Despite the daunting task of hosting No. 19 Oklahoma, the fact that Tulsa has owned OU quarterback Dillon Gabriel in the past is promising.

Tulsa (1-1) was 2-0 against Gabriel when he was the UCF quarterback. The Golden Hurricane will be trying to make that 3-0 against Gabriel when Tulsa hosts OU at H.A. Chapman Stadium Saturday afternoon at 2:30 p.m.

Standout Tulsa safety Kendarin Ray was the only current TU player who played on defense against Gabriel in both 2019 and 2020 when Tulsa upset Gabriel's team, Central Florida, both times.

"Playing Dillon Gabriel has always been good competition," Ray said. "Obviously, we played some close games with him in the past when he was at UCF. We're just looking for the opportunity that is coming this weekend."

Ray obviously wasn't going to give Gabriel or OU any bulletin board material. Being a sixth-year senior will give you that wisdom.

But Ray was certainly being understated. He didn't even mention TU beating Gabriel. Or the fact that he had 7 tackles and a pass breakup when Tulsa won 34-26 the last time TU played Gabriel at UCF in 2020.

Also not mentioned was that TU overcame a 28-17 halftime deficit in 2019 to win 34-31 at H.A. Chapman with backup quarterback Seth Boomer after starter Zach Smith had been injured in the first half. Ray had two tackles in that game.

Playing backup quarterbacks is a theme for this Saturday's game at OU, because it will likely be Cardell Williams or Roman Fuller taking snaps for the Golden Hurricane. From the way first-year TU coach Kevin Wilson put it at the press conference on Tuesday, starter Braylon Braxton, who left the first game early due to an ankle injury, needs some more time to get better.

"He's a guy who needs to run and make plays with his feet," Wilson said of Braxton. "Braylon, day-to-day. But even day-to-day, he's missed enough time that he's gonna need a week or two to practice and get back into the flow and the feel of the game.

"But you never know until a guy gets back. We're not rushing it. To me, there's no need to rush it. I don't think it's a major, major injury, But I do think we need to make sure he is full go, because like most players, and especially for him, he needs to be able to move around to be an effective player and to protect himself."

After playing brilliantly in week one against UAPB, Williams started at No. 8 Washington, and was struggling a little but playing decently, making an incredible deep over the middle throw to Braylin Presley, until he bruised his throwing hand.

From the way Wilson talked, Williams may play against OU. But then again, he may not.

"Cardell hit his hand on a helmet. It's just a bruise. It initially just swelled up - he had a hard time gripping the ball," Wilson said. "I would expect, hopefully, Cardell progresses well."

Roman Fuller came in and did okay replacing Williams in the second quarter. But he doesn't have the mobility of Braxton or Williams. And lets face it. When most teams are down to their third stringer, it is not the most promising scenario.

"Roman came in and did a solid job," Wilson said.

If Fuller, who completed 12 of 18 passes for just 85 yards and a touchdown, were to go down, and Williams or Braxton is unable to play, Tulsa's next options would be either Metro Christian grad and true freshman walk-on Kirk Francis, or Jenks grad and redshirt sophomore walk-on Stephen Kittleman. Wilson briefly mentioned Francis as an option. He didn't mention Kittleman.

Imagine, on the other side, if Gabriel were to leave the TU game. It would not likely bode well for the Sooners. When he got knocked out of the Texas game last season, OU lost 49-0. OU usually has the upper hand on the Longhorns in the Red River battle.

Backup Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold played well in mop-up duty against woeful Arkansas State. But that means very little. Arnold is a 5-star freshman recruit, so who knows, he might be better than Gabriel. But he has basically no college experience.