TD in waning seconds lifts the Sooners over Longhorns
DALLAS » Dillon Gabriel threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Nic Anderson with 15 seconds left and 12thranked Oklahoma won a battle of unbeatens 34-30 over No. 3 Texas on Saturday in their last Red River rivalry game as Big 12 members before moving to the Southeastern Conference.
With the SEC Commissioner in attendance, but not the Big 12's, the Sooners and Longhorns played a classic that must have made Greg Sankey thrilled with his new acquisitions.
The pocket was collapsing around Gabriel when he appeared to do a jump step as he threw the game-winner for the Sooners (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) to Anderson in the back of the end zone.
“Just proud of everyone coming together, controlling the chaos,” Gabriel said. “It's something you dream of as a little kid.”
Gabriel completed 23 of 38 passes for 285 yards and ran 14 times for 113 yards and a score. The lefthanded quarterback had transferred from UCF before last season, but missed the Sooners' 49-0 loss to Texas last October because of a concussion the previous week.
“He's the calmest guy I've ever been around at the quarterback position,” Sooners coach Brent Venables said. “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.”
The Longhorns (5-1, 2-1) had erased a 10-point deficit and taken a 30-27 lead on Bert Auburn's third field goal, a 45-yarder with 1:17 left. Oklahoma then went 75 yards in five plays.
“We didn't play our best football today. Our inability to corral the quarterback … hurt us, especially in the second half,” Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said. “The promising thing is we know we can play better than we did today. And we will.”
Quinn Ewers completed 31 of 37 passes for 346 yards, but his final throw from near midfield was knocked down near the goal line as time expired.
Jonathon Brooks, held out of 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 was hit immediately short of the goal line after a quick pass from Ewers. Oklahoma then drove 72 yards before Zach Schmit's 45-yard field goal attempt came up short.
For Sankey, it was his first trip to the State Fair of Texas for one of college football's most storied rivalries. Baker 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's 49-0 romp over the Sooners, threw interceptions on the first two drives Saturday. But the game was tied after a wild sequence that included those two picks and blocked punt recovered for a touchdown by Texas' Malik Muhammad.
“Just didn't start out how I wanted to. It's always tough whenever you throw interceptions on the first two drives,” Ewers said. “I liked the way we bounced back.”
The Sooners led 20-17 after Schmit kicked a 26-yard field goal, his second of the game, on the final play of the first half. They opened the second half with a 13play, 75-yard drive that ended on Tawee Walker's 1-yard TD run and made it 27-17.