Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel was officially named one of this year’s four finalists for the Heisman Trophy on Monday evening. He’ll join Boise State University running back Ashton Jeanty, University of Miami quarterback Cam Ward and Colorado two-way star Travis Hunter in New York City for Saturday’s Heisman Ceremony.
Gabriel is now the fifth Duck – alongside Joey Harrington (2001), LaMichael James (2010), Marcus Mariota (winner in 2014) and Bo Nix (2023) – to be nominated for college football’s most prestigious individual award.
His nomination this year came as no surprise to Ducks fans. Gabriel led this year’s No.1-ranked Oregon Ducks to an undefeated regular season and then outdueled Penn State’s Drew Allar to win Saturday’s Big Ten Championship 45-37. With their record at 13-0, the Ducks are three wins from the program’s first ever national championship.
Through 13 wins, Gabriel completed 297 of 406 passing attempts for 3,558 yards, 28 touchdowns and six interceptions. Gabriel’s 73.2% completion rate was the nation’s second-highest behind only Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders (74.2), while his yards and touchdown totals both finished eighth-highest.
Despite Gabriel’s stellar stats and undefeated record, he’s unlikely to win this year’s Heisman trophy. According to FanDuel, Gabriel’s odds currently sit at +40000, ahead of Ward (+50000) but well behind both Jeanty (+1100) and the odds-on favorite, Hunter (-4000).
For most of this season, the Heisman competition has been a two-horse race. Jeanty recently concluded the best regular season from a collegiate running back since Barry Sanders won the Heisman back in 1998. Meanwhile, Hunter tallied a ludicrous 1,443 snaps across 12 games, making a major impact on both sides of the ball.
Following Boise State’s (12-1, 7-0 Mountain West) win over UNLV, Jeanty’s total stands at 344 carries for 2,497 yards and 29 touchdowns. His yards after contact alone (1,882) are 222 yards more than any other running back has total yards this year. If it were any other year, Jeanty would have secured the Heisman Trophy long ago.
Through 709 snaps at wide receiver, Hunter turned 92 catches into 1,152 yards and 14 touchdowns, leading the Buffaloes (9-3, 7-2 Big 12) in each category.
Hunter also recorded 713 defensive snaps, plus another 21 on special teams. In doing so, Hunter established himself as one of the nation’s top cornerbacks, tallying 22 tackles, four passes defended, four interceptions and one forced fumble.
Hunter is likely to win the year’s most prestigious individual award, but that won’t take anything away from the season Gabriel’s had so far. Gabriel’s accomplishments, most notably his team’s undefeated record through 13 games, make it clear that he’s been one of the nation’s best overall players this year.
