The nation’s top-ranked team has all but clinched a spot in the first-ever 12-team College Football Playoff. With just two games remaining against Washington and Ohio State/Penn State/Indiana, the Ducks are set to make the CFP for the first time since the first four-team edition in 2014. It’s thanks to, in large part, its sixth-year transfer quarterback, Dillon Gabriel.
It’s been a long road for Gabriel. First, he starred at UCF and led the AAC in passing in 2020. Then, he left for Oklahoma and led the Big 12 in passing in 2023. The Southpaw has been a gunslinger at every stop and has led the Oregon offense to a perfect 11-0 mark and is well-situated to secure a Big Ten title in the program’s first year in the new conference.
Now that the college football season is nearly over, each of the awards is announcing finalists. Not only did Gabriel land on the Maxwell Award finalist list, he was named a Davey O’Brien Award finalist.
For the Maxwell Award, Gabriel will have to beat Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty and Colorado two-way star, Travis Hunter. As for the Davey O’Brien, Gabriel has to go up against Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders and Miami (FL)’s Cameron Ward. The only Duck to win either the Maxwell Award or Davey O’Brien Award was Marcus Mariota who won both in 2014.
Oregon’s Gabriel a Finalist for Maxwell, Davey O’Brien Awards
Special talent 🎱
Dillon Gabriel is a finalist for the Maxwell Award, given to college football’s most outstanding player. #GoDucks x @TheMaxwellAward pic.twitter.com/E8km268AMV
— Oregon Football (@oregonfootball) November 26, 2024
There has been plenty of overlap between the Maxwell Award and the Heisman Trophy over the last 10 seasons. Since Mariota took home both in 2014, eight players have double-dipped the award. Only Tua Tagovailoa in 2018 and Michael Penix, Jr. last year won the Maxwell Award without winning the Heisman.
This year, Gabriel has been exemplary. Through 11 games, Gabriel has thrown for 3,066 yards and 22 touchdowns while completing an incredible 73.8 percent of his passes. He leads the way in the Big Ten in yards while coming up second in both touchdowns and completion percentage. He has thrown for at least one touchdown in each game except for one.
In the biggest game of the year against Ohio State, Gabriel stepped up and torched what is statistically the top defense in the country. Gabriel went off for 341 yards and two touchdowns.
While he isn’t known as a dual-threat quarterback, Gabriel can still move. Thus far this year, he has 155 yards and six touchdowns off 54 carries.
He is one of the most productive passers in the history of college football. No player has ever scored as many touchdowns as he has (180). Gabriel is also second all-time in total yards (19,146), passing yards (17,931), passing touchdowns (147), and starts by a quarterback (60). Respectively, he has 969 total yards, 1,287 passing yards, nine touchdowns, and one start away from owning each. With at least three games left, he is in a great position to become the most prolific player in college football history.
