The Oklahoma Sooners are off to a 4-0 start after winning on the road against Big 12 newcomer the [autotag]Cincinnati Bearcats[/autotag]. [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag] has played a huge part in that start.
He’s thrown for 1,227 yards on 10.4 yards per attempt. He’s also thrown 12 touchdowns and one interception and completing 78% of his passes. Some will point to the level of competition, but the fact is he wasn’t putting up these types of numbers a season ago. There are very few in all of college football that have been as productive as Oklahoma’s quarterback.
His start to the season has put him on College Sports Wire’s first Heisman poll of the season, coming in at No. 5. Gabriel has the eighth-best odds to win the Heisman, according to BetMGM.
Gabriel returned for a fifth year in college football after Oklahoma fell short of expectations with a 6-7 season. Gabriel is among the active passing leaders, just behind Notre Dame’s Sam Hartman. The offense has shown improvement with his efficient play. As Big 12 play ramps up, we will find out if the Sooners offense can keep it rolling. A big test looms next week against Texas. – College Sports Wire staff
As they said, the key game is against the Texas Longhorns. If Gabriel has a strong showing that week the [autotag]Heisman[/autotag] talk will only grow If he plays poorly, it’ll be hard for him to get back into the running by season’s end.
As for now, there’s no doubt you can see the growth in Gabriel’s game. He looks more confident. He looks like he has a strong connection with his receivers. He knows when to take the shots and when to just not make a mistake because of how well the defense is playing.
That’s what you want from your quarterback. Sure, he needs to make some of the layup throws like the ones to [autotag]Jalil Farooq[/autotag] and [autotag]Jayden Gibson[/autotag] against the Bearcats that would have resulted in touchdowns.
He’s not a perfect player, but he’s playing at a high level so far.
Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions. You can also follow Jaron on Twitter @JaronSpor.