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Dillon Gabriel throws errant pick-six, Kansas takes early lead over Oklahoma

Stephen Samraby:Steve Samra•10/28/23•

SamraSource

NCAA Football: Arkansas State at Oklahoma
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

Oklahoma came out slow against UCF last weekend, and the Knights almost pulled off a monstrous upset. They hoped for a better start against Kansas in Week 9, but the opposite has transpired.

After the Sooners defense stopped the Jayhawks on fourth down, Dillon Gabriel and the offense looked to get Oklahoma on the board. However, a gigantic mistake happened instead, as Kansas defensive back Mello Dotson telegraphed the throw.

Next thing the crowd in Lawrence knew, Kansas was up 7-0, as Dotson took Gabriel’s errant pass to the house for a touchdown. Check out the play that put the Jayhawks up below.

That’s certainly not the start the Sooners were looking for, but it’ll go a long way toward an upset bid for the Jayhawks. Can Kansas keep the pressure on? That remains to be seen, but Dillon Gabriel gifted them a beautiful start to their attempt at their biggest win on the season.

Brent Venables delivers strong message to defense ahead of Kansas matchup

For an Oklahoma team looking to stay undefeated, the Kansas Jayhawk offense is certainly a challenging matchup, and Sooner head coach Brent Venables isn’t taking the matchup lightly. 

Against a terrific Kansas offensive line and an offense that’s scored more than 30 points in each of their five wins, physicality and discipline will be the name of the game for the OU defense. When asked on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff what he wants out of that unit, Venables answered:

“Just be disciplined, do your job, don’t try to make a play. Let the game come to you, let the defense work for you.”

It may be tempting to go for the pick-six or the big sack, but Venables knows that the Sooners need to play smart to avoid allowing huge gains to this explosive KU offense. That goes for the whole team, too. Because when Venables was asked what themes were on the whiteboard ahead of this game, he said: “good discipline and being physical.”