EUGENE, Ore. — Dillon Gabriel had already warmed up his arm with arguably the best performance of his career, so why not his voice?
Oregon’s journeyman quarterback was feeling good after terrorizing No. 2 Ohio State in a thrilling 32-31 win. Perhaps inspired by his own up-and-down career that started on the East Coast at UCF, the sixth-year quarterback was asked about his journey, and he immediately broke out into song.
“Coast to coast ain’t cut it,” he sang with a country twang, remixing superstar artist Morgan Wallen’s “’98 Braves,” a lyrical tribute to the Atlanta Braves, who came up short of a World Series title despite being considered one of the best baseball teams of all time. The actual lyrics are ‘We got close but close doesn’t cut it,’ but Gabriel’s tweak — even if accidental — is appropriate for his coast-to-coast career.
He hummed the next line of the song: “Had a good run and end up with nothin’.”
For so often, good hasn’t been good enough for Gabriel. His passing stats rank among the best in college football history, but he still doesn’t have a championship to show for it after previous stops at UCF and Oklahoma.
Now he has Oregon sitting atop the mighty Big Ten, victorious against preseason favorite Ohio State, a team of superstars bankrolled by $20 million. He’s feeling good now, but he knows the feeling is fleeting.
“I learned a bunch at each stop, and more importantly, who I am as a person, and there’s real development in that as a player, but also as a person through those times,” Gabriel said Saturday. “I just know at this point in my career I appreciate where I’m at in the present, the people that work so hard to allow us to do what we do. I never take a day for granted and that’s because I know how hard it is to do what we do as well.”
If you don’t recall, Gabriel has been oh-so-close to greatness throughout his career, a glaring mark on an otherwise stellar record. He was one win short of an AAC title as a freshman in 2019 at UCF, and later at Oklahoma he battled through a six-win season to win 10 games in 2023. He beat No. 3 Texas last fall in the Red River Rivalry, but fell short of a Big 12 title (again) down the stretch with losses to Kansas and Oklahoma State. Texas rallied to win the conference and advance to the College Football Playoff.
Often criticized for his mistakes, particularly a penchant for interceptions in the red zone, Gabriel shed the ridicule Saturday against the Buckeyes. Even if his singing voice wasn’t on par with Wallen, he was pitch perfect against the Buckeyes’ vaunted defense, which had allowed only 34 points total all season.
“Every time I went and looked at his eyes tonight, I saw a guy that was composed, ready for his next moment,” said Oregon coach Dan Lanning.
Gabriel threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns on 23 of 34 passing, and ran for a go-ahead score on a 27-yard keeper early in the fourth quarter that faked out everyone inside Autzen Stadium, including elite Ohio State defensive end JT Tuimoloau, who crashed on the running back as Gabriel carried out a fake hand-off and slipped around the right side untouched for the touchdown.
With Oregon’s back against the wall again with six minutes remaining, he led the game-winning drive by completing all five passes he threw, including a 26-yard gainer to Terrance Ferguson across the middle.
It was the eighth and final lead change.
“I’ve been in many games where it came down to a drive or two, and you need points in the red (zone) area,” Gabriel said. “Things don’t change in that end, it just magnifies in big games. … I tried to use my knowledge as best as I can with his team and our guys, but we all helped each other because they played a bunch of ball as well.”
Gabriel is certainly correct in that assessment. It’s not often a team replaces a 15,000-yard career passer (Bo Nix) with another, but thanks to the transfer portal, the Ducks were able to do just that by adding Gabriel in the offseason after Oklahoma elected to let him walk to turn the reins over to former five-star signee Jackson Arnold.
Gabriel has stellar veterans around him, particularly star receiver Tez Johnson, the adopted brother of Nix, who broke the school record with 86 catches last season and has continued to prove he’s more than just the benefactor of a close relationship by leading the team with 470 yards and six touchdowns this fall.
On Saturday night, Gabriel and Co. bludgeoned Ohio State. He connected on four passes of 30-plus yards against a defense that hadn’t allowed an explosive pass of that kind all season. Eight plays eclipsed 20 yards after Ohio State had allowed only nine in five games.
Texas A&M transfer Evan Stewart was stellar in a breakout performance, catching seven balls for a career-high 149 yards and a score. Johnson had seven grabs as well for 75 yards and another touchdown.
Every deep throw by Gabriel was a beauty Saturday night. Coaches purposefully attacked Ohio State’s best cornerback, Denzel Burke, and won every single matchup. Burke was beaten badly on three such plays in the first half, with two going for touchdowns. Gabriel’s high-arcing throws to Stewart and Johnson were not only placed perfectly, but they reminded the nationwide audience that Gabriel throws one of the best deep balls in the country.
“He showed toughness. He went out there against a top-two opponent and beat them,” Johnson said. “That shows a lot right there. He’s competitive, willing to compete every time he gets on the field and the poise he had the entire game was unbelievable.”
More importantly, Gabriel was able to overcome the early-season criticism as a quarterback of hesitation, particularly in the red zone. Save for third- and fourth-down miscues at the 2-yard line that led to a turnover on downs, Gabriel was precise and prolific. Also hesitant to run earlier in the season, his decision on the touchdown run was that of an elite quarterback.
“Unbelievable decision there by Dillon,” Lanning marveled.
For all the doubts, this one performance quieted the naysayers. Gabriel’s odds in the Heisman Trophy race skyrocketed to No. 2, leaping Miami’s Cam Ward and Alabama’s Jalen Milroe, to stand behind Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty in the run to New York City.
Gabriel enters Week 8 with nine straight games with two passing touchdowns, the nation’s second-longest streak. He ranks second behind Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow as the only quarterbacks to throw for two-plus touchdowns and rush for a touchdown in 20 games since 2000.
“The game of football is about what you’ve done for me lately,” Lanning said. “For him, it’s about continuing to grow and I know he’ll be a guy that attacks that more than anybody else.”
No one knows that more than Gabriel, who’s still chasing that elusive championship after six years.
“It’s something I love and have been addicted to from the beginning,” Gabriel said. ” It’s kinda been my way of living. I’ve loved every bit of it.”
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