On Facebook
On Flipboard
On Twitter
Entering rivalry week, there were quite a few questions surrounding Oregon’s starting quarterback, Dillon Gabriel. Against Boise State, the transfer from Oklahoma had trouble reading pass protection and staying mobile in a collapsing pocket.
Though the Ducks have been 2-0 and remained within the top ten of the AP Poll under the leadership of Gabriel, many were wanting more.
Falling to 5th in the Heisman rankings, many wondered if Gabriel was going to show his running talents and venture outside of short passes. Of course, Oregon’s previous shortcomings at offensive line hindered Gabriel the last two contests.
With a quickly collapsing pocket, Gabriel’s comfortability felt low, leading to rash decisions, allowing impending defenders to land sacks and disrupt passes. Oregon tallied 7 sacks in the last two games.
While facing off against Oregon State in Reser Stadium it seems like the Oregon offense, and Gabriel, has turned a new page. Gabriel ended the first half going 10-10, amassing 114 passing yards, and rushed for a 54-yard touchdown to open the second quarter.
Oregon coach Dan Lanning even commented in his post game press conference that Gabriel had success in the run game.
“I feel like we played to our standard today,” Lanning said, referencing that the entire team improved upon previous play.
As for favorite targets, Gabriel passed a majority to Tez Johnson, Evan Stewart, Terrance Ferguson, and Traeshon Holden in that order. Johnson ended up with 110 yards in passing for the game.
In fact, the second half felt fairly similar to the preseason expectations for Oregon. During the first half, the starting offense had three touchdowns and one field goal off four drives.
“Definitely a clean game,” Lanning said about Oregon’s offense.
Gabriel’s last touchdown play of the game was a 65-yard pass to the left to Jayden Limar. The 6-play drive relied on a majority of long passes from Gabriel, which we had not seen Gabriel take many long pass risks in the previous season games.
Gabriel ended the game with an 83% completion rating at 20-24, picked up 291 passing yards and 64 rushing, and three total touchdowns. With a little over eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, Dante Moore entered the game to signal Gabriel was done for the day.
With next week giving the Ducks a bye, Gabriel has time to continue to perfect his craft and practice with this current cohesive offensive line for Oregon’s trip to Pasadena, California for their first Big Ten Conference game of the season against UCLA on Saturday, September 28th.
More must-reads:
- NFL Hall of Famer reveals why he chose to join Deion Sanders' Colorado coaching staff
- Mel Kiper Jr. names Big Ten QB who could 'soar up' 2026 NFL Draft boards
- The 'NBA minutes leaders by season' quiz
Breaking News
Trending News
Customize Your Newsletter
+
Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Emailed daily. Always free!
TODAY'S BEST
NFL Hall of Famer reveals why he chose to join Deion Sanders' Colorado coaching staff
New Update on Ohio State's QB Battle Offers Disappointing News For Julian Sayin
Following the departure of Will Howard after the team's College Football Playoff National Championship victory, the expectation around Columbus was that Julian Sayin would take over as Ohio State's quarterback. Sayin ranked as the No. 6 recruit in the 2024 class, and No. 1 quarterback in the country according to 247Sports' Composite Rankings. He ended up at Ohio State after transferring from Alabama following Nick Saban's sudden retirement. Although those around the sport have been quick to tab him as the heir apparent, the latest intel on Ohio State's battle doesn't indicate that this is Sayin's job just yet. Julian Sayin Not Named The Starting QB at Ohio State According to On3's Pete Nakos, not only is 2023 four-star Lincoln Kienholz putting up a good fight, but it appears he is the clubhouse favorite. "The Notre Dame and Ohio State quarterback battles are legitimate, and no true leader has emerged to this point, sources have told On3," wrote Nakos. "While Lincoln Kienholz has emerged as a leader in the Ohio State locker room, Julian Sayin has an arm that sources have raved about." Who is Lincoln Kienholz? No. 194 player in the country, No. 15 quarterback and No. 1 player from South Dakota in 2023. Chose Ohio State over North Dakota State, Washington, Wyoming and Wisconsin. Last played in the 2023 Cotton Bowl against Missouri, completed 6-of-17 passes for 86 yards Ryan Day Needs Starting QB to Emerge as Battle With Arch Manning, Texas Looms The Buckeyes won't have an easy time easing back into things as they begin their title defense, as they are set to host the Texas Longhorns in Week 1. The Longhorns were tabbed as the No. 1 team in college football in the preseason coaches poll, and are widely viewed as having one of the best defenses in the country. The longer it takes for a starter to be decided, the fewer reps the winner will get before facing off against Texas on Aug. 29.
