Oklahoma DB Billy Bowman records 100-yard pick-six vs. BYU

Oklahoma defensive back Billy Bowman just shocked some life into the Sooners after a rough sequence of events just before and just after the half.

Oklahoma is already down their starting quarterback and had allowed a BYU score just before half. Then, the Sooners punted away their first possession out of the half with freshman QB Jackson Arnold and the Cougars used their next possession to drive down inside the OU five-yard line.

However, after setting up for first and goal from the three, BYU threw a pass right to the goal line but Billy Bowman darted in front of the Cougar receiver and snatched the ball, sprinting towards the other end zone with no blue jerseys in sight. He eventually cashed in on the 100-yard pick six.

Take a look:

PICK SIX🔥

Oklahoma DB Billy Bowman Jr. takes it 100 yards for the TD‼️pic.twitter.com/P6LcKV6gGj

— On3 (@On3sports) November 18, 2023

It’s not very often a player touches both end zones on the same play, and even less often with the ball in their hands. What a HUGE momentum-swinger by Bowman and that Oklahoma defense to make it 24-17. However, the Sooners’ defensive woes weren’t solved in one fail swoop as they immediately gave up a long BYU touchdown drive to tie the game following the pick-six.

Dillon Gabriel OUT, Jackson Arnold IN

According to Chris Plank of the Oklahoma radio team, starting QB Dillon Gabriel is out for the moment with a head injury and the Sooners are having to turn to true freshman QB Jackson Arnold in the second half of their game against BYU.

Here was a tweet from On3’s George Stoia noting Plank’s update:

“According to @PlankShow, Jackson Arnold will start the second half for the #Sooners. Gabriel has a head injury. Wow.”

Just minutes after that update, the ESPN broadcast passed along the word that Gabriel was likely done for the afternoon. Here was that report from sideline reporter Quint Kessenich:

“News in terms of Dillon Gabriel for Mike Houck, their director of sports information at Oklahoma. Dillon Gabriel is injured and unlikely to return to action today,” he said.

Bad news for an Oklahoma team locked in a tight battle at BYU.

Due to the situation with Gabriel, Arnold is now entering his fifth game of the season, thus burning his redshirt for good for this season. Remember, if a player participates in four or fewer games in a season, he can still retain his redshirt. With Arnold getting action in game No. 5 on the year, that possibility is out the window, at least for 2023.

However, recruits like Arnold typically don’t stick around in college long enough to justify even taking a redshirt year. He came into Norman as the crown jewel of the Sooners’ 2023 recruiting class, ranking as a five-star prospect in the On3 Industry Rankings. He was also rated the No. 8 overall recruit and No. 4 quarterback in the cycle.