Autzen Zoo
Fansided

Dillon Gabriel is going to have a field day against UCLA's defense

By Connor Muldowney

Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, right, celebrates a first quarter touchdown against Boise State at Autzen Stadium in Eugene Sept. 7, 2024.
Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel, right, celebrates a first quarter touchdown against Boise State at Autzen Stadium in Eugene Sept. 7, 2024. / Chris Pietsch/The Register-Guard / USA TODAY NETWORK
facebooktwitterreddit

If there was ever a game you could count on Dillon Gabriel going completely nuclear and putting up some video game-like numbers, it has to be Saturday's matchup between the Ducks and UCLA.

Looking at the numbers, UCLA ranks 113th in the country in passing yards allowed per game after facing Hawaii, Indiana, and LSU. Sure, those last two opponents were tough tests, but the Hawaii game shouldn't have been that brutal on the defense. And yet, UCLA surrendered 227 yards passing and a touchdown on 25 completions.

The next game against Indiana was even worse as Kurtis Rourke and the Hoosiers passed all over that defense to the tune of 307 yards and four touchdowns on 25-of-33 completions. Indiana has been a surprise breakout team this year and Rourke looked like a Heisman candidate against UCLA.

And then last week, LSU's Garrett Nussmeier passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns on 32-of-44 completions in a 17-point win over the Bruins. He's a first-year starter and looked like a budding star against this UCLA defensive backfield. And it's not like he was picking on one defensive back, he had three receivers with at least six catches and five with at least 40 yards.

That leads us to Saturday's showdown between that porous UCLA defense and Oregon.

The Ducks have one of the Heisman front-runners in Dillon Gabriel leading the way after a near-perfect start to the year with 914 yards passing, six touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a completion percentage of 84. He has been elite.

And now he gets to face one of the worst passing defenses in the country. Sure, this game will be at the Rose Bowl in a hostile environment, but I'd expect Oregon fans to travel well and make this feel like more of a home game for Gabriel and the Ducks. He's going to feed off that energy to have his best game as a Duck yet and if I had to guess, I'd say he approaches 400-450 yards on Saturday night with four-plus touchdowns.

Get ready for the Dillon Gabriel game, folks.

Home/Oregon Ducks Football