Bill Belichick, Michael Lombardi are invaluable assets for North Carolina in new era of college sports
Padres already demoting one of their trade-deadline acquisitions
The Padres announced they’ve optioned JP Sears to Triple-A El Paso. They recalled reliever Sean Reynolds and will go with a nine-man bullpen in the short term. Sears will spend at least 15 days in the minors unless he’s brought up to replace a player going on the injured list. San Diego acquired Sears alongside Mason Miller in last week’s massive deadline deal. The 29-year-old southpaw made his team debut Monday night. He allowed five runs in as many innings on 10 hits and a walk against the Diamondbacks. Sears took the loss in a 6-2 defeat. He’d carried a 4.95 earned run average over 22 starts with the A’s. Monday's performance pushed his ERA to 5.12 across 116 innings. It’s a bottom-10 mark among pitchers to log at least 100 frames. Sears had the highest home run rate among that group, offsetting his nearly league-average 20.3% strikeout rate and solid 6% walk percentage. This is the first time in two-and-a-half years that Sears heads to the minors. He broke camp with the A’s in 2023 and has been in the majors since then. Sears has also avoided the injured list for that entire time. As a result, he’s tied for fifth in MLB with 87 starts since the beginning of the ’23 season. The durability is the big selling point, as his production (4.62 ERA/4.56 SIERA) over that stretch is that of a fifth or sixth starter. The demotion shouldn’t have any impact on Sears’ service trajectory. He has already surpassed the three-year mark and will qualify for arbitration next winter. He’s under team control for three seasons beyond this one. While he’ll probably be back up at some point this year, it may require an injury elsewhere in the rotation. San Diego optioned Randy Vásquez over the weekend. They have a four-man rotation of Dylan Cease, Nick Pivetta, Yu Darvish and deadline acquisition Nestor Cortes. Darvish and Cortes will get the ball for the next two outings. San Diego is off Thursday and could turn back to Pivetta and Cease on extra rest for their first two games of the weekend series against the Red Sox. That’d point to the series finale on Aug. 10 as Michael King’s return date. King threw 61 pitches in what is expected to be his final rehab start on Sunday, via the MLB.com injury tracker. He’d be on six days' rest for his first MLB appearance since he went on the injured list in late May with a nerve problem in his throwing shoulder.
Sophie Cunningham, Sparks HC react to third incident of object tossed onto court
Over the past couple of years, the WNBA has seen a major uptick in ratings and overall fan engagement. Unfortunately, that has also come with negative attention. It may have reached a new low, as there have now been three separate incidents in which a fan has thrown a sex toy on the court. This time, it nearly hit Indiana Fever veteran Sophie Cunningham during a matchup with the Los Angeles Sparks on Tuesday. Cunningham had already joked about it on social media, and given her outspoken nature and reputation as a bit of an instigator, she didn't shy away from it: She also laughed it up on her Instagram story: Sparks head coach Lynne Roberts, however, didn't think it was a laughing matter. Following the game, she put the fans on blast for their "stupid" behavior. "It's ridiculous. It's dumb. It's stupid," Roberts said, per Yahoo Sports. "It's also dangerous, and you know, player safety is No. 1, respecting the game, all those things. I think it's really stupid." There's no place for any of this in sports, much less in women's sports. The league needs to crack down on this and take the necessary measures to prevent it from happening ever again. The WNBA is finally thriving after years of surviving, and while the fans will eventually grow to respect the product, not all publicity is good publicity.
Green Bay Packers: Slo-Mo Video of Jordan Love’s Insane 55-Yard TD Bomb to Romeo Doubs Goes Viral
Kevin Love reportedly has preferred buyout destination
Kevin Love is eyeing a return to his roots. The five-time NBA All-Star big man Love has a preferred destination on the buyout market, Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints reported on Tuesday. Love would like to end up in Los Angeles. Now 36 years old, Love spent the last two-and-a-half seasons with the Miami Heat. He averaged just 5.3 points and 4.1 rebounds over 10.9 minutes per game in 2024-25 but still managed to shoot 35.8 percent from three on the year. Earlier this summer however, the Heat traded Love to the Utah Jazz as part of a three-team blockbuster deal. Now Love, a 17-year NBA veteran, is pursuing a contract buyout from the rebuilding Jazz. Though he is a native of Lake Oswego, Oregon, Love played his college ball in Los Angeles at UCLA. He also has ties to both L.A. teams — he won an NBA championship with Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James on the Cleveland Cavaliers in 2016 and was also coached on that team by Tyronn Lue, who is now head coach of the L.A. Clippers. Both the Lakers and Clippers are currently sitting at 14 guaranteed contracts each. While they still have spots for two-way and Exhibit 10 players, that means the Lakers and Clippers are both down to their final open roster spot. The ex-rebounding leader Love still has some value, though probably more so as a jokester than as a contributing rotation piece. While Love clearly wants a homecoming to Los Angeles, he may have some convincing to do for either the Lakers or the Clippers to give him that final open roster spot.
PRIVACY POLICY EDITORIAL POLICY CONTACT US
ABOUT YARDBARKER TERMS OF SERVICE
Use of this website (including any and all parts and
components) constitutes your acceptance of these
Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
This site is for entertainment purposes only.
There is no gambling offered on this site.
Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-Gambler.
