Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel was rated as the No. 1 passer in the Big Ten Conference

Oregon Ducks quarterback Dillon Gabriel is currently the highest-rated passer in the Big Ten, according to PFF College. Gabriel's rating is 88.0.

Dillon Gabriel's 2024 season

Dillon Gabriel is in his first season as quarterback for the Oregon Ducks, his sixth year overall in college football. Gabriel was at UCF from 2019-21 and Oklahoma from 2022-23 before transferring to Oregon for the 2024 season.

In his first four starts as a Duck, Gabriel has thrown for 1,192 yards, 9 touchdowns and 1 interception. He also added 2 touchdowns on the ground.

Gabriel is a big reason for the Ducks' high expectations this season. Gabriel entered the season as one of the Heisman Trophy frontrunners, and Oregon was the No. 3 AP preseason team in the country.

Since then, Gabriel's Heisman odds have dropped, but the Ducks are still off to a 4-0 start to the season. They underperformed in their first two games against Idaho and Boise State, but rebounded with big road wins over Oregon State and UCLA.

Next up for the Gabriel and the Ducks is the Michigan State Spartans.

Big Ten quarterbacks

Big Ten quarterbacks haven't exactly turned heads in the 2024 season. Other than Gabriel, there are no other Big Ten players, let alone quarterbacks, in the top 11 in Heisman Trophy odds according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

The reason for this? There haven't been many Big Ten standouts at the quarterback position so far this season.

USC Trojans quarterback Miller Moss has garnered a lot of national attention for his replacement for Caleb Williams and his role in coach Lincoln Riley's offense. He's been good so far, but the Trojans' loss at Michigan dampened his Heisman hopes for now.

One guy who should get more praise is Indiana quarterback Kurtis Rourke. Rourke led the Indiana Hoosiers to a 5-0 start for the first time since 1967. He threw for 1,372 yards, 11 touchdowns and just two interceptions.

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard generated a lot of hype early in the season. Howard spent the last four years at Kansas State before transferring to Ohio State. Howard put up solid numbers: 1,039 passing yards, eight touchdowns and two interceptions in blowout wins at Ohio State.

The only problem Howard faced was that the Buckeyes didn't need to throw the ball in the middle of the third quarter because they had won by such a large margin. That's a good problem to have when you have your sights set on a national championship.

Another name not to forget is Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola. Raiola has thrown for 1,224 yards, 9 touchdowns and 2 interceptions in the Huskers' 4-1 start to the season. However, that's not the biggest story surrounding Raiola. He legitimately looks like Patrick Mahomes out there, imitating the Kansas City Chiefs quarterback at every turn. Whether it's the hair, the number 15 jersey he wears, sidearm throws, warm-ups, etc., it's shockingly similar.