Quarterback Dillon Gabriel had a strong performance in his debut for No. 3 Oregon, even though the final score wasn’t what he had hoped for. Gabriel, who joined Oregon after spending the last two seasons at Oklahoma, passed for 380 yards and two touchdowns in the 24-14 win against Idaho on Saturday.
Although Gabriel accounted for most of Oregon’s 487 total yards, he was disappointed with what was expected to be an easier victory, especially since it was the team’s first game as a Big Ten member.
“Stats are one thing, but we’re focused on winning,” Gabriel said. “A win is a win, I will say that, but there’s a lot we need to improve on.”
When asked about areas for improvement, Gabriel mentioned: “Just finishing, not beating ourselves up, more explosive plays so there’s not as many third downs and just being efficient, you know?”
Gabriel, a Heisman candidate this season, had an impressive performance last year with 3,660 passing yards and 30 touchdowns, along with 12 rushing touchdowns. His first touchdown for the Ducks was a 7-yard pass to Tez Johnson on Oregon’s opening drive.
The game wasn’t without its challenges. Gabriel was sacked three times and managed only one touchdown pass by halftime.
Idaho made a comeback in the third quarter with Jack Layne’s 36-yard touchdown pass to Jake Cox. After an Oregon field goal, Layne scored again with a 4-yard run, making it 17-14 early in the fourth quarter.
Gabriel secured the win with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Johnson with 5:36 left in the game. This performance made Gabriel the eighth player in FBS history to surpass 15,000 career passing yards.
