After a couple of close calls against Idaho and Boise State to start the season, the Oregon Ducks have begun rounding into shape, scoring big wins over in-state rival Oregon State and former Pac-12/current Big Ten foe UCLA in their last two games. Leading the way for the Ducks is super senior transfer quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who despite throwing his first interception of the year, continued a scalding hot run to start the season against the Bruins.

Through four games, Dillon Gabriel is completing a staggering 81.5% of his passes and is throwing for nearly 300 yards per game. Against UCLA, he threw for 278 yards and 3 touchdowns on the way to a 34-13 win.

After the game, Oregon head coach Dan Lanning was eager to dish some praise out for his new quarterback.

“It was a complete game in a lot of ways,” Dan Lanning said after the game. “Dillon continues to prove that he’s a savvy quarterback. He did a good job of utilizing his feet when the first answer wasn’t there and moving on to the next look. The defense played their best game yet. After the first series we figured out their rhythm and what they were going to be doing.”

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The 23-year-old Gabriel certainly has accrued enough reps in his collegiate career to deserve being called “savvy.” Gabriel began his career at the University of Central Florida, throwing for over 8,000 yards and 70 touchdowns in 26 games with the Knights. After suffering a season-ending broken collarbone three games into his junior season, Gabriel announced he'd be transferring to the University of Oklahoma, where he'd add another 6,828 yards and 55 touchdowns to his tally.

In Oregon's win over UCLA, Gabriel became the fourth FBS player to reach 16,000 yards passing for his career and moved into a three-way tie for third with 134 touchdown passes with Graham Harrell and Sam Hartman. Gabriel will likely end his collegiate career as the 2nd-leading passer in college football history, though he only trails Case Keenum by 3,160 yards. Gabriel is also just 22 touchdowns away from surpassing Keenum on the all-time touchdown list too.

Oregon will be back in action on Friday night when they host the Michigan State Spartans. Eight days later, the Ohio State Buckeyes come to Eugene in what will be the biggest regular season game of the season in the new-look Big Ten.