Winning is ‘addicting’ to Dillon Gabriel. And with No. 1 Oregon being 12-0, the Ducks’ quarterback is having a great time.
Gabriel threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, and Oregon wrapped up an undefeated regular season with a 49-21 win over Washington on Saturday.
Oregon, which is also ranked first in the College Football Playoff rankings, had already secured a spot in next weekend’s Big Ten title game. The Ducks will face Penn State, which beat Maryland 44-7 earlier on Saturday. Ohio State’s 13-10 loss to Michigan helped Penn State secure a spot in the game.
“It’s addicting,” Gabriel said about winning. “It’s my drug of choice, I say. It’s an addicting feeling, I think. Just being around this program, you believe it, but when you actually do it, it’s something really special.”
Gabriel completed 16 of 23 passes for 209 yards, and Jordan James ran for 99 yards and two touchdowns for the Ducks (12-0, 9-0 B10).
Oregon ended the regular season undefeated for the first time since 2010, when they went undefeated into the BCS national championship game.
“Everybody can recognize that college football is hard, right? It’s tough to be consistent and to be resilient, and win some tight games and have some battles throughout, I think that really shows the character of our team,” Oregon coach Dan Lanning said.
Last season, Oregon’s only regular-season loss was to the Huskies. Washington also defeated the Ducks in the Pac-12 championship game, and the Huskies went 13-0 before losing to Michigan in the national championship.
This year, the Huskies (6-6, 4-5) were much different, as both teams left the Pac-12 last summer.
“As I said to our team, now you have a chance to play in the postseason, and you earned that right — through 12 games, not through one,” Washington coach Jedd Fisch said. “When you win six, you get to play in a bowl game and that’s what we’re looking forward to doing.”
Washington started freshman Demond Williams Jr. at quarterback. Will Rogers had been the Huskies’ regular starter, but Williams had been used in certain situations and helped Washington beat UCLA to become bowl eligible.
Williams threw for 201 yards and a touchdown for Washington, which only gained 43 yards rushing against the Ducks.
Tez Johnson, Oregon’s top receiver who had been out since a win over Michigan on Nov. 2 due to a shoulder injury, started and connected with Gabriel on a 9-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter, which gave the Ducks a 35-14 lead.
Oregon scored on its first drive of the game when Noah Whittington ran for a 9-yard touchdown. The Huskies responded with Grady Gross’ 26-yard field goal. Gross added a 41-yard field goal early in the second quarter, bringing Washington within 7-6.
Gabriel connected with Traeshon Holden for a 40-yard catch-and-run that was initially ruled a touchdown, but a video review showed Holden was down at the 1-yard line. James then ran into the end zone to make it 14-6.
Jonah Coleman fumbled on Washington’s next play, and Oregon took over on the Husky 19-yard line. Two plays later, James scored his second 1-yard touchdown in less than a minute.
Gabriel then ran for a 4-yard touchdown to make it 28-6, and the game was out of reach. Coleman scored a 1-yard touchdown for the Huskies to make it 28-14 at halftime.
Gabriel threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to Terrance Ferguson, and Da’Jaun Riggs added a 1-yard touchdown run for the Ducks in the final quarter. With 1:43 left, Giles Jackson caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Williams.
Gabriel, who transferred from Oklahoma to Oregon for his sixth season of eligibility, said it’s too soon to know if the Ducks are playing their best.
“I will say, I think the mindset’s right, the preparation and how we do things is right as well. But I think it’s proving it every single week,” he said.
