Spartans Must Limit Heisman Hopeful QB
The Michigan State Spartans will face one of the most talented quarterbacks in all of college football when they play the No. 6 ranked Oregon Ducks on the road, Friday night.
Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel is in his sixth season, eyeing down both a Heisman trophy and national championship. He has been one of the nation's top arms that will surely get a shot at the next level.
Gabriel has thrown for over 3,000 yards in the past two seasons when he was at Oklahoma before transferring to Oregon for his final season. In his first four games as a Duck, he has thrown nine touchdowns and rushed for two with 1,192 passing yards.
“They have a tremendous amount of skill,” said Spartans defensive coordinator Joe Rossi on Tuesday. “I think they do a really good job getting the ball out on the perimeter, the quarterback, [Gabriel] is so efficient. I haven't checked the stats but he's got to be the highest completion percentage if not in the top five in the country.”
Rossi would be correct as Gabriel leads the nation in completion percentage at 81.5%. The FBS single-season record is 77.45%, posted by former Ducks quarterback Bo Nix last season.
With only 49 rushing yards on 21 attempts, the 23-year-old has gradually become less of a threat as a mobile quarterback and has relied mostly on his receivers. This favors the Spartans if they are able to get pressure due to the fact that the Ducks have allowed seven sacks in the past two games.
If the Spartans can get home and create issues for Gabriel in the pocket, it will force him to scramble and run which he has been overly successful with this season. A few sacks will also be in the cards as the Spartans are third in the Big Ten with 15 as a team.
However, there are times when he can break out for a big play with his feet, as Gabriel had a 54-yard rushing touchdown in Week three against Oregon State. Keeping contain and not allowing him to get the sideline or break multiple tackles in the backfield will be imperative for the Spartan defense.
Gabriel's top target is 5-10 senior Tez Johnson, who already has 33 receptions for 311 yards through four games. He will likely be battling the redshirt senior cornerback Charles Brantley, who has been the top corner this season with two interceptions and five pass deflections for the Spartans.
There are four other pass catchers for the Ducks that have double-digit receptions and over 100 yards receiving. It will take the entire Spartans secondary to contain the passing attack as the ball will be spread all across the field to a handful of skill players.
Rossi's defensive secondary is going to need to have a better week after giving up 298 receiving yards to Ohio State at home last Saturday. They face a comparable opponent this Friday night.
The Ducks are coming off a dominant victory over UCLA where Gabriel threw for 278 yards, three touchdowns, and his first interception of the year. He has yet to throw for less than 240 yards and two touchdowns in a game this year.
As shown in the first half of last week's game, the Spartans have the talent to compete with anyone. It will be very difficult for the defense to limit the passing yards, but holding strong in the red zone, forcing field goals, and possibly a turnover or two is going to be the path to staying in this game.
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