Can Dillon Gabriel Case catch Keenum’s all-time college football passing yards record?

In 2023, Bo Nix set NCAA records for career starts (61) and single-season completion percentage (77.4%) with the Oregon Ducks. Just one season later, former UCF and Oklahoma transfer Dillon Gabriel is aiming for the same thing.

“Dillon Gabriel Places Among NCAA All-Time Leaders in Passing Yards”

After breaking state records as a high school quarterback in Hawaii, Gabriel moved to the UCF Golden Knights. In his first two years and three games, he threw for 8,064 yards, 70 touchdowns and just 14 interceptions and was already well on his way to continuing his record-breaking performances on the college stage.

However, a season-ending collarbone injury in 2021 marked the end of his time with the Knights and caused him to enter the transfer portal. After initially selecting UCLA as his next destination, Gabriel changed his commitment to Oklahoma the same day the Sooners’ star freshman Caleb Williams decided to go to USC.

In Norman, Oklahoma, Gabriel reunited with Jeff Lebby, the QB coach and offensive coordinator at UCF from 2018 to 2019, and racked up another 6,828 yards and 55 TDs during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

But when Lebby became head coach at Mississippi State, Gabriel entered the portal again, this time taking the baton from Bo Nix at Oregon. Not only will he try to lead the Ducks to a national title berth, but he could also break several records in the process.

First up: a career in shipyard overtaking.

Former Houston QB Case Keenum (19,217) is the current holder, while Tommy Chang (17,072), Landry Jones (16,646) and Gabriel (16,314) make up the rest of the top four.

Gabriel is averaging 289.8 yards per game in five contests this season. With seven games remaining in the regular season, he is expected to finish with 18,342 yards, 874 yards behind Kennum.

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However, assuming the Ducks secure a spot in the expanded College Football Playoff and possibly the Big Ten Championship, Gabriel could play two to five more games, depending on how far his team goes in the postseason.

Of course, there are still fights with Ohio State, Michigan and Illinois on the program. However, the Hawaii native not only has the physical skills to compete, but also the weapons (WRs Tez Johnson, Traeshon Holden, Evan Stewart and TE Terrance Ferguson).

But career passing yards are not the record-breaking statistic for Gabriel this season. He is currently third in career passing TDs (136), behind only Boise State’s Kellen Moore (142) and, you guessed it, Keenum (155).

This one is arguably easier to catch, as Gabriel, with a 2.2 average in 2024, would finish with 151 points at the end of the season and would only need five more points in the playoffs to take the top spot.

Then there is the final career standings, in which Gabriel ranks 10th with 1,180. Although he won’t make it Sentence Thanks to Keenum’s ridiculous number of 1,546, his current trajectory would leave him in seventh place at 1,362. With just a few to a few games left, Gabriel could potentially finish third (Washington State’s Luke Falk, 1,404).

Gabriel is also tied with Chang, Moore, Jones, Georgia’s Aaron Murray and Troy’s Corey Robinson for most seasons with more than 3,000 passing yards (four). When healthy, he will be the first player to reach five points with relative ease.

Last but not least, the record that his predecessor set just last year: the completion rate for a single season. Nix completed 364 of his 470 passes (77.4%) in Oregon OC Will Stein’s scheme, and Gabriel is on pace to surpass that mark, albeit just barely (130 of 167, 77.8%).

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