Washington Huskies defense must be able to account for Dillon Gabriel, Oregon offense

With the way that Dan Lanning has built this particular roster in Eugene, the Oregon Ducks have a ton of talent all over the field. There are plenty of players who can score at seemingly any given moment with the way Oregon is assembled this season.

Leading the scoring charge is Dillon Gabriel, a seasoned quarterback who has set all sorts of college football records thanks to the fact that he’s played for three different programs, in multiple high profile offenses, and across six different seasons.

And among all the players that Steve Belichick and the Washington Huskies defense will need to keep tabs on, Gabriel is probably the top name on the list of five players to watch out for. 

Oregon Ducks players to watch vs. Washington Huskies: Keep an eye on Dillon Gabriel and Oregon’s passing attack

Before Gabriel arrived in Eugene, he played for the Oklahoma Sooners, operating Jeff Lebby’s offense with relative ease. And before he was in Norman, Oklahoma, Gabriel was playing for the UCF Knights, where he also played in Jeff Lebby’s offense.

The system he’s operating now is a bit different, but it is making the most of his skillset and he’s arguably the best quarterback in the Big Ten this season as he’s thriving, having thrown for over 3000 passing yards. 

And it’s not just that he’s throwing for a bunch of yards, he’s doing it efficiently, completing 73.8 percent of his passes and having thrown just six interceptions. Meanwhile, he has 22 touchdown passes on the year. 

Washington’s pass defense is robust, among the best in the country, but Gabriel’s accuracy is something that will be worth watching. He rarely makes a poor passing decision. And if that weren’t enough of a headache for opposing defenses, Gabriel has shown that he’s willing to scoot around and run a bit. This season, he has a half dozen rushing touchdowns as well. 

The Huskies are going to have to get some pressure on Gabriel, which won’t be easy. It’s not exactly something that UW has done well this season. But, well, we’ve seen Oregon’s offensive front show some vulnerabilities at times. And their recent game against Wisconsin wasn’t exactly a high-scoring affair. 

So, among all the Oregon football players that Washington will need to keep tabs on, Gabriel is at the top of the list heading into this game. 

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