Sooners take step toward Big 12 title berth
NORMAN, Okla. — Dillon Gabriel passed for 400 yards and three touchdowns to help No. 13 Oklahoma defeat TCU 6945 on Friday and improve its chances of reaching the Big 12 Championship Game.
Oklahoma (10-2, 7-2) entered the day in a threeway tie with Kansas State and Oklahoma State for second place in the Big 12. Those teams have games on Saturday, so the Sooners will have to wait to learn whether they will play for a 15th Big 12 title the following weekend.
Drake Stoops caught a career-high 12 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown. Both Stoops and Gabriel were honored on Senior Day before the game, and they got loud ovations as they came off the field in the final minutes.
Gavin Sawchuk ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns for the Sooners, who won their final regular-season Big 12 game. They will join the Southeastern Conference next season.
Josh Hoover passed for 344 yards and four touchdowns and Emani Bailey ran for 150 yards, caught a touchdown pass and ran for a score for TCU (5-7,
3-6). The Horned Frogs failed to become bowl eligible a year after playing for the national championship.
Gabriel, who left the previous game with an upper-body injury, started and completed a 50yard pass to Nic Anderson on his first throw. Two plays later, he ran up the middle for an 8-yard touchdown.
Later in the quarter, Gabriel found Jayden Gibson deep down the field. He caught the ball and held up a finger while crossing the goal line as a TCU defender pulled helplessly on the back of his jersey. The touchdown gave the Sooners a 14-6 lead.
Oklahoma continued to pour it on during a first half in which Gabriel moved up from 10th to seventh
in FBS history in yards passing. He moved past Luke Falk, former Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield and Kellen Moore. He passed for 278 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a score before the break to help the Sooners take a 42-16 lead.
TCU made a push in the second half. Hoover's 3yard touchdown pass to
Jared Wiley and a 2-point conversion to Wiley cut Oklahoma's lead to 45-31.
Oklahoma went for it on fourth-and-1 from its 33, and Gabriel broke off a 40-yard run. A tough sideline catch by Stoops held up after review, then Stoops caught a 9-yard touchdown pass from Gabriel on the next play to help Oklahoma regain control.
Oklahoma's Billy Bowman returned an interception for a touchdown in the fourth quarter, prompting fans to chant “S-E-C! S-E-C!” The extra point gave the Sooners a 69-38 lead.