Every week, Nick Saban breaks down film of a top team or top player in the country during ESPN College GameDay. Ahead of Week 9's kickoffs, Saban featured none other than the Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel.
The greatest coach of all time had nothing but compliments for Gabriel, from calling the veteran quarterback "very instinctive" to comparing Gabriel to one of the Alabama Crimson Tide greats: Tua Tagovailoa.
Once the segment was done, Saban continued his praise for the Oregon quarterback. When comparing Gabriel to other quarterbacks in the country such as Georgia's Carson Beck and Texas' Quinn Ewers, Saban noted how some of the other QBs have shown cracks in their facade this season while Gabriel has remained rock solid.
"I like Dillon Gabriel," said Desmond Howard, one of Saban's co-stars on CGD.
Saban praised Gabriel's dual-threat style of QB play. Not only can the Duck quarterback beat you with his arm, but he can also make defensive players miss and beat you with his legs.
While ESPN College GameDay was in Bloomington for the Indiana Hoosiers versus Washington Huskies, the entire desk couldn't help but talk about the Ducks. Oregon is the newest No. 1 team in the nation and the Ducks are taking on the No. 20 Illinois Fighting Illini.
Rece Davis, the show's host, shared that the last time Oregon played a game as the No. 1 team, the Ducks lost to Stanford. He added that the last time the Fighting Illini faced the No. 1 team, they took down the Ohio State Buckeyes.
Oregon and Illinois are scheduled to kick off at 12:30 p.m. PT on CBS and Paramount+.