No. 1 ranked Oregon has talent across the board, but a few players have stood out above the rest. With one week of regular-season football to come, which Ducks are most likely to bring home end-of-season hardware?
Quarterback Dillon Gabriel: Heisman Trophy, Unitas, O’Brien and Maxwell Awards
Perhaps no Duck has shone brighter this year than quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who became the FBS’s all-time leader in career touchdowns (180). Among passers with more than 200 pass attempts, the sixth-year senior ranks second in completion percentage (73.8%), tenth in passing yards (3,066) and ninth in passer rating (164.9).
But Gabriel’s most important stat? He’s the quarterback of the only undefeated team in the country.
Gabriel currently holds the fourth-best odds to win this year’s Heisman Trophy, behind Colorado jack-of-all-trades Travis Hunter, Boise State University running back Ashton Jeanty and University of Miami quarterback Cam Ward. If those results hold, Gabriel will join Joey Harrington (2001), LaMichael James (2010), Marcus Mariota (2014 winner) and Bo Nix (2023) as the fifth Heisman finalist in Oregon history.
The four Heisman finalists will be announced on Dec. 9, and the trophy will be awarded on Dec. 14. Gabriel is also a finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, the Davey O’Brien National Quarterback Award, and the Maxwell Award.
Offensive Line: Joe Moore Award
Oregon’s offensive line was recently named as one of ten semifinalists for the Joe Moore Award, which recognizes the nation’s best offensive line.
Oregon’s O-line started slow, allowing seven sacks in its first two games. However, things changed, and Oregon has allowed only five sacks in its nine games since. The Ducks did not allow a sack in six of those games, including a four-game stretch from Weeks 3 to 7 in which quarterback Dillon Gabriel was never sacked.
The Ducks are currently 16th in the nation with 12 allowed sacks. Their PFF Run Block grade of 66.0 and Pass Block grade of 73.1 are tied for only 47th and 54th nationally, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story.
More telling are running back Jordan James’ 1,067 rushing yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. “He’d be the first one to tell you it wasn’t him,” head coach Dan Lanning said of James’ milestone achievement. “It was the guys in front of him.”
The Joe Moore Award’s three finalists will be announced on Tuesday, Dec. 3. The winning team will be surprised on campus with the award in late December.
Linebacker Bryce Boettcher: Burlsworth Trophy
On Nov. 19, Oregon linebacker and Eugene native Bryce Boettcher was named as one of the three finalists for this year’s Burlsworth Ttrophy, which is awarded annually to the best former walk-on in college football. He’ll be competing for the award with Indiana defensive lineman James Carpenter and University at Buffalo linebacker Shaun Dolac.
Despite being third among Oregon off-ball linebackers with 348 snaps, Boettcher leads the team with 38 solo and 69 total tackles. He was named the Week 3 Burlsworth Trophy Walk-On of the Week after tallying 11 tackles and two pass defenses in the Ducks’ dominant 49-14 win over Oregon State.
Boettcher’s PFF defense grade of 90.2 is tied with Iowa’s Jay Higgins for second nationally behind only Dolac’s 91.9. Boettcher’s pass coverage grade of 87.5 is good for seventh nationally, though Dolac’s 93.6 ranks second.
Boettcher is carrying plenty of momentum into Dec. 9’s Burlsworth Trophy Award Show. He recorded career high PFF grades in defense (90.7), run defense (84.6) and coverage (82.7) against Wisconsin.
