Redshirt senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel after the game against Texas on Oct. 7.
DALLAS — Dori Gabriel anxiously lumbered up the steps of section 26 in the Cotton Bowl as her son, Dillon, calmly prepared for the drive of his life.
As thousands of fans draped in crimson roared around her, the mother of OU’s star quarterback couldn’t stomach the moment, so she rushed to the concession stand and waited for everything to pass. Not once did she peek through one of the entrances.
She stood, listened and waited for the staccato of the crowd to tell the story for her, as the rest of the Gabriel family watched from the stands.
DILLON GABRIEL TO NIC ANDERSON FOR THE WIN!!!! pic.twitter.com/IP2l4KpEBZ
— 𝕺𝖐𝖑𝖆𝖍𝖔𝖒𝖆 𝖛𝖘. 𝕿𝖍𝖊 𝖂𝖔𝖗𝖑𝖉 (@soonergridiron) October 7, 2023
“I couldn't watch; it was just too much for me,” Dori told the OU Daily. “I went off the cheers of the crowd. I figured out that if they were cheering for him, he was moving the ball on the final drive. I just sat down with one of my friends right now watching it in the car. I'm in disbelief because it's so much pressure, and I know how badly Dillon wanted this game for his teammates and to make the statement about last year.”
The moment he took the first snap of the drive, Gabriel was in full control as the clock ticked down from the 1:17 mark. Before slicing and dicing through Texas’ reeling defense, he told walk-on running back Tawee Walker, “I got us.”
He started with an 11-yard pass to redshirt senior receiver Drake Stoops. The clock continued to tick before he connected with Jalil Farooq for a 16-yard pass. Next, a 28-yard dime to Stoops, a pass interference call committed on Nic Anderson, and then a 3-yard run from Gabriel left 21 seconds remaining on the clock.
With one final play, he stepped up in the pocket, locked onto Anderson and converted a 4-yard touchdown pass to seal No. 12 Oklahoma’s (6-0, 3-0 Big 12) 34-30 victory over No. 3 Texas (5-1, 2-1 Big 12) in the Red River Rivalry.
He finished with 285 passing yards, 113 rushing yards and two total touchdowns. With each pass during OU’s five-play, 75-yard drive the roars of OU fans consumed Dori at the concession stand.
During Gabriel’s Heisman-esque moment, tears flowed down Dori’s face once she knew her son had won the game. Before rushing to the field, Dori was met with a hug from her sister-in-law, who followed her after she left the crowd, and a pair of fist bumps from random OU fans.
“It was just much to bear,” Dori said. “We just kept looking at each other and going by the crowd. … It was a great moment hearing the crowd and the validation of them.
“Me and my sister-in-law were jumping up and down. I think finally the gentlemen that were around us figured out who we were … and then said, ‘Go down and get your boy.’”
Redshirt senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel and redshirt senior offensive lineman Caleb Shaffer during the game against Texas on Oct. 7.
Once she rushed through celebrating Sooner fans, she informed the on-field security who she was and said, “I’m his mom. I’m from Hawaii, and I need to get there.” Immediately, they pushed Dori forward while the rest of the family was left behind.
“I was looking back at the family, and was like ‘I'm, sorry,’” Dori said. “I just couldn't help myself. You think of moments like that, and you just want just to be there because we've seen his journey through this college football career. It's not easy. It's a lot. And at that moment, I was flying so far to come from Hawaii. It was so important for him to see one of us and know that we were there.”
Once Dori made it to the field, Gabriel embraced his mother, who was donning a white cowboy hat. Instead of wearing a white hat like his mother, Gabriel was able to steal the Golden Hat back from the Longhorns.
Gabriel wasn’t able to play in OU’s 49-0 loss last season after suffering a concussion the week before. Watching from the sidelines was hard for both Gabriel and his family, but he used that to light a fire under him this season and, particularly, in the final drive of this game.
