With 1:17 left on the clock at the hallowed Cotton Bowl, Texas kicker Bert Auburn had just drilled a 47-yard field goal to give the Longhorns their first lead of the second half. The scoreboard read Texas 30, Oklahoma 27, and the Sooners had no timeouts remaining as they prepared for a last-ditch effort to tie or win the game.

What followed will live forever in the annals of Red River Rivalry lore. Led by the surgical precision of Dillon Gabriel, the Sooners marched 75 yards to paydirt in just six snaps, with Gabriel hitting Nic Anderson for a 3-yard touchdown in the final seconds to give Oklahoma a 34-30 victory.

Here's how the drive unfolded through the eyes of the players and coaches that had a hand in Oklahoma's memorable comeback win.

The drive began at the Sooners' 25-yard line after Jalil Farooq allowed the kickoff to sail through the end zone for a touchback. As the Oklahoma offense trotted onto the field, Gabriel's poise helped the unit settle into a comfortable state.

Offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby: “There was a ton of confidence. Just being on the phone with him before the drive and talking through the headset with the staff and how the guys were on the sideline, there was a ton of belief. To me, that’s what it’s all about. We’ve worked at it a ton of times. We worked it on Wednesday, had a two-minute drill that was no timeouts with a minute-15 and a touchdown to win, and here we are on Saturday with a pretty similar situation.”

Center Andrew Raym: “This is it. This is what we’ve been working for. Eight months of preparing for this moment right here, boys. We couldn’t ask for any better situation than to go win it right here.”

Left guard Cayden Green: “I’m not the biggest fan of Texas. It’s a lot of bad blood there… I was just excited to go.”

Defensive back Billy Bowman: “We had no doubt. We had confidence that our offense would go down and score the [ball].”

Wide receiver Nic Anderson: “I could feel the confidence just buzzing off of [Dillon].”

Head coach Brent Venables: “He’s the calmest guy I’ve ever been around at the quarterback position. He’s got great belief in the players around him. Incredibly humble. You don’t see him ever tooting his own horn. He’s always trying to compliment and call someone else up. But he’s prepared… He was fearless.”

Green: “Going into that last drive, we knew we were going to score. We knew we needed to score. We knew we couldn’t lose that game… You know Dillon. He’s kind of just a cool, calm and collected dude. So he just came to us and patted us on the helmet and was like, ‘Let’s go. Let’s do it.’ And we knew we weren’t going to lose that game.”

The drive's first two plays unfolded in quick succession; Gabriel hit Drake Stoops for an 11-yard gain, then rushed the Sooners to the line and promptly found Jalil Farooq for another 16 yards. If nothing else, the Sooners had escaped the orange-clad hostility of the Cotton Bowl's north end, and field goal range had become more than attainable.

Gabriel: “Yeah, starting out I saw 1:17 on the dot, and I know we [needed] something to start the drive out right, create a completion, and Drake caught it over the middle. From there, you’re rolling. You kind of have that rhythm, that flow… That throw to Jalil on the sideline, he gets another chunk. Then, as time’s dwindling, as you get to midfield, just knowing we can get three with a 20-yard gain, but also a chance to win the game.”

Defensive back Peyton Bowen: “I was just sitting there watching. I was like, ‘Hey, we run two-minute drill every week, we better go score.’ Honestly, I had all the faith. I was like, we either going to OT or we winning it. Like that was my mentality, we’re not getting stopped.”

Linebacker Jaren Kanak: “We’re watching it happen, enjoying the moment. Trying to soak it all in. Like, alright, he’s about to go down and score and we’re going to win this [game]. Being almost a fan at that point watching the game happen from the sidelines.”

Raym: “Unfazed. Every single body out there. We had a true freshman [to] the left of me on the line, and a second string that just got in there to the right of me. Neither one of them were fazed. Confident.”

A sixth-year senior, Stoops was playing in his final Red River Rivalry game. Back in 2020, he'd scored the decisive touchdown in a four-overtime classic at the Cotton Bowl, reeling off a 25-yard catch and run to give Oklahoma an eventual 53-45 win. Three years later, Stoops came up with another crucial reception that bore striking similarities to his memorable game-winner. He found open space across the middle of the field, and Gabriel hit him in stride for 28 yards.

Gabriel: “Not taking a sack is in my mind, and find a way to either [get] a first down, touchdown or out of bounds. After that, did get flushed, found Drake in the middle again. He gets a good chunk. Now, we’re in the plus-territory, but I also know the clock’s running.”

Lebby: “We felt good about our two-minute plan going into it. Having Dillon to be able to go execute and put him in situations to where he can make his [read] is a big deal for us.”

On the next snap, Gabriel looked for Nic Anderson down the left sideline, but Anderson had no play on the ball due to contact from a Longhorn defender. Fortunately for Oklahoma, flags flew, and the officiating crew ruled pass interference. That moved the ball to the Texas 6-yard line. Gabriel then called his own number, rushing up the middle to set the Sooners up three yards shy of the goal line. The clock was running, but the Sooners had more than enough time to get two or three plays off.

