Dillon Gabriel's accuracy has pinpointed Oregon's offense
It wasn't pretty during the spring, but Oregon's Heisman finalist found a way.
EUGENE — Dillon Gabriel placed third in the Heisman Trophy voting last week and I think that was a fair finish. The Oregon quarterback passed for 3,558 yards, 28 touchdowns and six interceptions while setting a career-high in completion percentage.
He was the offensive leader of the country's No. 1 team and certainly deserved that trip to New York City. And looking back at his 13 games (so far) with Oregon, there’s one moment in particular that will stick in my memory.
It was that fourth down against Wisconsin when the pocket collapsed, Gabriel flushed out to his left and fired a pass to a sliding Terrance Ferguson that threaded its way between a pair of Badgers’ arms before finding the tight end’s hands for the first down.
Say what you will about an offense that may inflate completion numbers by design, you don’t just complete 70-plus percent of your passes against Big Ten competition without having a little touch.
Or the desire to develop it.