“For him, being sidelined was frustrating,” Dori said. “As a parent, that disappointment weighs heavy. Today, obviously, (I’m feeling) much lighter knowing that he was going to be able to get in the game and be with his brothers and get payback, and that's exactly what they did.”
While excited and joyous in a throng of celebrating teammates postgame, the command Gabriel provided on OU’s final drive is what won the Sooners the game. His play earned high praise from OU head coach Brent Venables, who’s been around the likes of Heisman-winning quarterbacks Sam Bradford and Jason White.
Gabriel fielded a call from Baker Mayfield on Friday night, a former Heisman winner himself, who told the Hawaii native to “do whatever it takes” to beat the Longhorns. After the game, Gabriel was seen embracing the Sooners’ legend, after doing exactly what Mayfield told him to do.
Redshirt senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel and former OU football player Baker Mayfield after the game against Texas on Oct. 7.
Mayfield has his own name etched in Sooner lore. Saturday, Gabriel started to create a legend of his own.
“He’s the calmest guy I’ve ever been around at the quarterback position,” Brent Venables said. “He’s got great belief in the players around him. 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. He’s been one of the most consistent players in our program, from a leadership standpoint and showing up every day with the right mindset and bringing out the best in his teammates.
“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. … He’s just a guy that’s gonna find a way to get it done.”
Gabriel’s calmness comes from the intricacies of his preparation. He’s surgical and intentional. That mentality existed when he was in grade school and Gabriel would set out his backpack, lunch sack, socks and clothes every morning.
Meticulously, he’s carried the same precision over to his teammates on the field.
His poise doesn’t come without practice, however. After Oklahoma’s 6-7 season, Gabriel immediately set up workouts with the Sooners’ wide receiving corps. Through the summer, he repeated the same methods with them over and over again until he got it just right.
“He loved order, (and) he loved process,” Dori said. “He always took games and practice seriously because he loves this game so much. And more than that, I think, at the quarterback position, he knew that if he led the way with that type of process, organization and love that soon his teammates would follow.”
Anderson saw that work and leadership pay off as he caught the game-winning touchdown in the corner of the end zone. Like most of OU’s receivers, Anderson has become one of the biggest advocates for Gabriel’s potential Heisman campaign.
At the end of the touchdown, amid all of the chaos, Anderson grabbed Gabriel by the sides of his helmet and looked him in his eyes. He said the words they shared would stay “between each other.”
“I honestly don’t understand why he shouldn’t be No. 1 (in the Heisman race),” Anderson said after the game. “Dillon is gonna get everything he deserves. He’s a great guy. I’ll run through a wall for that dude anytime of the day. Love that guy.”
Redshirt freshman wide receiver Nic Anderson during the game against Texas on Oct. 7.
While Gabriel and the Sooners prepare for their bye week before a matchup against UCF on Saturday, Oct. 21 in Norman, moments like this are the reason Gabriel decided to return to the Sooners for one last year. He’s fully content on riding this season out before committing to the NFL Draft, but beating the Longhorns was just one piece of the puzzle.
“He had unfinished business,” Dori said of Dillon’s decision to return. “As much as it felt dramatic, it really wasn't for all of us. We knew that he didn't want to leave, especially because of that 6-7 record.”
And for his potential Heisman candidacy? Gabriel shrugged off the notion largely because he’s focused on the success of his team, but it’s not out of the picture for the Sooners’ quarterback. For now, as he continues his farewell tour, the redshirt senior reminded everyone why he came back for one last season.
"It's not my main focus," Gabriel said. "I'm focused on having his bye week, getting better, watching the tape and finding ways to get better, and ... the rest will take care of itself."
The sentiment reigned true as Oklahoma fans chanted his name and sweat drenched his grass-stained jersey in front of the TV cameras postgame.
“This is what OU football is all about,” Gabriel told Holly Rowe as he appeared on ABC. “This is why I came here, … I’m all about OU football.”
