In 2023, Bo Nix set NCAA records for career starts (61) and single-season completion rate (77.4%) with the Oregon Ducks. Just one season later, former UCF and Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel aims to do the same.
Dillon Gabriel’s Place Among All-Time NCAA Leaders in Passing Yards
After breaking state records as a high school QB in Hawaii, Gabriel committed to the UCF Golden Knights. In his first two years and three games, he threw for 8,064 yards, 70 touchdowns, and just 14 interceptions, already on pace to continue his record-breaking ways on the collegiate stage.
However, a season-ending clavicle injury in 2021 marked the end of his time with the Knights, causing him to enter the transfer portal. After initially choosing UCLA as his next destination, Gabriel flipped his commitment to Oklahoma on the day the Sooners’ star freshman Caleb Williams decided to leave for USC.
In Norman, Okla., Gabriel reunited with Jeff Lebby, the QBs coach and offensive coordinator at UCF from 2018 to 2019, and generated another 6,828 yards and 55 TDs across the 2022 and 2023 seasons.
Yet, with Lebby off to become the head coach at Mississippi State, Gabriel entered the portal once more, this time taking the baton from Bo Nix at Oregon. Not only will he attempt to lead the Ducks to a national title berth, but he could break several records along the way.
First up: career passing yards.
Former Houston QB Case Keenum (19,217) is the current holder, with Tommy Chang (17,072), Landry Jones (16,646), and Gabriel (16,314) comprising the rest of the top four.
Gabriel is averaging 289.8 passing yards per game through five contests this season. With seven games remaining in the regular season, he’s in line to finish with 18,342 yards, trailing Kennum by 874.
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However, assuming the Ducks will earn a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff and possibly the Big Ten Championship, Gabriel could play another 2-5 games, depending on how far his team goes in the postseason.
Of course, bouts with Ohio State, Michigan, and Illinois remain on the schedule. However, the Hawaii native not only has the physical tools to compete but also the weapons (WRs Tez Johnson, Traeshon Holden, Evan Stewart, and TE Terrance Ferguson).
But career passing yards aren’t the statistic on record watch for Gabriel this season. He’s currently third in career passing TDs (136), behind only Boise State’s Kellen Moore (142) and, you guessed it, Keenum (155).
This one is arguably easier to catch, as Gabriel’s 2.2 average in 2024 would see him finish with 151 by season’s end, needing just five more in the playoffs to take the top spot.
Then, there is the career completion standings, in which Gabriel ranks 10th with 1,180. While he won’t be able to set the record, thanks to Keenum’s ridiculous number of 1,546, his current trajectory would leave him at seventh with 1,362. With just a couple to a few more games, Gabriel could conceivably finish in third (Washington State’s Luke Falk, 1,404).
Gabriel is also tied with Chang, Moore, Jones, Georgia’s Aaron Murray, and Troy’s Corey Robinson for the most seasons with 3,000+ passing yards (four). Assuming health, he’ll be the first player to reach five with relative ease.
Last but certainly not least, the record his predecessor set just last year: single-season completion rate. Nix completed 364 of his 470 passes (77.4%) in Oregon OC Will Stein’s scheme, and Gabriel is on track to best that mark, albeit barely (130 of 167, 77.8%).
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