Dillon Gabriel breaks all-time TD record: Is Heisman next?

If you're not paying close attention to the Heisman trophy race, you might think it's a two-horse race between Colorado's Travis Hunter and Boise State's Ashton Jeanty.

But Oregon's Dillon Gabriel is out to prove that he's right in the mix, and after the Ducks improved to 10-0 with a win versus Maryland in Week 11, he's starting to have a real case. Gabriel threw 3 touchdowns and zero interceptions, improving his season totals to 22 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. Gabriel hasn't just been functional as the Ducks quarterback, he's been phenomenal in leading the top team in the country to a near-sure College Football Playoff berth.

Does Gabriel deserve to be neck and neck (and neck) with Hunter and Jeanty, though? He's having a splendid season and the quarterback of the best team in the country is always going to get some love, but Hunter and Jeanty are both having nearly unprecedented seasons. Hunter is one of the best wide receivers (856 yards, 9 touchdowns) and cornerbacks (7 passes defended, 2 interceptions) in the country while Jeanty is still on pace to break 2000 rushing yards pretty easily. Gabriel has been great, but seems to be getting a very big boost based on team success. Does he break games like Hunter and Jeanty do? Is he having a historically great season in any sense? Not quite. He deserves props for what he's doing in Eugene, but Heisman still seems like a reach.

The oddsmakers are taking notice, though, and they seem to think Gabriel has a real shot at the award. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Gabriel is actually ahead of Jeanty in the race right now, as the Ducks quarterback has a +320 shot to win the Heisman versus Jeanty's +350 odds.

Dillon Gabriel now holds a prestigious record

This record does nothing for Gabriel's Heisman case in 2024, but it's a pretty cool accolade regardless. On Saturday, Gabriel passed former Houston quarterback Kase Keenum as the NCAA's all-time touchdown leader. Gabriel now has 179 total touchdowns — combined rushing and passing — in the NCAA, spanning six years and three teams.

Does Gabriel being a college football player since 2019 diminish this record at all? Maybe a little, but the NCAA is letting him play, and it's not Gabriel's fault that he's allowed to keep taking the field! What's he supposed to do, stop throwing touchdowns because he's played more years than a lot of other players.