Dillon Gabriel is leading the offense of the top team in the nation: the Oregon Ducks. Just last weekend, Gabriel led Oregon to a dominant performance over the defending National Champions, the Michigan Wolverines.
However, despite the Ducks' unblemished record and their quarterback's impressive resume so far this season, the latest Heisman Trophy watchlists continue to leave Gabriel off of the list.
On3, a sports recruiting and analysis site, released their experts' top three Heisman candidates leading into Week 11 and Gabriel was completely snubbed – left off four of the five rankings.
Week 11 On3 College Football Heisman Trophy Watch🏆https://t.co/17r1s7LPRI pic.twitter.com/tbLVoStOhF
— On3 (@On3sports) November 3, 2024
Andy Staples, Ari Wasserman, Jesse Simonton, and Charles Power all left Gabriel off of their watchlist, opting to include Miami's quarterback Cam Ward, Boise State's running back Ashton Jeanty, and Colorado's two-way player Travis Hunter, instead.
For a position-to-position comparison, Gabriel and Ward are the only quarterbacks included by the On3 analysts. Here is a brief breakdown of the two QBs' seasons so far (the better stat is in bold):
Stat | Dillon Gabriel | Cam Ward |
|---|---|---|
Passing yards | 2,665 | 3,146 |
Passing touchdowns | 19 | 29 |
Interceptions | 5 | 6 |
Completion percentage | 74.8% | 67.1% |
Sacks | 10 | 17 |
Running yards | 120 | 187 |
Running touchdowns | 6 | 3 |
Average QBR | 82.93 | 89.91 |
Keep in mind that Gabriel and the Ducks have faced two opponents that were ranked at the time of the matchup and have faced three teams that are currently in the AP Top 25. Miami has faced zero (0) ranked opponents and most likely won't until the ACC Championship game.
If Cam Ward is in Heisman Trophy contention, then so is Dillon Gabriel. It's just that simple. Gabriel is more accurate and reliable for his team. He is more of a dual-threat quarterback and can avoid a loss of yards better than Ward does.
Sure, there is the argument that it doesn't matter if Ward or Gabriel is on the list because Jeanty and Hunter deserve the award more. However, leaving Gabriel off of watchlists in favor of Ward is a hard argument to make – and actually defend.