Dillon Gabriel Heisman talk needs to be heating up after UCLA win

We are one-third of the way through Oregon's 2024 season and it's fair to say that Dillon Gabriel is the real deal.

I'll actually go a step further and say that he's elite and his Heisman campaign needs to start being talked about nationally. Through four games, he's playing as well as any quarterback in the country and he really hasn't had to do much yet. He has yet to have his Heisman moments (those will come against the Ohio States and Michigans of the Big Ten) and yet he still looks like a frontrunner.

Gabriel is 28th in the country in passing yards with 1,192 and most of the guys ahead of him have played five games to his four. On top of that, he's tied for 31st in passing touchdowns (again, most quarterbacks ahead of him have played five games) and he's just four touchdown passes away from being in the top 10 -- that's one game for him. Oh, and he's No. 1 in the nation in completion rate at 81.5 percent and his passer rating is ninth.

And he's one of just nine quarterbacks in college football with at least nine touchdown passes and one or zero interceptions. He's dominating defenses through four games.

If Gabriel keeps this pace and turns it up when he plays the elite opponents like he's capable of doing, he's going to have a legit Heisman Trophy-caliber season.

I will say, if he continues this pace of three touchdowns and 300 yards per game and the Ducks make the Big Ten Championship, he will be invited to New York. He'll have the nation's best completion rate to go along with about 3,900 yards, 30 touchdowns, and three interception. If he realizes he's an elite runner, too, he's going to be the Heisman winner.

Right now, not enough people are talking about it.