Oregon’s well-traveled QB is firmly in Heisman race. Here’s what Boise State can expect

Much of the attention going into Boise State’s matchup against No. 7 Oregon on Saturday has been on its Heisman Trophy candidate, junior running back Ashton Jeanty.

Jeanty cemented himself in the national conversation in Boise State’s 56-45 victory over Georgia Southern last weekend, scampering for a school-record 267 yards and six touchdowns.

But there’s a strong Heisman hopeful on the other side of the field as well, and it’s someone the Broncos are somewhat familiar with.

Sixth-year senior quarterback Dillon Gabriel is a graduate transfer student who began his college career with UCF before spending two years leading the offense at Oklahoma, where he threw for 55 touchdowns and more than 6,800 yards.

Gabriel’s Ducks may have waddled to a 24-14 victory over FCS opponent Idaho last weekend, but the left-hander remains one of the favorites for the trophy that crowns the best player in college football.

Gabriel completed 41-of-49 passes in that game for 380 yards and two touchdowns.

“That guy’s played a lot of college football games. He’s proven to be one of the better ones,” Boise State redshirt sophomore quarterback Maddux Madsen said earlier this week.

Gabriel made his 50th career start last weekend, the most among active FBS quarterbacks. He entered the 2024 season tied for fourth in NCAA history for touchdowns (152), seventh in total yards (15,925) and eighth in passing yards (14,865). He’s just the eighth college quarterback to surpass 15,000 total yards.

Saturday won’t be the first time Gabriel and the Broncos have seen each other, but a lot has changed. He was the starting quarterback for UCF in a 36-31 victory over Boise State in the season opener in 2021, throwing for 318 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions.

Boise State defensive coordinator Erik Chinander — the defensive coordinator at UCF in 2016-17 — recruited Gabriel out of high school.

“It’s like you’re playing an NFL quarterback,” Chinander said earlier this week. “He’s been around a lot of football, and he’s been with some different teams and been in different systems.”

Despite Oregon’s low-scoring affair against Idaho, Gabriel enjoyed a record-setting performance, with the 41 completions tying an all-time school mark.

Gabriel told reporters earlier this week that Oregon didn’t get enough deep shots down the field because Idaho took away those opportunities. Against a Boise State defense that struggled with giving up explosive plays last season — and looked no better part of the game against Georgia Southern — the deep ball may be something to keep an eye on for the Broncos.

Tyler Stockton, Boise State co-defensive coordinator and safeties coach, noted that senior receiver Tez Johnson poses one of Oregon’s most significant threats. Johnson had 12 catches against Idaho, but they went for only 81 yards.

“I’m sure with the wide receivers that they’ve got, they’re going to want to try to challenge us in the back end,” Stockton said Thursday.

In addition to Gabriel’s arm strength, the 200-pound QB is also shifty on his feet and able to scramble when required. Head coach Spencer Danielson described him as a “matchup nightmare.”

If Boise State wants to win, it will have to pressure Gabriel and force him to make tough plays or into mistakes. He had no interceptions last week but was sacked three times by the Vandals, and he also lost a fumble.

One of the players responsible for getting after Gabriel will be redshirt sophomore edge Jayden Virgin-Morgan. He had five tackles against Georgia Southern, including a sack and a tackle for loss. He was also responsible for the roughing-the-passer penalty that handed the Eagles a first down after quarterback JC French had thrown the ball away on third down.

Virgin-Morgan said Wednesday that the plan for every game is to get 10 quarterback hits.

“He’s got some legs on him, so he can run as well,” he said of Gabriel. “And then knowing that he’s had so much experience at three different super high-level schools is definitely a good thing for him. He’s going to be a challenge to take down and pressure.”

Boise State at Oregon

When: 8 p.m. Mountain time Saturday

Where: Autzen Stadium (54,000, Turf), Eugene, Oregon

TV: Peacock (Andrew Siciliano, Michael Robinson, Laura Britt)

Radio: KBOI 670 AM/KTIK 93.1 FM/Sirius XM Ch. 390 (Bob Behler, Pete Cavender)

Records: Boise State 1-0; Oregon 1-0.

Series: Boise State leads the series 3-0.

Vegas line: Oregon by 18.5 points

Weather: 88 degrees, humidity 60%, partly cloudy skies, 8% chance of rain