Saturday wasn’t the best day for the Oklahoma Sooners offense. Many will fixate on the lack of execution or poor play calling through three quarters.
But enough isn’t being made about the growth on display in the fourth quarter. All offseason, the Sooners discussed wanting to be better in the fourth quarter. Among those that needed to be better in the fourth quarter was quarterback [autotag]Dillon Gabriel[/autotag].
With 12:09 left in the fourth, the SMU Mustangs cut the lead to three.
More should be talking about what happened next.
Gabriel led a methodical, 11-play 75-yard touchdown drive. On the drive a penalty wiped away a score and another penalty put the Sooners behind the chains. It didn’t matter.
After the Oklahoma defense forced another stop, Gabriel put together another touchdown drive, which sealed the win.
Gabriel told reporters after the game there was a difference in how they closed this game out compared to a year ago.
“The mindset, attitude, a lot of things were self-inflicted as we know. But also, I go back to the offseason workouts. They’re intentional and the mindset part is huge,” Gabriel said.
This team has grown from what happened on the field last year. While a lot of the names on the field are the same, there’s a difference in this group of players.
How the Sooners closed games might have been at the top of list of issues Oklahoma struggled with. The way they finished against the SMU Mustangs on Saturday is a sign that this team has taken a step in Brent Venables second year in Norman.
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