Dillon Gabriel is on pace to break Bo Nix’s record.
Knicks set an NCAA completion percentage record a season ago and was a Heisman finalist. The Knicks completed 364 of 470 passes in 2023, giving them a 77.45% completion rate, breaking Mac Jones’ record of 77.36%.
After Nix left for the NFL, Gabriel transferred to Oregon State for his final season of college football and somehow has a higher pass completion percentage than Nix. Through five games so far, Gabriel has completed 77.8 percent of his passes, completing 130 of 167 for 1,449 yards.
Gabriel always seemed like a perfect fit in Oregon’s offensive scheme once he announced his intention to transfer. He completed 69 percent of his passes a season ago and threw for a career-high 3,660 yards in 12 games with the Sooners. He also became the Heisman betting favorite over the summer.
However, Gabriel has not claimed to be the Heisman favorite so far. Players like Ashton Giunty and Travis Hunter thrive in roles other than quarterback, Cam Ward led Miami to an undefeated start after transferring from Washington State, and Jalen Milroe played under Karen DeBoer at Alabama. He has continued to improve as a passer in his first season with the Red Bulls. .
All four of these players have odds ahead of Gabriel (+1400) at BetMGM, but Gabriel has a great chance to leapfrog them all in Saturday night’s statement game.
The No. 3 Ducks will take on No. 2 Ohio State in the first top-three matchup of the season. The Buckeye defense comes into the game allowing opposing quarterbacks to throw for just 130 yards per game, and only Marshall University and Michigan State have thrown for a TD.
Gabriel is also coming off his worst game of the season. After making more than 80% of his pitches in the Ducks’ first three games of the season, he threw two picks and only one pick in Oregon State’s win over Michigan State on Friday night in Week 6. Only 63% were successful.
If Gabriel can approach or exceed that 80% mark against Ohio State, there’s no telling how Oregon State will lose on Saturday night or whether Gabriel won’t become a Heisman front-runner midway through the season. do not have.
Who’s on your Heisman watch list ahead of Week 7? (Stefan Milic/Yahoo Sports)
Here are four other players we’re keeping an eye on heading into Week 7.
Boise State RB Ashton Jeanty: The best reviews for Jeanty’s performance this season have already been exhausted. He’s averaging nearly 11 yards a carry and is the only running back to eclipse the 1,000-yard mark so far this season, so he’s a natural Heisman favorite ahead of the Boise State game in Hawaii. is. Look at what he did on his first carry against Utah State.
If you want to know how much better Giunty is than the rest, he leads the No. 2 rushing leader, Iowa State’s Caleb Johnson, by 260 yards. Johnson and North Carolina’s Omari Hampton are the only two other running backs to rush for more than 700 yards, and only 13 players have rushed for more than 600 yards this season. Marshall’s AJ Turner is the only running back to average more than 10 yards per carry, but he has rushed 42 times so far this season. Giunty has 95 carries and could miss all of Saturday night’s game against Hawaii if the Broncos take a big early lead.
Colorado DB/WR Travis Hunter: How sustainable is Hunter’s production level on both sides of the ball? We’re about to find out as Colorado gets its schedule into gear. The Buffaloes hosted No. 18 Kansas State late Saturday night ahead of a Week 8 trip to Arizona. Hunter is the team’s leading receiver with 46 catches for 561 yards, tied for first on the team with no other Colorado player with more than 23 catches. with two interceptions.
Penn State QB Drew Allard: The junior showed real growth in his first season under offensive coordinator Andy Kotelnicki. Aller completes nearly 71% of his passes and averages 10.7 yards per throw. A season ago, he completed less than 60 percent of his passes and averaged just 6.8 yards per attempt. Penn State’s offense hasn’t relied too much on throwing the ball to him so far. The 24 passes he threw in Week 6 against UCLA were the most he attempted all season. But if he remains effective and Penn State continues to win, Aller could earn Heisman votes, as Michigan quarterback JJ McCarthy did before the season. The Nittany Lions play at USC on Saturday.
LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier: The first-year starter has a great chance to jump into the Heisman discussion with a strong performance against Ole Miss on Saturday night. Nussmeier isn’t the two-way threat that Heisman winner Jaden Daniels was a season ago, but he’s been a great passer with a lot of volume so far this season. Nussmeier attempted 198 passes in five games, completing nearly 70% of them for 1,652 yards, 15 TDs, and just four interceptions.