 SEC) vs. Oklahoma (5-5, 1-4)
When: Saturday, Nov. 23, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Gaylord Family Memorial Stadium
TV: ABC/ESPN+
Radio: Crimson Tide Sports Network (Play-By-Play: Chris Stewart, Color: Tyler Watts).
Series: Oklahoma leads 3-2-1
Last meeting: Alabama defeated the Sooners in the Capital One Orange Bowl as part of the College Football Playoff 45-34. Tua Tagovailoa passed for 318 yards and four touchdowns while the Crimson Tide rushed for 200 yards across 42 carries between Josh Jacobs, Damien Harris and Najee Harris.
Last time out, Alabama: The Crimson Tide dominated Mercer 52-7 at home behind three touchdowns from Jalen Milroe and two touchdowns from Ryan Williams. The Alabama defense forced three more turnovers as they’ve now forced 16 in the last five games, making life challenging on opposing offenses.
Last time out, Oklahoma: The Sooners were off this past week, but went to Missouri two weeks ago and lost 30-23 after losing a fumble for a touchdown in the game’s final minutes. Oklahoma’s played five conference games and only won at Auburn this season.
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