Gabriel: “We got a penalty down the sideline, so we’re plus-15. Now we’re in the red zone, but we’re near the 30 or 20-second mark, so same thing: touchdown or out of bounds.”

Running back Tawee Walker: “Man, to me this is Dillon. It wasn't surprising at all. I see it every day at practice. He's just a leader. You know, he just had his head up, told us he had us. And I believed. Never doubted him once.”

Gabriel: “Yeah, so initially, we had a man end zone beater. But, you know, obviously knew it was zone. Knew I couldn't get sacked there. So my process is touchdown or out of bounds.”

Anderson: “It’s just a play that’s designed for the first person that comes open.”

Lebby: “If he didn’t have it right there on the scramble, he’s gonna get it out of bounds and we’ll have two plays.”

Tight end Austin Stogner: “I saw the guy off the edge. I was like, ‘I know he’s coming.”

Left tackle Walter Rouse: “That ‘backer did creep down, so Cayden was definitely keeping eyes on him in case he came. But I set, and I didn’t really feel like I had Cayden with me.”

Green: “I gotta do better. I gotta help him out on that block.”

Stogner: “Me and Nic kind of ran into each other, and I think it threw the linebacker off. I think it was the perfect storm.”

Anderson: “Me and Stog actually ran into each other, and I was the one that came open.”

As Gabriel dropped back to pass, Texas brought pressure from both edges. Walker picked up a blitzing Longhorn on the weak side, but without Stogner to help in pass protection, the Sooners were outmanned on the strong side. Cornerback Terrance Brooks had a scot-free run at Gabriel — until Rouse alertly shimmied and stopped Brooks in his tracks with nothing more than his left hand. As the pocket collapsed around Gabriel, Rouse was holding off Brooks with his left arm and defensive end Ethan Burke with his right. The hulking senior tackle managed to stand his ground long enough for Gabriel to flick the ball to Anderson in the corner of the end zone.

Rouse: “I stuck out two hands there, and I was just trying to protect with all I could. What they preach since I’ve gotten here is the uncommon effort, and that whole drive was uncommon effort. And I was just trying to do my absolute best to protect as [best] I could.”

Stogner: “Big Walt blocked two people! That’s crazy.”

Gabriel: “Just saw the corner clamp and then seen Nic in the back of the end zone. That’s what we practice week in and week out… And as he climbed that flat, just found Nic [in the] back of the end zone and the rest is history.”

Anderson: “I saw the ball. That's the last thing I remember. And then just seeing the fans and looking into their eyes, it was a crazy, electric moment. I'm glad they were pointing to me.”

Rouse: “I thought DG threw it out of bounds. Even with the crowd going crazy, I was like, ‘Did we score?’ It didn’t even hit me until I got to the sideline. And I was like, ‘We scored! We’re gonna win this game!’ And I was talking to one of the coaches, and he was like, ‘You blocked two dudes.’ And I was like, ‘I BLOCKED TWO DUDES!’”

Green: “I was really hyped. A little too hyped. I gave myself a little headache; I started getting dizzy. It was a lot of yelling. I was doing a lot of yelling.”

Defensive end Ethan Downs: “There was a group of guys on the sideline saying a prayer thanking God for the day. Seeing the touchdown right after we said ‘Amen’ was really cool.”

Anderson: “All I could do was scream… All my emotions poured out in that moment.”

Moments later, a Hail Mary attempt from Quinn Ewers fell incomplete, and the jubilant Oklahoma sideline flooded the field in celebration. One year prior, Gabriel had stood helpless in street clothes on the sideline as Texas humiliated the Sooners 49-0. Now, he'd cemented his legacy in the Red River history books, propelling Oklahoma to a heart-stopping upset win in one of the series' most iconic games ever.

Anderson: "I was hugging Jalil (Farooq) or it was J-Gib (Jayden Gibson). I don't really remember. But when that ball hit the ground, it was pandemonium. It was Gib. I remember. It was Gib. We were just jumping around. I was screaming, running around. And then I finally got to my family and embraced them... If we're being for real, Coach Schmitty made us do 49 med balls all summer. He made sure to remind us every single workout exactly why we were doing what we were doing. And I feel like that played a huge part in what we did."

Rouse: “This is the happiest I’ve ever been after a football game. I was hurting. I’m hurting now. I was hurting after that game. When Key or whoever tipped that ball down, all my pain just went away. Running on that field, I was high on life. I was so full of joy and happiness.”

Gabriel: “I’m a big believer in God bringing everything full circle. I think just in general, you step away from the game, puts in perspective of how beautiful it is. How gracious it is. You can never take that for granted. It was a totally different feeling. This is Team 129, and this is what we’re all about.”