Brent Venables defends Dillon Gabriel following loss to Kansas State

Oklahoma fell in upset fashion to Kansas State Saturday, losing 41-34 at home to the Wildcats. You could point a finger in a lot of different directions at the reason why the Sooners lost, but head coach Brent Venables made it clear that none of them should be pointed at quarterback Dillon Gabriel, as he was asked after the game about his performance.

“Really efficient, and again this is me, he played good enough to win the game, alright? But needed to be a little bit more efficient at critical times, one with penalties, that aren’t Dillon,” Venables said.

Gabriel was quite efficient for the Sooners on Saturday, as he completed 26 of his 39 pass attempts for 330 yards and four touchdowns, along with 61 yards on the ground. Gabriel was responsible for all of Oklahoma’s touchdowns and ended the game as their second-leading rusher in his efforts, but Venables was correct, as it wasn’t enough to lift the Sooners over their 11 penalties on the day.

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Venables touched on some of the other issues the Sooners faced on Saturday that contributed to their upset loss.

“And then two we had some opportunities, just a few missed throws that we had some guys open, but he gave us a chance to win the game, and we didn’t do our job as a football team to help him. And so again, penalties, just poor defense, ain’t no other way about it,” Venables said.

Gabriel has been one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the country so far this season, and the only one that’s thrown for more than ten or more touchdown passes without any interceptions. His play has been strong, but he may have to take it to even greater heights this season in order for the Sooners to reach their Conference and National Championship aspirations.

Brent Venables praises Dillon Gabriel for his leadership: ‘He’s an assassin’

Oklahoma head coach Brent Venables had some big praise for his quarterback Dillon Gabriel following their 33-3 win over Kent State.

“He’s an assassin, it’s not his first rodeo he’s been around the game lines and he’s just a ball junkie. He’s a great leader, the game comes easy to him in so many ways,” Venables said.

The Sooners had a slow start in their last game, heading into halftime only up 7-3 to the Golden Flashes. But they picked things up in the second half, led by Gabriel’s 296 yards and three touchdown performance on the day. Venables talked about Gabriel’s mentality and leadership, which was on display this weekend as he brought the Sooner offense back to life after halftime

“But his best attribute is he never gets too high or too low, he’s the same guy,” Venables explained. “Every once in a while he’ll have a nice smile when he makes a big time play, but he’s the same guy every day like nonstop. That’s what we said, just be who you are, nothing more nothing less. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel, we gotta take what’s there and his leadership is a big part of that.”

Teams rely on the leadership of the quarterback in tough moments, and the Sooners were certainly in one as they were on upset alert for half of their last matchup. But Gabriel stepped up to the plate, and Venables touched on the qualities he put on display in those moments.

“Not pointing a finger, not getting mad at the play caller, or getting mad at the o-line, or getting mad at receivers, pushing the blame. It’s easy under stress to do something like that, but he’s a great leader, he’s got great qualities and poise is one of his best qualities he has.” Venables said.