The Red River rivalry paid off on so many levels this past weekend. First and foremost, Texas and Oklahoma put on a 60-minute show. This game featured some memorable plays throughout the game…Unfortunately for Longhorns fans, the two biggest plays belonged to Oklahoma: Goal-to-go from the 1-yard line against the Longhorns. The defensive stand of four straight plays, and of course the heroics of Dillon Gabriel for the win. game.
Texas fans had planned on Saturday’s victory to return the Longhorns to national prominence and put an exclamation point on quarterback Quinn Ewers’ Heisman candidacy. Those plans have at least been delayed. Instead, the story focuses on the Sooners’ resurgence fueled by Brent Venables and Heisman candidate Dillon Gabriel.
As mentioned above, this win puts the Oklahoma Sooners back in contention for the national title. Their path to the playoffs is clear. That would likely include a rematch with Texas in the Big 12 title game, but that appears to be the only hurdle. With the win over Texas, the University of Oklahoma’s odds to win the national championship dropped from +2500 to +1400 (unsurprisingly, the Longhorns’ odds rose from +750 to +1800).
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All Heisman candidates enjoy signature moments. Dillon Gabriel really showed his candidacy on a 75-yard drive in the final 77 seconds for Red River Rivalry. Just as quickly as this push boosted the Longhorns in the polls, the left-handed Hawaiian’s odds to win college football’s top individual honor at BetMGM quickly dropped from +2000 to +1200. Conversely, Quinn Ewer’s candidacy took a hit from +900 to +2500. It’s not that the Texas signal callers were bad. He wasn’t special like Gabriel.
Heisman favorites Michael Penix Jr. of Washington (+200), Caleb Williams of the University of Southern California (+220) and Bo Nix of Oregon (+600) will compete in the Pac-12 as the season continues. become. Williams had fun. Last season had a lot of special moments leading up to the award, but all three have yet to experience those moments this season.
With three favorites missing a moment, could Gabriel make a smart play in the betting market?
There will be a lot of soccer played on Saturdays this fall. He still has a chance to shine, but the buzz around the humble but confident Oklahoma Sooner signal-caller is real.
*All odds courtesy of BetMGM.