Oklahoma-Texas Tech GameDay: X-Factors
John Hoover: Dillon Gabriel and the weather
Dillon Gabriel grew up in Hawaii and played three seasons in Florida. The fact is he’s struggled in ugly weather this year — wind, rain, cold — and it’s almost certain to be nasty on Saturday in Lubbock. In his previous two-plus seasons at Central Florida, Gabriel played in bad weather only once: 39 degrees, damp and windy in a 38-23 November loss at Tulsa. (He completed 23-of-38 passes for 290 yards with a touchdown, but also threw two interceptions.) Gabriel struggled in the wind against Baylor, in the rain at West Virginia and in the cold against Oklahoma State. Gabriel will need to overcome the weather. He’ll need to be careful with the football (Texas Tech ranks 93rd in the nation with just 13 takeaways). He will need to be accurate when he throws. Most of all, he’ll need to move the chains — unlike last week — and produce points.
Ryan Chapman: Tired legs
For three straight weeks, the Sooners have lost the time of possession battle in lopsided fashion. Oklahoma’s defense isn’t overflowing with depth, especially at linebacker, and that unit is fresh off defending 102 plays last week against Oklahoma State. The Red Raider offense wants to move quickly and run up the snap total again on Saturday, and so the offense will need to do a better job of holding onto the football to help keep the defense fresh to continue to build on the positive momentum from the past two weeks and finish the season strong.
Josh Callaway: The crowd
Texas Tech fans are crazy. That has been well established. But, with four new teams entering the Big 12 next year, it is not a given that Oklahoma ever returns to Lubbock after this game. Mix that in with the fact that this is the final home game of the season — and there is reason to believe that Lubbock could be on fire even by their standards. This season, the Sooners have done fairly well handling tough road environments. This one will be right there toward the top in terms of difficulty, with the bulk of the roster having never experienced a game at Jones AT&T Stadium. The Sooners are probably the better team on paper, but the crowd and environment could serve as the equalizer. It'll be up to Dillon Gabriel and the OU offense to find a way to work through a lot of noise and for the Sooners defense to try and keep the Tech fans out of the game as much as possible on Saturday.
Ross Lovelace: Four-quarter football
The Sooners have desperately struggled to play complete games this season. Last week was a prime example, as Oklahoma clung to what was once a 28-0 lead, in a game where the offense didn’t score a point outside of the first quarter. Saturday is going to be a big test for both Jeff Lebby and Dillon Gabriel, as the pair has struggled to generate long, successful drives. The three-and-outs and inconsistent tempo has killed the momentum on multiple occasions. Putting together long drives that end in points will lead to a complete game, and that’s exactly what Oklahoma will need on the road in Lubbock.
