Oregon Ducks' Dillon Gabriel Earns MVP In Road Victory vs. Purdue Boilermakers

No such thing as a hangover for these Oregon Ducks. Oregon beat Purdue on the road, 35-0. Quarterback Dillon Gabriel deserves the MVP nod against the Boilermakers and continues to prove why he's in the Heisman Trophy race along with Boise State's Ashton Jeanty and Colorado's Travis Hunter.

Oct 18, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) throws a pass during the second quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

After a major win like the Oregon Ducks accomplished over Ohio State at Autzen Stadium about a week ago, what usually follows is a trap game. The Purdue Boilermakers have an FBS-high 17 wins against AP Top 5 Teams when unranked and are 2-1 in those situations at Ross-Ade Stadium. Tonight's matchup would definitely have fit the description of a trap if it wasn't for this season's version of the Ducks' offense.

Oregon coach Dan Lanning and his crew flew across the country to West Lafayette, Indiana and left undefeated at 7-0. Despite not having the starting tight end Terrance Ferguson (illness) at his disposal, Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel continues to put majority of his throws on the money, use his legs in clutch situations and lead the offense to make winning plays.

"Glad to see our guys travel and put a game together. there's going to be a lot that we can go back and look at that game and say we can improve, but first shutout here for us in a long time," Lanning said on the broadcast. "Gonna be a lot to build off of, but you got to be able to travel in the Big Ten. This is a tough conference. Got to be able to travel and go win."

This was also not the matchup for the Boilermakers to be without their starting cornerback Nyland Green. Gabriel exposed Purdue's secondary while throwing for two touchdowns and 290 passing yards on 21-for-25 completions but did give up an interception right at the end of the first half. Gabriel also used his legs in clutch situations.

Oct 18, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel (8) throws a pass during the second quarter against the Purdue Boilermakers at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

In the absence of Ferguson, tight end Kenyon Sadiq had his name called by Oregon's offensive coordinator Will Stein and he stepped all the way up. The sophomore needed to make a splash against Purdue and did a cannonball. He showed off his pure athleticism and finished with two catches for 58 yards.

Gabriel's new favorite wideout target over the past two games has been Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewart. The Texas A&M transfer had the highlight of the night with his 49-yard grab coming off the pinpoint deep ball from Gabriel on the first drive of the game. With Traeshon Holden making the trip to Indiana but having to watch from the sidelines after the spitting incident against Ohio State, he may have been watching his targets dwindle away a bit in live time.

Oct 18, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Oregon Ducks wide receiver Evan Stewart (7) catches a long pass under coverage from Purdue Boilermakers defensive back Kyndrich Breedlove (10) during the first quarter at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

It has predominately been Jordan James in the backfield after the first half of Oregon's schedule. He's now made it five straight games with at least one rushing touchdown and has eight in total on the season with two coming against the Boilermakers tonight.

It was nice to hear running back Noah Whittington's number get called in more vital spots during the blowout victory. He did it on the ground but showed off his soft hands with the eight-yard touchdown snag thrown by Gabriel at the start of the fourth quarter.

“Noah’s a stud," Gabriel said after the game. "Have a lot of belief and trust in him and him making plays for us. He’s extremely talented but an even better person.”

Having that running back duo's confidence at an all-time high going down this stretch of Big Ten Conference play against No. 22 Illinois at Autzen Stadium and No. 24 Michigan in the Big House will pay dividends for the Ducks in the coming weeks.

Oct 18, 2024; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Oregon Ducks running back Jordan James (20) runs into the end zone for a touchdown past Purdue Boilermakers linebacker Kydran Jenkins (4) during the first quarter at Ross-Ade Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

No. 2 Oregon has a chance to jump up to the tippy-top of the Associated Press rankings on Sunday morning if the No. 5 Georgia Bulldogs goes into Darrell K. Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin and upsets the No. 1 Texas Longhorns on Saturday, Oct. 19 at 4:30 p.m. PT.

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